The Chase and the Baptism
Background and Printed Text: Exodus chapter 14
1And Yehovah spoke unto Draw [Moshe] to say, 2 “Speak unto the children of Israel. And they have sat. And they have camped to the faces of Mouth-Of-The-Holes between Tower and between the Sea to the faces of North-Lord. Ye shall camp directly-in-front of him upon the Sea. 3And Pharaoh shall say to the children of Israel, ‘They are confused in the land! The desert shut upon them!’ 4And I will grip the heart of Pharaoh. And he will chase after them. And I have been demonstrated-important via Pharaoh and via all his army. And Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah!” And they did so.
5And he told to the king of Egypt that the people fled. And the heart of Pharaoh and his slaves flipped-over unto the people. And they said, “What is this we did? For we sent Israel from our slavery!”
6And he harnessed his chariot. And he took his people with him. 7And he took 600 chosen chariot and every chariot of Egypt, and their third over all of him. 8And Yehovah gripped the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he chased after the children of Israel. And the children of Israel are exiting via an elevated hand. 9And Egyptians chased after them.
And every horse, chariot of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army reached them camping upon the Sea, upon Mouth-Of-The-Holes to the faces of North-Lord.
10And Pharaoh approached. And the children of Israel lifted their eyes. And behold, Egypt is journeying after them. And they feared very much! And the children of Israel screamed unto Yehovah. 11And they said unto Draw [Moshe], “Is without—there are no tombs in Egypt—thou hast taken us to die in the desert?? What is this thou hast done to us to make-us-exit from Egypt? 12Isn’t this the speech that we spoke unto thee in Egypt to say, ‘Cease from us, and we have served Egypt’? For better to us to serve Egypt than our death in the desert!”
13And Draw [Moshe] said unto the people, “Fear ye not! Position yourselves! And see-ye the Salvation of Yehovah that He will do for you today. For what ye have seen with Egypt today, ye will not redouble to see them again unto Hider! 14Yehovah will war for you. And ye: ye shall hush!”
15And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “What? Wilt thou scream unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel! And they have journeyed! 16And thou, elevate thy rod and stretch thine hand upon the sea. And split him. And the children of Israel have come into the midst of the Sea via the dry! 17And I: behold, I am gripping the heart of Egypt. And they have come after them! And I have been demonstrated-important via Pharaoh and via all his army, via his chariot and via his horsemen! 18And Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah via my being demonstrated-important via Pharaoh, via his chariot and via his horsemen!”
19And Messenger of the Elohim who walks to the faces of the camp of Israel journeyed. And He walked from after them. And the pillar of the cloud journeyed from their faces. And He stood from after them. 20And He came between the camp of Egypt and between the camp of Israel. And He was the cloud and the darkness, and He lit the night. And this did not come-near unto this all the night.
21And Draw [Moshe] stretched his hand upon the Sea. And Yehovah walked the Sea via a strong wind of the east all the night. And He put the Sea to drought. And the waters split. 22And the children of Israel came into the midst of the Sea via the dry. And the waters are a wall to them from their right and from their left.
23And Egyptians chased them. And every horse of Pharaoh, his chariot and his horsemen came after them unto the midst of the Sea. 24And it was in the guarding of the morning. And Yehovah overlooked unto the camp of Egypt in the Pillar of fire and cloud. And He hummed the camp of Egypt. 25And He removed the wheel of his charioteers. And He guided him via heaviness. And Egypt said, “I will flee from the faces of Israel! For Yehovah is warring for them in Egypt!”
26And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Stretch thine hand upon the Sea. And the waters have returned upon Egypt, upon his chariot and upon his horsemen.” 27And Draw [Moshe] stretched his hand upon the Sea. And the Sea returned to his vigour to the turnings of the morning. And Egyptians are fleeing to meet him! And Yehovah shook-off Egypt in the midst of the Sea. 28And the waters returned. And they covered the chariot and the horsemen to all the army of Pharaoh coming after them in the Sea. None remained in them unto one!
