Exodus: Journey to Freedom (14:15-31)

by Pastor | May 1, 2023

YouTube video sermon

Exodus 14:15-31

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Exodus 14. The last time that we were together we left the Hebrews in the wilderness like sitting ducks. They were bait, in a trap for Pharaoh, and we got to get them out of there. Whenever I use the word “bait” I can’t help but think about fishing. After all, I’m a fisherman. And when you cast your line out into the water and you feel the fish take the bait you have to set the hook. Well, that’s where we are. And it’s time to see God set the hook and spring the trap and deliver Israel from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. So, follow along with me. I’ll begin at verse 15 and read to the end of the chapter.

15 The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.

“Gracious God, we turn now to Your Word, and to Your voice we want to listen. Guard my thoughts and my words and our minds and hearts. May the Holy Spirit open Your Word to us, and open our lives to Your truth. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.”

God Guides Us In His Direction

The Israelites are literally caught between the devil and the deep Red Sea, and yet where does God tell them to go (v. 15)? Go forward. “God, that doesn’t make sense. There’s water in front of us. We don’t see it. We don’t understand what you mean – ‘go forward.’” Now, this is one of those places where we have to put ourselves in the Israelites shoes. See, we’re so familiar with this story, we know how it all ends, and so the temptation is for us to criticize the Israelites. “Guys, the LORD is going to split the Red Sea and you’re going to walk across on dry ground.” But let’s be honest; the Israelites had no way of knowing what was going to happen. And so many times in our own lives we look at our own situation and we feel like the Israelites.

“God, I lost my job and bills are piling up and I don’t know how we’re going to make ends meet. What do I do? Where do I go?” (Go forward.) “But God, that’s ridiculous. What do You mean, ‘Go forward?’” (Go forward – take the next step.)

“Lord, You know that our marriage is a mess. She won’t talk to me. He’s never home. The intimacy and closeness that we once shared is absent. What do I do? Where do I go?” (Go forward.) “But God, it’s been gone for so long. Emotions are so cold and actions are so empty.” (Go forward – follow Me and take the next step.)

“Father, the doctors say there’s nothing else that can be done. The cancer isn’t responding. The pain isn’t going away. What do I do? Where do I go?” (God forward.) “Lord, did You hear what I just said? The doctors are all out of options.” (Go forward in faith.)

Do you see how the stories of our lives so frequently seem to match what Israel is facing? An army intent on killing and enslaving Israel is bearing down from one direction and what lies ahead is the depths and danger of the Red Sea. What bears down on us from one direction seeks to enslave us in fear, enslave us in sin, kill our joy, kill our spirit, kill our soul, and what lies ahead is just as impossible.

And yet, the direction that was seemingly impossible was exactly what God had in mind. God blocked every other escape. He blocked every other exit. Why? Look at verse 18, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” It was all for God’s glory.

There’s a reason that we use the term “miracle.” It’s because there’s no other explanation except for God. If the Israelites had evaded capture by any other route, then the Egyptians wouldn’t have come to the realization that our God is the Lord Almighty. And the Egyptians do eventually realize this just before they’re killed – see verse 25, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

Often, God will call us to keep moving forward in faith because He wants to gain glory for Himself. And I just want to ask you to think about how many times you and I might have stolen God’s glory because we insisted on going our way, rather than going God’s way – moving forward.

God Guides Us With His Protection

But also notice that God shows us His protection. Look back at verses 19-20, “Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.”

Just a side note, here. Do you see that phrase “angel of God.” Many scholars, including your pastor, believe this is a reference to the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. Whether or not that’s true is still up for debate, but what’s not up for debate – based on the phrase itself and the number of times and where it’s used in the Old Testament – is that this is no ordinary angel from heaven.

Even those scholars that don’t see this as a manifestation of the pre-incarnate Jesus, definitely agree that it’s a visual manifestation of the Almighty God and not merely an angel. Because the angel of God and the pillar of cloud are equated with one another. They were one and the same thing. In these verses God shows Himself to be a protector of His people through the pillar, not merely a guide to them. It’s one thing to go on safari with a guide; it’s another thing when that guide stands between you and a charging lion. That’s what God does for us. He shows us the way, but He also protects us from the evil one.

The pillar of cloud came between Egypt and Israel in such a way as to be darkness for the one and light for the other. That word “darkness” in verse 20 is the Hebrew word choshek. It means “dark” or “obscure.” The vision of the Egyptians was obscured. They couldn’t see what was in front of them or behind them or beside them. We have some pretty thick fog on the mountain from time-to-time, and sometimes it’s so thick that you literally can’t see out the window. Some of you have been in wintery conditions and blizzards and you know first-hand what it means to be in a white out. I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but sometimes when you’re flying and you’re in the clouds you can’t see the horizon and you might as well be staring at a blank sheet of copy paper – everything within your field of vision is the same color. That’s what happened to the Egyptians.

