Exodus 14:19

THE RED SEA. -- Exodus 14:19-31.

GOLDEN TEXT. -- When thou passest through the waters,. will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee. -- Isaiah 43:2. TIME. --B. C. 1491, in the month of Abib or Nisan, corresponding to parts of March and April. PLACE. --The Red Sea, between Egypt and the wilderness of Arabia. Most think the Red Sea was crossed near the town of Suez, others that it was crossed farther north, it extending at that time to the Bitter Lakes; Brugsch-Bey holds that an arm of the Sea near the Mediterranean was crossed, the name in the Hebrew not being Red Sea, but Sea of Reeds. CONNECTING LINKS. --1. The Death of the Firstborn (Exodus 12:29-30); 2. The Departure of the Israelites from Egypt (Exodus 12:31-41); 3. The Pursuit by Pharaoh (Exodus 14:8-18). HELPFUL READINGS. -- Exodus 12:29-41; Exodus 14:1-18; Exodus 15:1-23; 1 Corinthians 10:1-2. LESSON ANALYSIS. --1. The Pillar of Cloud and Fire; 2. Israel and Egypt in the Sea; 3. Egypt Overthrown.

INTRODUCTION.

The Israelites had now completed their three days' journey, and at Etham the decisive step would have to be taken whether they would celebrate their intended feast and return, or march onward by the head of the Dead Sea into the desert, with. view to. final departure. They were already on the borders of the desert, and. short march would have placed them beyond the reach of pursuit, as the chariots of Egypt could have made little progress over dry and yielding sand. But at Etham, instead of pursuing their journey eastward with the sea on their right, they were suddenly commanded to diverge to the south, keeping the gulf on their left--a route which not only detained them lingering on the confines of Egypt, but, in adopting it, they actually turned their backs on the land of which they had set out to obtain the possession.. movement so unexpected, and of which the ultimate design was carefully concealed, could not but excite the astonishment of all, even of Moses himself, although, from his implicit faith in the wisdom and power of his heavenly guide, he obeyed. The object was to entice Pharaoh to pursue in order that the moral effect, which the judgments on Egypt had produced in releasing God's people from bondage, might be still further extended over the nations by the awful events.

THE PLACE OF CROSSING.--Niebuhr, Robinson, Hengstenberg, Tischendorf, Stanley, Winer, and most modern travelers, regard Suez or its immediate vicinity as the scene of the passage. The sea at Suez was wider then than now, and. passage of three or four miles, direct or diagonal, might there have been made from shore to shore, which could have been effected in the specified time, and here would also have been ample room for the overthrow of the Egyptian, army.-- F. H. Newhall.

I. THE PILLAR OF CLOUD AND FIRE.

19. The angel of God.

The term is used to denote any kind of an agency by which the divine will is manifested.

The pillar of the cloud.

This was the mode of manifesting the divine presence as the leader of the host of Israel;. pillar of cloud by day and. pillar of fire by night. In this cloud the angel of Jehovah was present and out of it he spoke. There was but one pillar,. pillar which was. cloud by day but shone in brightness at night. When this cloud went before the army of Israel it assumed the shape of. column,. dark column of smoke or cloud, and. column of fire at night. When it moved the camp moved and the army marched; when it stopped the army stopped and encamped. When it separated the Israelites from the Egyptians we must conceive that it spread out like. bank of cloud, forming. dividing wall. As it "stood behind" it was the divine protection of the Israelites from their enemies.