29And the children of Israel walked via the dry in the midst of the Sea. And the waters are a wall to them from their right and from their left. 30And Yehovah saved Israel from the hand of Egypt in that day.
And Israel saw Egypt dead upon the lip of the Sea. 31And Israel saw the Big Hand that Yehovah made in Egypt. And they—the people—feared Yehovah. And they believed in Yehovah and in Draw [Moshe] His slave.
I. Camping and Confusion (verses 1-4)
Yehovah spoke directions unto Moshe to give to the children of Israel. The Israelis have sat and camped in front of Mouth of the Holes which is located between Tower and the Sea; it is also in front of North Lord.
Yehovah told the Israelis to camp upon the Sea. This will give Pharaoh the impression that the Israelis are confused. Pharaoh will say to the children of Israel, “They are confused in the land! The desert shut upon them!” In the meantime, Yehovah will grip the heart of Pharaoh, and he will chase after the Israelis. Yehovah stated, “And I have been demonstrated-important via Pharaoh and via all his army. And Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah!”
The Israelis did what they were told.
Questions
1. What did Yehovah tell Moshe to command the children of Israel?
2. Why would a place be called Mouth of the Holes?
3. Why would a place be named Tower?
4. What Sea is this?
5. Why would a location be named North Lord?
6. The next statement says, “Ye shall camp directly-in-front of him upon the Sea.” Who is him?
7. The text then states, “And Pharaoh shall say to the children of Israel, ‘They are confused in the land!’” Will Pharaoh directly speak to the Israelis?
8. What will Pharaoh mean by, “They are confused in the land”?
9. What does Pharaoh mean by, “The desert shut upon them”?
10. Was Pharaoh right? Were the Israelis confused in the land, and did the desert shut upon them?
11. For what purpose will Yehovah grip the heart of Pharaoh?
12. What will Pharaoh decide to do?
13. What will be the result of Pharaoh’s chasing after the Israelis, according to the next part of the text?
14. The next statement is, “And they did so.” Who are they, and what did they do?
II. Heart Flip (verse 5)
Someone told the king of Egypt that the people of Israel fled. This caused an immediate reaction in Pharaoh and his slaves: their heart (mind) ‘flipped over’ unto the people of Israel. They said, “What is this we did? For we sent Israel from our slavery!”
Questions
1. Who told the king of Egypt that the people fled?
2. What does “the heart of Pharaoh and his slaves flipped-over unto the people” mean?
3. Why did they say, “What is this we did? For we sent Israel from our slavery”?
III. The Chase (verses 6-9)
Pharaoh harnessed his chariot. He took his people with him including 600 chosen chariot(s) and every chariot of Egypt! He took their third (of what?) over all of Egypt!
Yehovah gripped the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Pharaoh chased after the children of Israel! In the meantime, the children of Israel are exiting via an elevated hand! The Egyptians chased after them.
Questions
1. Who harnessed Pharaoh’s chariot??
2. Who are his people that he took with him?
3. Why does the text state that he took 600 chosen chariot instead of 600 chosen chariots?
4. What is the distinction between chosen chariots and every chariot of Egypt?
5. What was so important about bringing all the chariots into this chase?
6. The last part of the statement is, “…and their third over all of him.” Identify their, the third, and him:
7. Why does the text again state, “And Yehovah gripped the heart of Pharaoh”?
8. What does “And the children of Israel are exiting via an elevated hand” mean?
9. The text again states, “And Egyptians chased after them.” Why say this so often?
IV. The Army Approaches (verse 9)
Every horse of Pharaoh, every chariot of Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s horsemen reached the Israelis camping upon the Sea, camping at a location called Mouth of the Holes, which was located directly in front of a place called North-Lord.
Questions
1. How long was this chase from the time that the Egyptians decided to go after the Israelis, and how long had Israel been gone from Egyptian slavery?
