Exodus 14:6














It was told the King of Egypt that the people fled, etc. Consider: -

I. THE MOTIVES OF THE PURSUIT. The motives were various.

1. Pharaoh had already repented of having let the people go (ver. 5). Their departure was a sore humiliation to him. Wounded pride was aggravated by the sense of material loss. "As serfs and bondagers, the Israelites were invaluable, and to let them go was to annihilate the half of Egypt's industry" (Hamilton). Pharaoh and his servants, accordingly, were ready to adopt any plan which promised them revenge.

2. Pharaoh found an excuse for pursuit, in the allegation that the Israelites had "fled." Fugitives, in the ordinary sense of the expression, the Israelites were not. Pharaoh having to the last refused to let them go to hold the required feast in the wilderness, God had taken the matter into his own hands, and had given them their freedom. The only sense in which they were "fleeing" was, that, fearing treachery, they were making all the haste they could to get beyond Pharaoh's reach. They had left Egypt, unfettered by any stipulation to return. Return, indeed, after what had happened, was out of the question. When Pharaoh and his people thrust the Hebrews out from their midst (Exodus 11:8; Exodus 12:31-34), they neither desired nor expected to see their faces more. But now that the king had changed his mind, and wished them back again, it suited him to represent their withdrawal into the solitary regions by the Red Sea as a "flight" - a breach of good faith. God had forced him to relax his grasp, and while his hand was open, the nation had escaped, like a bird escaped from the snare of the fowler. As reasonably might the fowler complain that, the bird, thus escaped, does not voluntarily return to its old quarters.

3. The determining, motive of the pursuit was the news that Israel was "entangled in the land." This decided Pharaoh. Almost would it seem to him as if, by permitting the escaped people to make this huge blunder in their movements, their Deity designed to give them back to his hand, As Saul said of David - "God hath delivered him into mine hand, for he is shut up, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars" (1 Samuel 23:7).

II. ITS FORMIDABLE CHARACTER. Probably a pursuit of escaped slaves was never organised with greater chances of success.

1. The expedition was popular. "The heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people" (ver. 5). Court sentiment is not always a reliable index to the feelings of the commonalty; but it is probable that the movement to pursue Israel commanded a wide measure of popular support. The griefs and humiliations they had sustained would fill the Egyptians with hatred of the Israelitish name, and would make them willing co-partners in any scheme to inflict injury on the fugitives. They also, by this time, would be beginning to realise how great a loss, financially and industrially, they had sustained, by the withdrawal of so vast a body of labourers.

2. The whole available military force of Egypt ]PGBR> was called into requisition. "All the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army" (ver. 9). Pharaoh, at the head of this glorious cavalcade, amidst this sheen of weapons, must have felt himself a greater man, and would wonder anew how he could have been so befooled as to let his slaves depart. And little, truly, to all human appearance, would Israel, unpractised in the use of arms, be able to accomplish against this disciplined and splendidly-equipped host. Pharaoh doubtless thought he had the people this time securely in his grasp. It was no longer the unarmed Pharaoh of the palace that Moses had to deal with; but Pharaoh, at the head of the thousands of Egypt, with chariots, and horses, and men of war; and who was that God that would be able to deliver him out of his hand? Alas for Pharaoh, and his "pomp and circumstance of war!" It was soon to be seen what short work God can make on the earth of the proudest of his assailants, showing strength with his arm, and scattering the proud in the imagination of their hearts (Luke 1:51; cf. Isaiah 31:3).

3. The situation of the Israelites seemed to make them an easy prey. They were "entangled in the land" (ver. 3). This was the mainstay of Pharaoh's hopes. Israel could do nothing to resist him. Penned up like sheep for the slaughter, they could neither fight nor flee. Success was certain.

III. ITS SPIRITUAL LESSON. It will readily be felt that in this pursuit of Israel by Pharaoh, we have an image - from the typical character of the history, an intended image - of a not uncommon experience of the Christian life.

1. We are liable to be pursued by the evil from which we thought we had escaped. Whoever thinks to find it otherwise will live to be disappointed. Conversion - even though one has been led into Christian liberty with "an high hand" (ver. 8) - is not the end of spiritual conflicts. We do not escape from the power of evil without many an attempt being made on the part of the enemies of the soul to reassert their dominion ever us. We have a Pharaoh in the evil of our own hearts, who, after we have left his service, will not fail to pursue us. Another such Pharaoh we have in the world - old companions, etc. A third is the evil One himself, who lets no soul slip from his grasp, without many an attempt to recover it. This goes on to some extent throughout the whole life. Pharaoh's pursuit may be viewed as gathering up all these separate pursuits into a single picture.

