16th Sunday After Pentecost. September 17th, 2023. Series

Exodus 14:19-31, Psalm 114:1-8, Exodus 15:1-11, Exodus 15:20-21, Genesis 50:15-21, Psalm 103:1-13, Romans 14:1-12, Matthew 18:21-35

A). A PATH THROUGH THE SEA.

Exodus 14:19-31.

EXODUS 14:19a. The “Angel of God” removed Himself from ‘going before’ the people and “went behind them.” We see here, and in other places where the Angel is mentioned, that the Angel is a distinct divine personality, and yet is at one with the LORD. The ultimate manifestation of the Angel is Jesus. This is all part of the mystery of the Trinity – but that is not our subject today.

EXODUS 14:19b. In effect, the removal of the Angel is explained in the following clause: “the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them.” This is elucidated in the following verse:

EXODUS 14:20. Basically, the pillar ensured that there could be no battle that night.

EXODUS 14:21. God uses means. He is about to do a great work, but in His gracious condescension He chooses to use Moses as an instrument for His purposes. It was not until Moses obediently (cf. Exodus 14:16) “stretched out his hand over the sea” that “the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night.” The physical source of that wind is not the point: it is rather that we should see that the LORD is in control of all these things. It is the LORD who caused the wind; it is the LORD who “made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”

EXODUS 14:22. The children of Israel, seeing the way ahead and dreading the alternative, at last ‘moved forward’ (cf. Exodus 14:15) into the “midst of the sea.” They were walking on “dry ground!” And they were substantially walled-in by the parted sea on each side.

EXODUS 14:23. The Egyptians hastened in in pursuit of the Israelites. The whole army blundered ahead to their own doom.

EXODUS 14:24. It was the darkest hour before dawn, a strategic time for an attack – but even as night turned to day, the LORD was watching out on behalf of Israel “through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, AND TROUBLED THE HOST OF THE EGYPTIANS.”

EXODUS 14:25. Where the Israelites had walked through on dry ground, the chariot wheels now “drove heavily,” and could make little headway in what was now a sea of mud. The consequence was that the Egyptians decided to try to turn back: “Let us flee from the face of Israel,” they decided. And with good reason: “FOR THE LORD FIGHTETH FOR THEM AGAINST THE EGYPTIANS.” It is a hard thing to fight against the LORD!

EXODUS 14:26. Now it was time for Moses to stretch out his hand once more: this time for the further discomfiture and demise of Israel’s foes:

EXODUS 14:27. Another small act of obedience, resulting in God’s mighty “overthrow” of the Egyptians “in the midst of the sea.”

EXODUS 14:28. The result was so complete, that the whole army, and all its equipment, was lost in the sea! Indeed, this is cause for wonder (cf. Exodus 15:19) and praise (cf. Exodus 15:21).

EXODUS 14:29. This verse is added to reiterate the contrast: what happened first was that the Israelites walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea, with the sea itself forming defensive walls (against the sea!) on either side of them.

EXODUS 14:30. This was a complete victory for the LORD, who thus “saved Israel.” And, by way of confirmation of the fact, “Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.” Israel knew at last that their past could no longer catch up with them.

EXODUS 14:31. The LORD’s great triumph formed the basis for confidence and faith: “the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD." And the LORD’s promise to be with Moses (cf. Exodus 3:12) was evidenced before them!

Our confidence in the LORD rests in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who vanquished sin on our behalf, and has overcome the enemy of our souls. This too is cause for wonder and praise.

B). WHEN ISRAEL WENT OUT OF EGYPT.

Psalm 114:1-8.

The exuberance of this Psalm is immediately evident. It is a recollection of Israel’s redemption story, beginning from when the descendants of Jacob made their exodus from Egypt. It is the prelude to the founding of what Stephen, the first Christian martyr, would later name ‘the church in the wilderness’ (cf. Acts 7:38). But most of all, although He is not named, it is a celebration of “the God of Jacob” (Psalm 114:7) who delivered them.

PSALM 114:1. When “the house of Jacob” first went down into Egypt, they were a single family of about 75 persons. Jacob’s son Joseph was Prime Minister in Egypt, and there the Pharoah welcomed Joseph’s father and brethren. But a later Pharoah of Egypt felt threatened by this growing family, and enslaved them.