The Story of Moses : Exodus 13-14
Time to Go!
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
06-08–2025
The Great Emancipator
On Jan 1st, 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. The Proclamation paved the way for the eventual abolition of slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment and had a lasting impact on the struggle for civil rights in the United States.
Lincoln, like the Founding Fathers had a sense of his destiny. He told Charles Sumner that this document would be the “great event of the 19th century” and “the name that is connected to this matter will never be forgotten.”
He had spent the morning at a reception and his hands trembled from so many handshakes.
He took a minute and rubbed his hands. He said, “If the signature looks shaky, people will think I hesitated.”
He signed the document firmly, ensuring his signature was clear and decisive.
He became known as the “Great Emancipator.”
Nearly 3,000 years before Lincoln was born, there was another Great Emancipator that was preparing the Israelites to finally leave Egypt and over 400 years of slavery - Moses.
Review
Last week, we saw the last plague play out and the absolute shock and mourning of the Egyptians over the death of the first born.
The Israelites who put the blood of the lamb on the doorframes were passed over by the death angel.
God instituted Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread to help the Israelites remember God delivering them from Egypt.
In chapter 13, God also institutes the redemption of the first born:
“The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belongs to me, whether human or animal.” (Exodus 13:1-2)
This, like the Passover, foreshadowed the idea of substitutionary atonement. The first born is redeemed, not by sacrificing them, but by consecrating them to God.
As this group of over two million people left Egypt, they were only about a two weeks trek to the Promise Land if they went the way of the Philistine road.
The problem with that road is that there were multiple fortresses along the way staffed with soldiers. And on the Philistine road they might encounter…Philistines!
“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17)
These people weren’t soldiers. They were brick makers. They were slaves. They were young and old. They were not ready for any kind of conflict.
“So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.” (Exodus 13:18)
Wait…what? That’s the opposite way to the Promised Land. They were expecting to be attacked but now they seemed to be headed toward a dead end.
“ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”
360 years before, Joseph had made it clear where he wanted his bones buried:
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.” (Genesis 50: 24-25)
The writer of Hebrews mentions his faith:
“By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.” (Hebrews 11:32)
When he died, he was embalmed and placed in a coffin, awaiting the time when the Israelites would leave Egypt.
“After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
They are now standing on the cusp of deliverance. Nothing seems to be in their way.
They didn’t have a map but they had a GPS (God’s Positioning System). By day, there was a pillar of cloud to guide them. The cloud also provided shade from the Middle Eastern sun.
The pillar of fire by night also guided them and provided warmth during the cold nights in the desert.
The NET Bible states:
"God chose to guide the people with a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night, or, as a pillar of cloud and fire, since they represented his presence. God had already appeared to Moses in the fire of the bush, and so here again is revelation with fire. Whatever the exact nature of these things, they formed direct, visible revelations from God, who was guiding the people in a clear and unambiguous way. Both clouds and fire would again and again represent the presence of God in his power and majesty, guiding and protecting his people, by judging their enemies." (NET)
They were on their way. They had the presence of God protecting and guiding their way. What could go wrong?
Please turn with me in your copy of God’s Word to Exodus 14.
Prayer.
A Divine Detour
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.” (Exodus 14:1-2).
They were headed in the right direction. Then, seemingly out of the blue, God told them to change course.
Imagine that we had to lead a group of people to Fairbury. The easiest route is just to walk west on 24. But what if our leader said, “Change of plans. We need to double back and head to Sillman Pond.” It would look like we were lost. And that’s exactly what Pharaoh thought.
“Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.” (Exodus 14:3-4)
What is the purpose of the Exodus? God makes it explicit. God will be glorified and the Egyptians will know that He is God and not Pharaoh.
The Egyptians thought that maybe their God had abandoned them or that they were lost.
They looked like sitting ducks but it was God that was setting a trap.
David wrote that God told the people what to do but told Moses why:
“He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel…” (Psalm 103:7)
A Defiant King
“When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” (Exodus 14:5-6)
How quickly Pharaoh forgot about the ten plagues and the fact that the Hebrew God had devastated their land. They reverted back to economics. They had lost 600,000 free slave laborers.
So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.”(Exodus 14:7)
The chariot was the latest technological advance in warfare. He called in Seal Team 6, the elite warriors to lead the charge.