2. This experience is usually most acute and perilous shortly after conversion. Naturally, after the first breaking of the soul with sin, there comes, at a little distance, a time of recoil and reaction. Passions formerly indulged, surge back upon the heart with something of the old fury. We thought we had got rid of them; but they return, pursuing us with a vehemence which reminds us of Pharaoh's chariots and horses, and fills us with dismay. Old habits, we thought we had broken with them for ever; but they are back again, struggling for the mastery. The world tries all its arts to regain its former hold. Temptations come in floods. This is the time which tests the reality of conversion, and practically decides whether God is to have us, or Satan. It is the old experience of Israel, entangled in the land, and pursued by Pharaoh: if we gain the victory, we shall probably see our enemies no more, or only in greatly weakened, in semi-ghostlike forms.

3. The destruction of Pharaoh's host is the pledge of similar victories to the Church and to the individual in like crises of their history. It involves the promise that what God did for Israel here, he will do for us also, if we rely upon his help, every time we are spiritually tempted. Beyond this, it pledges and foreshadows the ultimate and complete defeat of all the enemies of the Church, and of the individual soul - even to that "last enemy that shall be destroyed," which is death (1 Corinthians 15:26). The victory, like the pursuit, is gathered up typically into a single picture, though in actual spiritual history it is spread over lifetimes and ages. It must, however, be sorrowfully admitted that in individual cases, type and reality too often fall asunder. Who has not to mourn partial victories gained over him by the pursuing Pharaohs of the soul - victories ofttimes almost amounting to the dragging of us back to bondage? And what extensive victories have frequently been gained by evil over sections of the Church - victories which seem the very antithesis of this glorious Red Sea deliverance? These, however, are but ebbings in a tide, which on the whole is on the flow, and they do not touch the lesson of this incident. The pledge given in Pharaoh's destruction, God will not fail to fulfil to those who seek his aid; and as to the final victory, that is secure, beyond all power of man to prevent it. - J.O.

The Egyptians marched after them.
Notice some analogies between the flight of Israel from Egypt and the progress of the sinner from the captivity of the devil. In both cases we have a debased condition of man. kind, a powerful enemy, a pursuing foe, a perilous road, a human ministry, and an omnipotent and gracious Redeemer.

I. THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN EGYPT WAS A STATE OF THE UTMOST ABASEMENT. Every sinner is a slave. The wicked man serves a cruel master. He is watched on every hand; all his movements are understood: every desire or aspiration after liberty is turned into an occasion of augmented suffering. Wickedness reduces the volume and quality of manhood. Every bad thought and every wicked deed is so much taken from the completeness and dignity of human nature.

II. THE ENEMY OF ISRAEL WAS POWERFUL. So with the great enemy of man. His resources are all but inexhaustible. He is not confined to one series of temptations. The diabolic genius in luring and seducing men to evil dispositions and courses is fertile beyond all parallel. He assaults us through the flesh; he insinuates ruinous ideas into the mind; he secretly touches the very fountains of life. He can touch our nature with a light hand, or he can smite us with tremendous force.

III. ISRAEL WAS PURSUED — SO IS THE REDEEMED MAN. It is too frequently expected that when a man forsakes his evil ways, he will at once become an exemplary saint. It is forgotten that the devil relinquishes his hold reluctantly. Years upon years after our conversion to God we are conscious of the presence of the old nature; there are sudden uprisings of forces which we supposed to be extinct.

IV. THERE IS AN OMNIPOTENT AND GRACIOUS REDEEMER. In the course of our Christian experience we are often called upon simply to stand still. Herein is shown the tender grace of the living Redeemer. We are weak, we are weary, and there is no more strength left in us; at that point He says, "Waiting shall be accounted as serving, and standing still as the progress of triumphant strength." Israel was not self-redeemed, nor are we; Jesus Christ is the angel of our redemption; trusting to His leadership, neither mountain nor sea shall keep us back from the Canaan of God.

(J. Parker, D. D.)

Homilist.
I. DIFFICULTY IN DUTY DEEPLY FELT.

1. Our temporary well-being here greatly depends upon the conduct of our contemporaries toward us.

2. The majority of our contemporaries are governed by corrupt principle,

3. The man, therefore, who carries out in his daily life the principles of duty, must more or less excite the anger and create the antagonism of his contemporaries.

II. DIFFICULTIES IN DUTY TESTING CHARACTER.

1. Look at the influence of this difficulty upon the Israelites.

(1)Their cowardice.

(2)Their ingratitude.

(3)Their apostacy.

2. Look at the influences of difficulty upon Moses. He now rises into the majesty of the hero.

III. DIFFICULTY IN DUTY DIVINELY OVERCOME. Thus it is ever.

1. The nature of moral progress shows this.

2. The promises of God's Word ensure this.

(Homilist.)