2. The Israelis were camping upon the Sea. Did they think that they were safe from Egypt at this point?
3. How did they know which way the Israelis went?
V. Terror (verses 10-12)
Pharaoh approached the Israelis. The children of Israel lifted their eyes. They saw that Egypt is journeying after them! The Israelis greatly feared. They then screamed unto Yehovah. They then said unto Moshe, “Is without—there are no tombs in Egypt—thou hast taken us to die in the desert??”
They then directly blamed Moshe: “What is this thou hast done to us to make-us-exit from Egypt? Isn’t this the speech that we spoke unto thee in Egypt to say, ‘Cease from us, and we have served Egypt’?”
The Israelis then told Moshe, “For better to us to serve Egypt than our death in the wilderness!”
Questions
1. Why did the Israelis fear so much when they lifted their eyes and saw Egypt journeying after them?
2. The text states that the Israelis screamed unto Yehovah! Did they have faith in Yehovah?
3. What did they scream when they screamed unto Yehovah?
4. The Israelis next spoke to Moshe. Look at the wording: “Is without—there are no tombs in Egypt—thou hast taken us to die in the desert??” What does this wording indicate?
5. Of what were the Israelis accusing Moshe when they said, “Is without—there are no tombs in Egypt—thou hast taken us to die in the desert?”
6. The Israelis next question Moshe, “What is this thou hast done to us to make-us-exit from Egypt?” What were they saying?
7. They next stated, “Isn’t this the speech that we spoke unto thee in Egypt to say, ‘Cease from us, and we have served Egypt’?” Did they say this, and didn’t they have the right to choose where they would live and whom they would serve?
8. They angrily stated, “For better to us to serve Egypt than our death in the desert!” Was this true?
9. The Israelis show much more bitterness toward Moshe in verse 12 than toward the Egyptians. Why is this, and how characteristic is this?
VI. Moshe’s Faith-filled Reply (verses 13-14)
Moshe responded to the people, “Fear ye not!” He also told them, “Position yourselves!” They will then see “the Salvation of Yehovah that He will do for you today.” What will be the result? “For what ye have seen with Egypt today, ye will not redouble to see them again unto Hider!”
Moshe told them what would occur: “Yehovah will war for you.” He then strongly spoke to the Israelis: “And ye: ye shall hush!”
Questions
1. Moshe’s response to the violent anger wasn’t accusation. Instead, he commanded them, “Fear ye not!” wouldn’t this have increased their anger at him?
2. Moshe commanded, “Position yourselves!” What was he telling them to do?
3. Moshe then said, “And see-ye the Salvation of Yehovah that He will do for you today.” What salvation was Yehovah about to do?
4. What did Moshe mean by, “For what ye have seen with Egypt today, ye will not redouble to see them again unto Hider”?
5. The text states, “Yehovah will war for you.” Is Yehovah against war?
6. If Yehovah will war for the Israelis, how much must they do to show their faith in Him?
7. Moshe added, “And ye: ye shall hush!” Why did he command that?
8. Yehovah didn’t tell Moshe that He would fight for Israel. Was Moshe being presumptive? How is this different from a Christian claiming what God will do for him today?
VII. The Order to Travel (verses 15-18)
Moshe must have then screamed unto Yehovah with some frustration; for, Yehovah said to Moshe, “What? Wilt thou scream unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel! And they have journeyed!”
Yehovah now had instructions for Moshe: “And thou, elevate thy rod and stretch thine hand upon the sea. And split him. And the children of Israel have come into the midst of the Sea via the dry!”
In the meantime, Yehovah will be active in this way: “And I: behold, I am gripping the heart of Egypt. And they have come after them! And I have been demonstrated-important via Pharaoh and via all his army, via his chariot and via his horsemen! And Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah via my being demonstrated-important via Pharaoh, via his chariot and via his horsemen!”
Questions
1. Why did Yehovah say to Moshe, “What? Wilt thou scream unto me?” What took place that is unrecorded?
2. What was Moshe commanded to speak to the Israelis?
3. What was unreasonable about telling the Israelis to prepare to journey?
4. Yehovah now told Moshe to elevate his rod and stretch his hand upon the sea; He also told him to split the sea. What must have been going through Moshe’s mind at this time?
