History of Israel: The Miracle by the Sea

The Israelites have been released from their bondage, but have one last hurdle to face. With their backs to the sea and the Egyptian army on their heels, it will take a miracle to save the fledgling nation. In this episode of Bible Backdrop, we look at some of the details surrounding the great miracle that finally broke Israel away from Egypt and showed even more of God's glory.

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Transcript

The sea was in front of them and the desert behind them. It had been 7 days since they left Egypt and the child was confused and scared. His mother and father were becoming concerned. They seemed to just be wandering around and now they were camped by the sea. How were they going to get across?

The boy had seen much in his 8 years. He was a slave as were his parents when they lived in Egypt. Even as young as he was, he had to help his parents with their tasks by doing some simple things. Gathering the straw to make bricks...getting more mud when it was needed...getting water and bringing it to his parents and the other workers. All under the watchful eye of the Egyptian taskmasters.

Then, one day, the Egyptians stopped giving out straw. He didn’t understand...didn’t they want their bricks made? The taskmaster came to his father and demanded the quota of bricks but he wasn’t able to do them all. The Egyptian backhanded him, told him he was lazy and stormed off. 

Not long after this incident, some strange things started happening. The water from the river wasn’t drinkable, so he had to go other places to find some. Then there were frogs everywhere! He thought it was a joke, but his parents weren’t laughing. Then the bugs came and he didn’t like that at all. He overheard his parents talking to the elder of their tribe about these things, but he couldn’t understand. He did see his parents throw away an idol they had. Later, there were all sorts of things happening but it only seemed to affect the Egyptians. Then came that night. His father killed a lamb, which always made the boy sad, and put it’s blood on the doorposts of their small hovel. Then they roasted the lamb and ate it with some vegetables and flat bread. He was sad about the lamb, but it did taste pretty good. His parents looked ready to travel out which didn’t make any sense. He asked his father what was going on...why tonight was so different. His father explained that tonight was the Passover and that they would soon be free. The boy didn’t understand what that meant, but he did understand what it meant to be free.

He would never forget that night. The cries coming from all over the land. His parents kept a close eye on him and told him that, under no circumstances, could he leave the house. Then, early in the morning, the tribal leaders came out and told everyone it was time to leave. His parents had talked to their Egyptian neighbors and they gave them gold trinkets. Just gave it to them! They were begging them to leave!

Now they had been walking for about a week. The boy was tired, confused and scared. He was looking forward to getting some sleep until someone cried out. The Egyptian army had come out! Now they were trapped between the army and the sea. There was nowhere to go!

The people started yelling at their leader, Moses. He didn’t understand all the words, but he knew they were angry. Moses told them to be still and wait. That God would save them. Then he bowed his head. After a few seconds, the column of smoke they were following moved between them and the Egyptians. It must have scared the Egyptians because they didn’t move. Then Moses lifted up his head and raised his staff toward the sea.

The wind! It was so strong it almost knocked the boy over. His mother held him close as she and his father watched. His tiredness forgotten, he asked what was going on. His father picked him up to show him. The water was moving so fast...it looked like it was splitting in two! Then Moses turned to the people and told them to cross on the dry land. The boy and his parents were one of the first ones to cross. He couldn’t believe it! There was water over their heads on the left and right. They couldn’t feel the wind anymore, but they knew it was there. They and thousands of others hurried across to the other side. 

Finally, everyone got across and as he looked, the boy saw the Egyptians and their chariots coming after them. But as they got to about the middle of the path between the water, it looked like their wheels gave out. Their horses couldn’t move and the chariots turned over. Some of the men started running away, but then the wind stopped and the water came crashing back down on the Egyptian army. The boy hid his face, but he heard a huge cheer come from the group of people. He looked again and saw some bodies of the pursuing soldiers at the edge of the water. 

It was now late and the pillar of smoke they had been following had turned into a pillar of fire. Most people would be amazed by this, but the boy had seen much and was used to it by now. The people around him were shouting and singing...singing about God vanquishing their enemies and giving them freedom. Now they were free.

Hello again everyone and welcome to the next episode of Bible Backdrop. Today, we continue with the history of Israel series following the Israelites through their last trial before being free of the Egyptians. In the last episode, we talked about Passover and the fallout from the plagues on the Egyptians and the Israelites. Pharaoh has commanded the Israelites to leave and they have plundered Egypt without fighting a battle.