I. THAT THE GOOD, IN SEEKING TO COME OUT OF THE BONDAGE OF SIN, ARE FREQUENTLY PURSUED BY OLD ENEMIES.

1. Satan. He is powerful. He has great resources. He will arouse indwelling corruption. To sense all seems dark. To faith all is bright. We cannot get to the Promised Land without much resistance from the devil.

2. Wicked habits. The habits of youth are not easily conquered, hence they should be carefully formed, or they may impair the Christian career of the future.

3. Wicked companions pursuing with taunts and slanders even to the banks of the Red Sea. These are a terror to many a godly soul. Thus we see that Satan pursues the good with a great army, with many allies, in splendid array, and often strikes fear into their hearts.

II. THAT SOMETIMES THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE APPEAR TO FAVOUR THE PURSUIT OF THE OLD ENEMIES OF THE SOUL. "And overtook them encamping by the sea," etc. The world in which we live is a Pi-hahiroth, and the devil knows it: but the God who has brought us from Egypt can bring us from before Pi-hahiroth, if we trust in Him — He is greater than the pursuing enemies.

III. THAT THE PURSUIT OF THE OLD ENEMIES OF THE SOUL OFTEN AWAKENS THE SORROWFUL APPREHENSION OF THE GOOD. "And when Pharaoh drew near... sore afraid." How often does it happen that when the good are followed by their old enemies, they forget the mercies of the past, the power of God, and look only to the on-coming foe. They think they will have to yield to the prowess of Satan, and go back to the old bondage of the soul. But we see in this narrative the folly of allowing the advance of old enemies to awaken terror in the heart of the good; for they are only advancing that the power of God may be seen in their defeat. Good people of melancholy temperament sometimes think that they made a mistake in coming out of Egypt, and that they will never reach Canaan. Such fears are dishonouring to the grace of God.

IV. THAT THE PURSUIT OF THE OLD ENEMIES OF THE SOUL MUST BE MET UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF HEAVEN. "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." It is a blessed fact that God adapts the method of His redemption to the weak condition of His people.

1. The enemies of the soul are overcome by God. He alone can give salvation from the enmity of Satan, from the weakness of self, and from the perilous circumstances of the wilderness life.

2. The soul must wait patiently the outcome of this aid. The good know not by what method of discipline the Lord will deliver them from their old habits of evil. We see here the advantage of having God as our Helper, in that He can make a way for our feet through the sea.Lessons:

1. That the good, being pursued by the enemies of their old life, are in constant need of Divine grace.

2. That progress in the freedom of the soul is in spite of the enmity of Satan.

3. That all moral progress is the outcome of the help of God to the soul.

(J. S. Exell, M. A.)

The things of the world are so many purveyors for Satan. When Pharaoh had let the people go, he heard after a while that they were entangled in the wilderness, and supposes that he shall, therefore, now overtake them and destroy them. This stirs him up to pursue them. Satan, finding those whom he has been cast out from entangled in the things of the world, by which he is sure to find an easy access unto them, is encouraged to attempt upon them afresh, as the spider to come down upon the strongest fly that is entangled in his web: for he comes by his temptations only to impel them unto that whereunto by their own lusts they are inclined, by adding poison to their lusts, and painting to the objects of them. And oftentimes by this advantage he gets so in upon the souls of men, that they are never well free of him more whilst they live. And as men's diversions increase from the world, so do their entanglements from Satan. When they have more to do in the world than they can well manage, they shall have more to do from Satan than they can well withstand. When men are made spiritually faint, Satan sets on them as Amalek did on the faint and weak of the people that came out of Egypt.

( J. Owen, D. D.)

People
Egyptians, Israelites, Moses, Pharaoh, Zephon
Places
Baal-zephon, Egypt, Etham, Migdol, Pi-hahiroth, Red Sea
Topics
Army, Chariot, Chariots, Harnesseth, Ready, War-carriage, Yoked
Outline
1. God instructs the Israelites in their journey
5. Pharaoh pursues after them
10. The Israelites murmur
13. Moses comforts them
15. God instructs Moses
19. The cloud removes behind the camp
21. The Israelites pass through the Red sea, which drowns the Egyptians

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Exodus 14:5-9

     5208   armies

Exodus 14:6-7

     5252   chariots
     8421   equipping, physical

Library
A Path in the Sea
'And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: 20. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. 21. And 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,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Entangled in the Land
"For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."--Exodus 14:3. ISRAEL WAS CLEAN escaped from Egypt. Not a hoof of their cattle was left behind; nor foot of child or aged man remained in the house of bondage. But though they were gone, they were not forgotten by the tyrant who had enslaved them. They had been a very useful body of workers; for they had built treasure cities and storehouses for Pharaoh. Compelled to work without wages,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

