Crossing the Red Sea

The Red Sea Crossing

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “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. “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’

4 “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.” And they did so.

5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”

6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.

9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 “Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”

13  And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 “The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 “But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 “And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 “Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

19  And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

21  Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24  Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took of their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of 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 waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.”

27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.

29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses. (Exodus 14)

The Amduat

The walls of the Tomb of Thutmose III in the Valley of the Kings Luxor contain the first complete depiction of the Book of the Amulet, also known as the Treatise of the Hidden Room. It chronicles the Pharaoh's journey through the twelve hours of darkness from sunset to sunrise the next morning. The text is a manual providing the key to eternity and identifies the magical spells and incantations required to overcome the dangers of the underworld.

Courtesy Philip Clark of:
https://www.facebook.com/BibleArchaeologyDigest

A good friend, (since 1987), an experienced Egyptologist, noted recently: "You visited the Thutmose III tomb in 1976 and did not realize you were seeing the Egyptian eyewitness color pictures of the Parting of the Red Sea (Amduat Hour 5 or 11 PM) and Drowning of the Egyptian Soldiers (Hour 10 or 4 AM) from the night of the Parting of the Red Sea, copied for centuries until Thutmose III's time. I visited the Thutmose III tomb in 2007 after discovering in 2004 that this was a pagan Egyptian religious record of the Exodus, based on Hornung's 1982 discovery of the Egyptian hieroglyphic I AM THAT I AM he directly relates to Exodus 3:14, the Burning Bush revelation, but he will not go further than that (I followed all the clues in the admittedly related similar documents that he would not follow). Some 6 million people in the US have viewed a full-scale color photographic mockup of the Thutmose III tomb that went on tour 2002-2007 -- and they never knew they were looking a graphic and startling Egyptian evidence for the Exodus." Added 9/25/21,"The Drowned Army is in Hour 10 or 4 AM near the end of the night just as in Exodus 14:27, still-dark morning watch hour. Hour 5 or 11 PM is the Walls of Water in the Parting of the Fiery Red Sea (Egyptian hieroglyphs: Yam Nesret = Sea Yam of Red Fire Nesret). These are different Egyptian hieroglyphic documents and different Hornung books. The I AM THAT I AM is Not in the Amduat but in a loosely related document (what is in the Amduat is the fiery entity shown near the Parted Fiery Red Sea, credited with cutting the walls of water in the Knife-cut sea and is called the Living God, Neter Ankh, a name used nowhere else)."

The Song of Moses

Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:

“I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!
2 The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

3 The LORD is a man of war;
The LORD is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power;
Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

7 And in the greatness of Your excellence
You have overthrown those who rose against You;
You sent forth Your wrath;
It consumed them like stubble.
8 And with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together;
The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue,
I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
My desire shall be satisfied on them.
I will draw my sword,
My hand shall destroy them.’
10 You blew with Your wind,
The sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

“Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 You stretched out Your right hand;
The earth swallowed them.

13 You in Your mercy have led forth
The people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them in Your strength
To Your holy habitation.

14 “The people will hear and be afraid;
Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed;
The mighty men of Moab,
Trembling will take hold of them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
16 Fear and dread will fall on them;
By the greatness of Your arm
They will be as still as a stone,
Till Your people pass over, O LORD,
Till the people pass over
Whom You have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
In the mountain of Your inheritance,
In the place, O LORD, which You have made
For Your own dwelling,
The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
18 “The LORD shall reign forever and ever.”

For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea,
and the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them.
But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.

The Song of Miriam

Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand;
and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21 And Miriam answered them:

“Sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!”

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur.
And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

23 Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,
26 and said, “If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you.”

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. (Exodus 15:20-27)

Psalm 106

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD?
Who can declare all His praise? 3 Blessed are those who keep justice,
And he who does righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people.
Oh, visit me with Your salvation, 5 That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance.

6 We have sinned with our fathers,
We have committed iniquity,
We have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies,
But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.