So...now what? 

First, they need to get out of Dodge...and quick. So they immediately leave and go to Sukkoth. Since Sukkoth means shelter, it’s probably just a temporary dwelling place to take stock of what they had available, make some plans, and maybe even take a quick census to see how many people were there. The Bible says that there were 600,000 men plus women and children. Given their time in Egypt, this is a plausible number. Also, the Bible says that “Many other people went up with them.” So it’s probable that there were Egyptians who feared God and decided to follow the Israelites. They also may have celebrated Passover and were then made to leave by the Egyptian government. 

While at Sukkoth, God gives Moses more instructions regarding how Passover is to be celebrated when they reach the Promised Land. Then He goes on to give instructions about the consecration and redemption of the first born. All first born male animals of the livestock are to be sacrificed to the Lord. First born humans also belong to the Lord, but are to be redeemed with a lamb. For the unclean beast of burden, such as the donkey, it is to be redeemed with a lamb. This gives an idea of how important these animals were that another animal was to be given in redemption for it. It also shows that God is already making a difference between clean and unclean animals. If the donkey is not to be redeemed, it is to have it’s neck broken. Essentially, it will be killed but not sacrificed to the Lord.

Why the first born males? One commentary, Enduring Word, mentioned that there were 3 reasons. First, Israel is God’s firstborn and this honored that fact. Second, the firstborn was thought to be the best and the best was given to God. Third, it acted as a reminder to future generations of when God redeemed Israel from Egypt. This act would stand as a constant memorial of God’s grace and redemption toward His people.

Along with rules for Passover and the consecration of the firstborn, God also gives instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. If you want to learn more about this feast along with Passover, you can check out episode 36 where we go into more detail.

Why is God doing all this here? It seems like a strange time to be establishing rules for festivals and consecrating the first born. As I mentioned in a previous episode, God is making sure that Israel memorializes these events and connects them to their redemption from Egypt. They are so important that God gives them the instructions here while events are still fresh on their mind. Of course, all of these point to Jesus who will eventually fulfill all of these.

How long they remained at Succoth is unknown, but it was probably for a few days. Long enough to get a count, the instructions for Passover and Unleavened Bread, and some direction. God determines not to lead them through the fastest route to the Promised Land. Known as the Via Maris or Way of the Sea, this well known trade route was heavily guarded by Egyptian garrisons and it went through Philistine territory. At this time, the Philistines were probably Egyptian vassals, so Israel would have to fight their way to get to the Promised Land. No...God has another idea.

God went before Israel as a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. This had to be an amazing site to see each day, knowing that the Lord was leading His people in a physical way. He led them to a place called Etham, but that location is unknown. Then God does something unexpected. He tells Moses: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.” Archaeologists have not been able to ascertain where these locations are. Seasonal changes to the area may make the landscape unrecognizable after a number of years, so it’s likely these are lost to history. We can, however, glean something from the passage. God tell Moses to have the Israelites “turn” and camp before Pi Hahiroth. They may have retraced their steps, or gone south and then back north-east. This was a very strange order, but God does everything for a reason: “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’” God is moving Israel into an inescapable position and He will use it for His glory. “Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” 

It’s interesting here that God says that the Egyptians will know that He is the Lord. Is He talking about the Egyptian people still under Pharaoh or the Egyptians that are traveling with the Israelites? Most likely both. The miracle we’re about to see is going to impact a lot of people.

As the story continues, Pharaoh and his servants see that Israel appears to be trapped and decide that they want their slaves back. It’s hard to fathom how hard Pharaoh’s heart must be that even after 10 devastating plagues including the death of his first born son, he still thinks he can get the people back by force. I can see looking at it from a strictly military point of view why he may think this way. They were trapped with their backs to the sea. It may have been an area where they were in a valley, so that an army would be able to look down on them. It was probably a perfect spot to attack an army. The Bible then says that he took his chariot and 600 choice chariots to attack Israel. Chariots were the ultimate in military technology of the time and usually had 2 people: a driver and a warrior who may have had several different types of weapons including bows and arrows. This may have been an advance rapid mobility force sent ahead to gain intelligence on the situation and harass the Israelites.