Epistle Lxiii. To Brunichild, Queen of the Franks.
To Brunichild, Queen of the Franks. Gregory to Brunichild, &c. What good gifts have been conferred on you from above, and with what piety heavenly grace has filled you, this, among all the other proofs of your merits, intimates evidently to all that you both govern the savage hearts of barbarians with the skill of prudent counsel, and (what is still more to your praise), adorn your royal power with wisdom. And since, as you are above many nations in both these respects, so also you excel them in
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

They who have not Been Promoted to that Office. ...
They who have not been promoted [to that office] by the bishop, ought not to adjure, either in churches or in private houses. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XXVI. No one shall adjure without the bishop's promotion to that office. Balsamon. Some were in the habit of "adjuring," that is catechising the unbelievers, who had never received the imposition of the bishop's hands for that purpose; and when they were accused of doing so, contended that as they did not do it in church but only at home, they
Philip Schaff—The Seven Ecumenical Councils

The Personality of Power.
A Personally Conducted Journey. Everyone enjoys the pleasure of travel; but nearly all shrink back from its tiresomeness and drudgery. The transportation companies are constantly scheming to overcome this disagreeable side for both pleasure and business travel. One of the popular ways of pleasure travel of late is by means of personally conducted tours. A party is formed, often by the railroad company, and is accompanied by a special agent to attend to all the business matters of the trip. A variation
S.D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on Power

The Faults Committed in this Degree --Distractions, Temptations --The Course to be Pursued Respecting Them.
As soon as we fall into a fault, or have wandered, we must turn again within ourselves; because this fault having turned us from God, we should as soon as possible turn towards Him, and suffer the penitence which He Himself will give. It is of great importance that we should not be anxious about these faults, because the anxiety only springs from a secret pride and a love of our own excellence. We are troubled at feeling what we are. If we become discouraged, we shall grow weaker yet; and reflection
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

Answer to Mr. W's Sixth Objection.
6. and lastly, Let us consider the intrinsick absurdities, and incredibilities of the several stories of these three miracles, p. 36.--As to Jairus's daughter, and her resurrection from the dead, St. Hilary [13] hints, that there was no such person as Jairus;--and he gives this reason, and a good reason it is, why he thought so, because it is elsewhere intimated in the gospel that none of the rulers of the synagogues confessedly believ'd on Jesus, John vii. 48. and xii. 42. St. John's words in the
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

The Hardening in the Sacred Scripture.
"He hath hardened their heart."-- John xii. 40. The Scripture teaches positively that the hardening and "darkening of their foolish heart" is a divine, intentional act. This is plainly evident from God's charge to Moses concerning the king of Egypt: "Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not harken unto you, and I will lay My hand upon Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Blessed are they that Mourn
Blessed are they that mourn. Matthew 5:4 Here are eight steps leading to true blessedness. They may be compared to Jacob's Ladder, the top whereof reached to heaven. We have already gone over one step, and now let us proceed to the second: Blessed are they that mourn'. We must go through the valley of tears to paradise. Mourning were a sad and unpleasant subject to treat on, were it not that it has blessedness going before, and comfort coming after. Mourning is put here for repentance. It implies
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Epistle iv. To Cyriacus, Bishop.
To Cyriacus, Bishop. Gregory to Cyriacus, Bishop of Constantinople. We have received with becoming charity our common sons, George the presbyter and Theodore your deacon; and we rejoice that you have passed from the care of ecclesiastical business to the government of souls, since, according to the voice of the Truth, He that is faithful in a little will be faithful also in much (Luke xvi. 10). And to the servant who administers well it is said, Because thou hast been faithful over a few things,
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation
"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). In the last chapter when treating of the Sovereignty of God the Father in Salvation, we examined seven passages which represent Him as making a choice from among the children of men, and predestinating certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son. The thoughtful reader will naturally ask, And what of those who were not "ordained to eternal life?" The answer which is usually returned to this question, even by those who profess
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

Of the Necessity of Divine Influences to Produce Regeneration in the Soul.
Titus iii. 5, 6. Titus iii. 5, 6. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. IF my business were to explain and illustrate this scripture at large, it would yield an ample field for accurate criticism and useful discourse, and more especially would lead us into a variety of practical remarks, on which it would be pleasant
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Exodus 14:6 NIV
Exodus 14:6 NLT
Exodus 14:6 ESV
Exodus 14:6 NASB
Exodus 14:6 KJV

Exodus 14:6 Bible Apps
Exodus 14:6 Parallel
Exodus 14:6 Biblia Paralela
Exodus 14:6 Chinese Bible
Exodus 14:6 French Bible
Exodus 14:6 German Bible

Exodus 14:6 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Exodus 14:5
Top of Page
Top of Page