5. Yehovah continued, “And the children of Israel have come into the midst of the Sea via the dry!” What is the dry?
6. Yehovah said (verse 16), “And thou, elevate thy rod and stretch thine hand upon the sea. And split him. And the children of Israel have come into the midst of the Sea via the dry!” The description of the events sounds like Moshe will lift his rod, stretch out his hand, split the sea, and immediately the Israelis will come into the midst of the sea on the dry. Is this what happened?
7. Why did Yehovah make the Israelis wait all night instead of causing the events to immediately occur with the Sea splitting and the sand immediately becoming dry?
8. Since the bottom of the sea is sand, won’t this be very difficult for the Israelis to cross (since sinking in sand is very tiring)?
9. Yehovah stated, “And I: behold, I am gripping the heart of Egypt. And they have come after them!” Yehovah knew that this would result in all their deaths. Why didn’t Yehovah do something else so that all the Egyptian soldiers would live? What does this tell the reader about Yehovah when it comes to death?
10. How will Yehovah be demonstrated as important via (by means of) Pharaoh, his army, his chariot and his horsemen?
11. Why did Yehovah view as so important that the Egyptians know that He is Yehovah?
VIII. The Angel and the Pillar (verses 19-20)
Messenger of the Elohim (of the Gods) walks directly in front of the camp of Israel. He journeyed, and He walked “from after them”—that is, behind them.
The pillar of the cloud also journeyed from in front of them, and He stood behind them. He came between the Egyptian camp and the Israeli camp. He was the cloud and the darkness; yet He lit the night! This (referring to the camp of the Egyptians) did not come near unto this (referring to the camp of the Israelis) all the night!
Questions
1. Who is Messenger of the Elohim?
2. Why is Messenger of the Elohim described with, “who walks to the faces of the camp”?
3. Where did Messenger of the Elohim go?
4. The text next describes, “And the pillar of the cloud journeyed from their faces.” Exactly what is this pillar, and did it journey separately from Messenger of the Elohim?
5. How did Moshe know all this to write all these details?
6. Why did the pillar stand after (behind) them (the Israelis)?
7. Did the Egyptians see this pillar and its movements?
8. The next statement is, “And He was the cloud and the darkness, and He lit the night.” How could He be both darkness and light the night?
9. The last statement is, “And this did not come-near unto this all the night.” What does that mean?
10. Why didn’t the Egyptians just walk through the cloud wall, and take the Israelis?
11. Will this cloud ever show up on Earth again?
IX. Moshe Splits the Sea (verses 21-22)
Moshe stretched his hand upon the Sea as he was told. Yehovah “walked the Sea,” moving it from in front of the Israelis until it was gone from that location. He used a strong wind from the east all night to do this: to put the Sea “to drought”—that is, to a totally dry seabed. The waters were split by this means.
The children of Israel came into the middle of the Sea by means of walking on this dry section. The waters are a wall to them from their right and from their left.
Questions
1. Verse 21 states, “And Draw [Moshe] stretched his hand upon the Sea.” Did Moshe do this again (since a text above already states the same thing)?
2. What does “And Yehovah walked the Sea” mean?
3. If the wind was strong enough to “walk the Sea,” wouldn’t it have been like a hurricane, and wouldn’t it have blown sand, Israelis, sheep and animals around?
4. What does “And He put the Sea to drought” mean?
5. What does “And the children of Israel came into the midst of the Sea via the dry” mean?
7. How did the waters stack up without flowing down?
8. If the Israelis had walked up to the walls of water, would they have seen fish in the water, and could they have pushed their fists into the water? Would the water have felt like water, or would it have felt like Jell-o?
X. The Bravery of the Egyptians (verses 23-25)
The Egyptians chased them! Every horse, chariot and all the horsemen of Pharaoh came after them unto the middle of the Sea! This occurred during the morning guard. All were up early.
