In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Welcome back to Purify the Heart. This is Pastor Zachary Courie. In Exodus 12 & 13, we heard about the immediate aftermath of the killing of the firstborn, both man and beast, of the Egyptians, while the Israelites were passed over and commanded by God to annually commemorate that great event. Today, the relationship between Pharaoh and Moses and the Israelites reaches its climax as the Lord miraculously leads His people through the parted waters of the Red Sea.
Exodus 14
14 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, 7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
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. (Exodus 14:1–31, ESV)
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Exodus 14 is one of the most famous events in history, such that the parting of the Red Sea is used in all kinds of pop culture references in our day, and mentioned by authors from various cultures for millennia.
In this event, we see God’s faithfulness to His chosen people, chosen to be the direct recipients of His mercy and miraculous signs and salvation. We also are shown the wrath and judgment of God upon those who persist in self-exaltation and rebellion against Him. Many unbelievers attribute tyranny to God because He punishes those who reject Him; but that shows a failure to realize that there is no neutral relationship with God. Whoever does not love God hates Him, and hates those who love Him. We see this right away in the Bible with Cain hating his brother Abel to the point of murdering Him, and certainly we see it with those crucified the Lord of glory. Select verses within today’s chapter alone show us that God still wanted the Egyptians to know Him rightly and to be recipients of His mercy when He chooses to use Pharaoh and his army as examples of recipients of His wrath.
The Exodus of Israel through the Red Sea also shows the mercy of God toward all of mankind by foreshadowing its fulfillment in Christ. When Jesus was baptized, He sanctified all waters for salvation, wherever His Word and command to baptize are applied to water. After His resurrection, He commissioned His apostles, saying:“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). And in Mark 16:16, He proclaimed: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
St. Paul connects these events, writing to the Corinthians, “I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1–2, 4).
Through Christ, the Passover and the Exodus are no longer merely historical events—they are the very means by which God reveals His plan of salvation and applies that salvation to us through His means of grace in the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
Let us pray. O God, You see that of ourselves we have no strength. By Your mighty power defend us from all adversities that may happen to the body and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Thanks for joining me to Purify the Heart! Tomorrow, we’ll continue with Exodus 15, where Moses and the Israelites will sing a song of victory in the Lord, and yet quickly move into grumbling in the wilderness. Until then, grace be with you. Amen.