8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
That He might make His mighty power known.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up;
So He led them through the depths,
As through the wilderness. 10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 11 The waters covered their enemies;
There was not one of them left.

12 Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.

13 They soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel, 14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert. 15 And He gave them their request,
But sent leanness into their soul.

16 When they envied Moses in the camp,
And Aaron the saint of the LORD, 17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,
And covered the faction of Abiram. 18 A fire was kindled in their company;
The flame burned up the wicked.

19 They made a calf in Horeb,
And worshiped the molded image. 20 Thus they changed their glory
Into the image of an ox that eats grass. 21 They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt, 22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham,
Awesome things by the Red Sea.

23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them,
Had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach,
To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land;
They did not believe His word,
25 But complained in their tents,
And did not heed the voice of the LORD. 26 Therefore He raised up His hand in an oath against them,
To overthrow them in the wilderness, 27 To overthrow their descendants among the nations,
And to scatter them in the lands.

28 They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices made to the dead. 29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.

30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
And the plague was stopped. 31 And that was accounted to him for righteousness
To all generations forevermore.|

32 They angered Him also at the waters of strife,
So that it went ill with Moses on account of them; |

33 Because they rebelled against His Spirit,
So that he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
35 But they mingled with the Gentiles
And learned their works; 36 They served their idols,
Which became a snare to them. 37 They even sacrificed their sons
And their daughters to demons, 38 And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was polluted with blood.

39 Thus they were defiled by their own works,
And played the harlot by their own deeds.
40 Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled against His people,
So that He abhorred His own inheritance.

41 And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were brought into subjection under their hand.

43 Many times He delivered them;
But they rebelled in their counsel,
And were brought low for their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,
When He heard their cry;
And for their sake He remembered His covenant,
And relented according to the multitude of His mercies.

46 He also made them to be pitied
By all those who carried them away captive.

47 Save us, O LORD our God,
And gather us from among the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.

48 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the LORD!

Psalm 77

by Asaph, written during the time of King David contains a vivid reflection on the Read Sea Crossing.

Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;
Who is so great a God as our God?
14 You are the God who does wonders;

You have declared Your strength among the peoples.
15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people,
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 The waters saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were afraid;
The depths also trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
The skies sent out a sound;
Your arrows also flashed about.
18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;
The lightnings lit up the world;
The earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way was in the sea,
Your path in the great waters,
And Your footsteps were not known.
20 You led Your people like a flock
By the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:13-20)

A fine study of Psalm 77 is found in the Ray Stedman Library.

Some Types

Exodus is not merely the second book of the Bible, a chapter of the ancient history of the Hebrew people
--beginning about Genesis Chapter 37 and extending through the five books of Moses (The Pentateuch)
--on into Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles...
The books of the Bible are historically accurate. These events depicted really happened and are not myths.
The Old Testament has hidden imagery known as "Types."
Themes in the Old Testament are shadows of events, persons, event that will be clear later on.

In connection with the Exodus:

Egypt is a type of the world
Pharaoh is a type of Satan, the god of this world
Moses is a type of Christ

Crossing the Read Sea
is a type of water baptism, being identified with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection

Crossing the Jordan River
is a type of the believer's death to self in identification with Christ on the Cross

The Promised Land is not heaven but the abundant life now, achieved when the Christian enters into the Spirit-filled life.

"I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.

For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things occurred as examples (types) for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did. " (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)

Related Reading

The Exodus Papers: Index

Exodus Maps

The Ten Plagues of Egypt

Exodus 2020

Locating Mt. Sinai

In the Wilderness

Balaam

Elieazer

Jacob's Crisis

Jesus: Greater Than Moses

Jesus, our Trailblazer

Jehovah Rophe

Behold the Messiah

Books by Major Ian Thomas of Torchbearers

Lambert's Main Library
Email is welcome: Lambert Dolphin
Archive for Newsletters
Library Annex (new articles since 2018)

September 11, 2021, February 6, 2023