The Bible says: “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes and behold, the Egyptians marched after them.” If the Israelites were able to see them, then they may have been on a higher elevation and easily visible. Of course, the Israelites are afraid and cried out to Moses that, really, they didn’t want to leave Egypt and why did he bring them out here to die in the wilderness? As quickly as Pharaoh forgot the plagues, so the Israelites forgot about their cries for deliverance and the miracles they saw that got them to this place. 

Moses, however, has not forgotten and tells the people to be still and not to be afraid. He cries out to God for salvation and God replies: “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it.” Moses obeys and several things happen. First, the pillar of cloud moved from in front of the people to behind them and stood between them and the Egyptians. To the Egyptians it looked like an impenetrable wall of smoke and darkness. To the Israelites, it was a light to see everything. Now comes the biggest miracle. God sends a strong east wind which divides the waters. The Israelites had to be stunned. God had put them in a place where they had no choice...no other recourse than to rely on Him. This also had to be a lesson to the Egyptians present with the Israelites that the Lord was the only true God. As the story continues, they went across on dry land with a wall of water on the right and left of them. 

As I said earlier, there’s no archaeological evidence of where the crossing took place. The Hebrew phrase for Red Sea is yam suph which translates to Reed Sea. It was certainly not the widest part of the Red Sea, but likely a finger of water extending off of it. One possible spot is the lake region north of the Gulf of Suez and that the Sea of Reeds is the modern Lake Sarbonis. However, there is some disagreement with this location. Since this is a salt water area, reeds don’t grow here. Also, one location mentioned in the Bible, Baal Zephon, was identified as being 20 miles east of Rameses in the area of today’s Lake Menzaleh. So it’s probable that this was the location.

How deep was it? If there was a wall of water on the left and right, it was probably at least 10 feet. This becomes important later in the story. Another question is how long did it take them to cross? Most scholars believe it took less than a day. So if the east wind blew all night and provided the land for them, they probably took most of the day to cross.

Once they were across, the Egyptians pursued them. The pillar of smoke that was the blocking the army must have moved away so the Egyptians had a clear view. Seeing the water split in two must have astonished them and maybe gave them second thoughts about chasing the Israelites. But they had their orders. As they came through the now dry pathway, the Bible says: “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.” The Egyptians, having been through 10 terrible plagues, know what’s going on: “And the Egyptians said, ‘Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’” They’ve seen this show before and know how it ends.

As you can guess, it ends badly: “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 does so and the wind stops, causing the water to come crashing back down. Remember, the walls of water were about 10 feet high. When it came crashing down like that, it must have caused immense riptides and other cataclysmic forces. The Egyptians had no chance, especially if they were wearing armor. The Bible says every one of them died and their bodies could be seen floating near the water. This was the last piece of evidence that the Israelites were free from their Egyptian taskmasters.

So the question I had was: Was Pharaoh one of the ones killed in the battle? Most likely...no. If this was an advanced screening force, Pharaoh would not have been with them. His advisors, seeing what was going on, almost certainly would have told him to hold back from racing after the Israelites. Again, how would this play out back in Egypt? While masters of propaganda, this would have been almost impossible to hide. The true stories would get out very quickly and the people would be deathly afraid. Would some become devoted follows of Yahweh? God said He would gain glory to the Egyptians through this act. Was this the one last push for the Egyptian people to believe in the one true God? Many probably did, but not enough to take hold as they continued with their worship of the pantheon of deities.

As for Israel, they’ve now thrown off the shackles of slavery and are going to live in freedom. They’re going to need to gel as a nation and realize that God means business when it comes to obedience and worship. So where does that leave us? As I said before, I really want to get to a point where we look at this from a much higher view but I felt it was important to give the foundation of the origins of the nation of Israel. Since most of the rest of the book of Exodus deals with the giving of the law, the building of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant and other things, it makes sense to move ahead and pick out a few stories that are important to the overall narrative. After that, we’ll move into the conquest of the Promised Land with Joshua. 

On that note, we’ll wrap up this episode here. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please subscribe and leave a 5 star rating and review. If you want to get in touch with the show, you can e-mail me at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Word of mouth is still the best way for this show to get around, so tell a friend and have them subscribe. You can find Bible Backdrop on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere podcasts are found. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!