The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.” (Exodus 14:8-9)
The Israelites marched out boldly. This word means “defiantly” and literally is “with a high hand.”
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“They were resolute and brave as long as they remembered that God was with them. The Egyptians behind them were bold and proud even though God was not with them. There were two high hands that day, the high hand of the proud, puny Pharaoh and the high hand of the ever-blessed, omnipotent Jehovah.”
Pharaoh was all in - he was willing to throw everything but the kitchen sink at the Israelites.
When it says they “overtook them” it just means they caught up to them.
We don’t know exactly where this was. But we know that the Red Sea was in front of them and the mountains and desert were on either side. And behind them, coming fast, was the entire Egyptian army. It looked as though they were trapped and would be goners.
A Grumbling People
“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.” (Exodus 14:10)
They looked behind them and saw a huge cloud of dust. They weren’t sure what it was until they heard the roar of the chariots and the shouting of the officers.
They were rightly afraid. I would have been scared. They were trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea. And they did what was appropriate to do in times of such trouble - cried out to the Lord.
Matthew Henry once wrote:
“God often brings us to struggles so that He may bring us to our knees.”
So far, so good. But not for long.
“They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:11-12)
Good grief! They quickly switch from crying out to God to yelling and blaming Moses!
The Egyptians were obsessed with death and graves. The pyramids are tombs.
Not even a week out of Egypt, they make the absurd declaration, won’t be the last time, that they would have been better off staying in Egypt than dying in the desert like dogs.
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never
see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Moses is a good leader. He doesn’t take it personally but encourages the Hebrews:
Do not be afraid.
Stand firm
You will see your deliverance
You will never see these Egyptians after today
God will fight for you
Be still
Their attitude? No fear and trust.
Their actions? Stand firm and see
We are going to come back to this in just a minute.
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” (Exodus 14:15)
This is one of my favorite verses in his story. Moses walks away and starts praying. God interrupts him and asks, “Why are you praying? I’ve made myself clear. Time to go forward!”
When we got married, I was standing in the back with my groomsmen and the preacher. The music started and we lined up to go out the door into the sanctuary and I said, “Shouldn’t we pray?” And the preacher put his hand in the small of my back and pushed me out the door and said, “Too late for that!”
Vance Havner wrote:
“Prayer will accomplish many things but not everything. Moses at the Red Sea was praying when he should have preceding!”
Time for a Miracle
“Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14:16-18)
Remember that Moses didn’t have a clue what was about to happen. He just knew God was going to work it out.
Moses is to raise the staff and someone the waters will divide. This miracle, as is the case of every miracle, is designed to bring glory to God and work for the good of His children.
Between
“Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (Exodus 14:19-20)
Just then, the cloud that had been leading them and the angel of God, flew over their heads and settled between the Egyptian army and the Israelites.
The Egyptians were in darkness (just like the ninth plague) but the Israelites were illuminated by a Godly glow. The Egyptians were terrified and didn’t dare make a move.
The Red Sea Crossing
“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” (Exodus 14:21-22)
Moses lifted his hands and a strong east wind started to blow. All night, the winds howled from the east and the people watched in awe as the sea divided and an eight lane super highway was established for the people and animals to pass through.
The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” (Exodus 14:23-25)
The Egyptian officers led the attack and they followed the Israelites in the land between the waters.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.” (Exodus 14:26-28)
It may have looked something like this:
[God’s and Kings - Read Sea Scene]
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. (Exodus 14:29-31)
They had been saved from an impossible situation. The result? The Egyptian army was destroyed. And the people feared the Lord and understood, not just intellectually but from experience, that they could trust God to come through for them and that Moses was worthy of their trust and respect.
What do we do when we feel like we are in an impossible situation?
In a pickle
English is a very hard language to learn because we have so many idioms.
When we want to talk about being in trouble we can say that we are
in quite a pickle
In a jam
In a tight place
Between a rock and a hard place
Behind the eight ball
Between the devil and the deep blue sea
What should we do if we find ourselves in a pickle?
Let’s look back at what Moses told the people when they responded with fear and blame:
Do not fear
365 times in the Bible we are told “Do not fear.” Why so many times? Because we are easily scared!
One of my favorite preachers (from Memphis) wrote:
“…God brings you to this place of desperation, that He might bring you to this place of dependence, that He may say to you, "Fear not.”