And yet, the other side of that cloud is the first nightlight in history. God gives the Israelites light in the night. They’re able to see. They’re able to pack up their camp and prepare to cross the Red Sea. But it wasn’t just God providing light for them, He also “drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”

Listen, like you, I’ve seen all of these shows on the History Channel and National Geographic and such that question the events of the Red Sea crossing. “Was it the Reed Sea or the Red Sea? Was there a wind or can it be explained in other ways?” All that kind of stuff. Do me a favor. Flip over to Exodus 15:8. Exodus 15 is a retelling of Exodus 14, only it’s done in poetic form – specifically a song. We’ll look at that in more detail next week. But I want you to see what Exodus 15:8 says, “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up.”

You say, “Pastor, are you saying that’s what happened? God blasted through His nostrils and that was the east wind.” I’m not saying that’s what happened. I’m simply suggesting that’s what the song of Moses says happened, and I believe the point that Moses is trying to make in his musical version of the Red Sea crossing is that this miraculous event was no harder for God than it is for us to snort. Separating the waters of the Red Sea was not a difficult thing for God. Yes, from our perspective it was a great miracle. It’s unbelievable. But, for God, it was nothing more than blowing His nose. Do you remember what the angel Gabriel told Mary when she wondered whether or not she would actually become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:37, “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Before we move to the last point, let me show you one more thing. Look back at Exodus 14:22, “And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” Do you still have Exodus 15:8? Look at the next part, “the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.” There’s not a woman in this room that doesn’t understand that. Ladies, you mix up all this stuff and what do you do with it? You put it where? (Fridge.) But this is an east wind in the Middle East – nothing cold about that – and yet in the midst of this hot air God caused the waters to be congealed. The Hebrew word literally means “to be thick.”

God protected His people by causing the pillar of cloud to obscure the Egyptians view and yet, at the same time, provide light to the Israelites. He protected His people by causing the waters to pile up and congeal and be like a wall on their left and right so that they might walk through on dry ground. Not only does God guide us in His direction, but God guides us with His protection. Now, let me show you the last thing.

God Guides Us To His Completion

God guides us to His completion. Listen to this from Hebrews 1:3, speaking of Jesus, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.” That word “uphold” is the Greek word pheró. Not Pharaoh, like the Old Testament, that’s the Egyptian king. This is pheró. Not only does it mean to “hold up,” but it means “to carry or bring to it’s ultimate conclusion.” Let me tell you something, God will hold your life up and He will get you where He wants you to be. He will take us, come what may, in this crazy, whacky, weird world… He will take us, one day, to the very foot of the throne of Almighty God. That’s where we’re headed. That’s where He’ll take us. He brings all of this to completion.

We know that the Egyptians followed the Israelites into the Red Sea and when they did it became difficult for them because their chariot wheels got bogged down in the mud. It was dry land just a moment ago, but now it’s getting muddy and when the Egyptians were in the middle of the Red Sea, the Lord (through Moses) released the waters and the Egyptians drowned. Now, look at Exodus 14:30, “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”

Why do you suppose God had the Israelites view these dead Egyptians washing up on the seashore? The Hebrews needed to see that their enemy was no more. They needed to see that the people who held them all their lives, and their parents all their lives, and their grandparents all their lives – the people that were pursuing them to take them back into slavery or kill them – they needed to see that their enemy was defeated. And we need that too! With the sin in my own life, I long to see God defeat it and show me the dead demons. I need Him to show me that this sin has been dealt with and it has no power over me any longer.

The Apostle Paul would put it this way, in Romans 8, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. [W]ho shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? [N]o, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:1, 33-35, 37-39).

We conquer!!! We need to hear that. We need to know that. That our enemy is defeated. That Christ has dealt with him. And that we are no longer in bondage or enslaved, and we no longer have to do the things that the flesh tell us to do. Listen to me folks, it’s not the quantity of your faith and it’s not even the quality of your faith. It is the object of your faith. It’s WHO our faith is in that will see us through to completion. And when these Israelites see that their enemy has been defeated, they break out in praise and worship.

As we close, I want you to see one final thing that confirms this point that God guides us to His completion. Look at Exodus 15. Most of your Bibles have a heading above that chapter. What does it say? (The Song of Moses.) This is the first song that’s recorded in the Bible. Do me a favor and turn to Revelation 15:1-4 and I’m going to show you the last song recorded in the Bible.

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire – and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb.”

  • The song of Moses was sung at the Red Sea. The song of the Lamb is sung at the Crystal Sea.
  • The song of Moses sang of triumph over Egypt. The song of the Lamb sings of triumph over Babylon and the Beast.
  • The song of Moses told how God delivered His people out. The song of the Lamb sings of how God brings His people in.
  • The song of Moses is the first song. The song of the Lamb is the last song.
  • The song of Moses is the song of the redeemed. The song of the Lamb is the song of the raptured and the rescued.

“Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.”

God guides us in His direction. God guides us with His protection. And God guides us to His completion.