Yehovah “overlooked” (looked over) unto the camp of Egypt in the Pillar of fire and cloud. He “hummed” the camp of Egypt. He then removed the wheel of his charioteers! Yehovah guided Pharaoh via heaviness.
Egypt (the army) now spoke as one person: “I will flee from the faces of Israel! For Yehovah is warring for them in Egypt!”
Questions
1. Why did the Egyptians chase them? Couldn’t they see the walls of water, and wasn’t the cloud still standing between?
2. How big was this area into which the Egyptian army, all the horses and all the chariots came?
3. Did the Egyptians realize that they were running into the Sea?
4. What is the guarding of the morning?
5. Where was Yehovah located during this event when Egypt began chasing the Israelis again?
6. What does overlooked mean in this text?
7. The next statement is this: “And He hummed the camp of Egypt.” What does this mean?
8. Explain what took place when Yehovah removed the wheel of Pharaoh’s charioteers:
9. What does “He guided him via heaviness” mean, and who are he and him?
10. The text states, “And Egypt said…” How can Egypt speak as if it is one person?
11. What caused Egypt to flee from the faces of Israel (instead of from the faces of Yehovah)?
12. Was Yehovah warring for the Israelis?
13. If the Egyptians had shouted out to Yehovah to save them, would Yehovah have saved them?
XI. Egypt Fails a Swim Lesson (verses 26-28)
Yehovah next said unto Moshe, “Stretch thine hand upon the Sea. And the waters have returned upon Egypt, upon his chariot and upon his horsemen.” Moshe did this; he stretched his hand upon the Sea. The Sea now returned to its vigour—its great strength. This occurred “to the turnings of the morning”—just as the sun was rising. The Egyptians are fleeing to meet the morning! Thus, Yehovah shook off Egypt in the middle of the Sea!
The waters returned, and they covered the chariot, the horsemen, and indeed all the army of Pharaoh coming after them in the Sea. None remained in Pharaoh’s groups—not even one person!
Questions
1. What was Yehovah commanding Moshe to do when He told Moshe to “Stretch thine hand upon the Sea; and the waters have returned upon Egypt, upon his chariot and upon his horsemen”?
2. What does “the Sea returned to his vigour” mean?
3. What are the turnings of the morning?
4. Did the Egyptians see the waters coming at them?
5. The next statement is, “And Egyptians are fleeing to meet him!” Who is him that they are fleeing to meet?
6. What picture is being described by the wording, “And Yehovah shook-off Egypt in the midst of the Sea”?
7. The text states, “And the waters returned.” What form was this return?
8. How did the waters cover the chariot, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh?
9. How many Egyptians remained alive after this event?
XII. Israeli Baptism (verses 29-30)
The Children of Israel walked by means of the dry Seabed in the middle of the Sea. The waters are a wall to them from their right and from the left!
Yehovah saved Israel from the ‘hand’ of Egypt in that day.
Questions
1. Did any Israelis get wet in this event?
2. How tall were these walls of water that were to their right and left?
3. Could all the Israelis see these walls of water?
4. What is the hand of Egypt (from which Yehovah saved the Israelis)?
5. Will Yehovah save Israel from the hands of other groups?
XIII. Dead Egyptians, Fear and Belief (verses 30-31)
Israel saw Egypt dead upon the ‘lip’ (shore) of the Sea. Israel also saw the Big Hand that Yehovah made in Egypt! The Israelis—the people of Israel—feared Yehovah. They even believed in Yehovah and in Moshe, Yehovah’s slave!
Questions
1. If the Egyptians drowned in the middle of the Sea, how did their bodies manage to come to the lip of the Sea, and what is a lip of a sea?
2. Why was the Israelis seeing the Egyptian bodies on the shore so important?
3. What Big Hand did Yehovah make in Egypt?
4. Why did the people fear Yehovah?
5. Is fearing Yehovah good?
6. The text states that they believed in Yehovah. Since they also feared Him, were they born of God (that is, did they now have the everlasting Salvation of God, and the resulting everlasting life)?
7. Was their believing in Moshe useful?