Psalm 118 is quoted in Hebrews 11:
“When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in triumph on my enemies. (Psalm 118:5-7; quoted in Hebrews 11:6)
Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Isaiah wrote these encouraging words:
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
Paul told his young pastor friend Timothy:
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
John writes:
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (I John 4:18)
Brother Andrew, a Christian missionary, spent most of his life smuggling Bibles into closed countries that don’t allow Christians to have the Scriptures.
He told the story that he was in line at the border of a closed country and he watched as the border guards searched each car thoroughly. This was a problem because they had suitcases full of contraband - Bibles in that country’s language.
He felt the anxiety building and whispered a prayer: “Lord you can make the blind see, I have faith that you can make the seeing blind.”
The guards searched his car and pulled out the suitcases and opened them. There were the Bibles in plain sight. Brother Andrew could see them but the guard seemed to think the suitcase was empty! He waved him through with a smile.
Because God is with us, we don’t have to live in fear. David, who was often afraid, wrote this in his journal:
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal men do to me?” (Psalm 56: 3-4)
When we find ourselves in a tight spot and feel like we are trapped, that is the time to put our trust in Him completely.
Annie Johnson Flint wrote this poem:
Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,
Where, in spite of all you can do,
There is no way out, there is no way back,
There is no other way but through?
Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene
Till the night of your fear is gone;
He will send the wind,
He will heap the floods,
When He says to your soul, "Go on!”
Stand firm and be still
This can also mean "Hold your ground!" "Station yourself!" "Stand firm without fleeing.”
Can you imagine the terror that the Israelites felt? Can you imagine them running around like chickens with their heads cut off?
David wrote:
Psalm 46:10:
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
I love this chart that was posted by a church on X.
Be still - stop talking, switch off your phone, stop commenting, listening, stop arguing, stop questioning, stop moaning
And know - stop doubting, be sure, have faith, no second opinions
That I am God - God is almighty, God is in control, God is love, God is king, God is my hope, rock, and fortress, God is ever-present, a help in times of trouble, God is my Father, God is my Shepherd - He will lead me, nourish me, protect, and restore me.
Have eyes to see the deliverance coming
On May 1, 2008, the Chapman family were celebrating graduations and their daughter getting engaged. Their son went to the store and when he drove back into the driveway, his little sister, Maria, ran out to him. He never saw her. She died in the driveway. She was five years old.
Mary Beth wrote a book called “Choosing to See”.
[Interview with Mary Beth 2:14-3:53)
They couldn’t live in that house without Maria, so they tore down that house and built a new one.
In the dust and rubble of the house, Steven took this picture. Do you see it?
Steven wrote in his book, “Between Heaven and the Real World:
“The dust was rising above the ruins, and in the midst of the devastation was a rainbow of colors from the sun shining through. I looked more carefully. What is that? I wondered. I thought I saw the shape of the letter E written in the dust hovering a few feet above the ground. What? I looked again, and on the left side of the E was an S, and on the right side was another E. I gasped. There, clearly discernible in the swirling, rising dust, were the letters forming the word SEE!…. To us, it was as though God was speaking like to us. It felt like God was saying, “I’ll write it in a cloud of dust if you need me to, because I’m going to keep reminding you. SEE my hand in this; SEE that I am with you and for you, and I’m bringing beauty out of the ashes in ways you can’t imagine.”
He later wrote the song see as a tribute to Maria:
Right now, all I can taste are bitter tears
Right now, all I can see are clouds of sorrow
From the other side of all this pain
Is that you I hear, laughing loud
And calling out to me? Saying...
"See? It's everything you said that it would be
And even better than you would believe
And I'm counting down the days
Until you're here with me
And finally you'll see.”
let God fight for you
Moses, thinking back to the crossing of the Red Sea, wrote in Deuteronomy:
“Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes…” (Duet 1:29-30)
The parting of the Red Sea is a word picture of what Jesus did on the cross. The Israelites were hopeless and could do nothing to save themselves. God had to intervene. And in doing so, He rescued the Israelites and punished the Egyptians.
The same with the cross. We were completely hopeless and helpless and hell bound. There was nothing we could do to save ourselves. God had to intervene. And He sent His only Son to die for us in our place for our sins. All we had to do is be still and trust God’s provision of salvation.
Ending Songs:
God will Make a Way
Battle Belongs
