After the night of the Passover, the Israelites were released (ejected!) from Pharaoh's land and were now free of that oppression. Egypt (which is mentioned more than any of the other nations in the Scriptures) was now to be left behind them. While God's purposes for Egypt had not yet finished (his own Incarnate Son was sheltered there, for example, and there are magnificent promises made concerning Egypt in places such as Is. 19:19ff.) the Pharaoh of the oppression and all the gods of Egypt he represented (cf. Ex. 12:12) were now past, and Yahweh was shown to be the true redeeming Shepherd of his flock. In being released from Egypt, Israel was shut up to God. We will come to see how much grumbling and complaining they did, but this did not alter God's affection for them and he continued in covenant faithfulness with them. He was their God, and they were his people...grumbling and complaining or not!

In Exodus 3:17ff we read of the circuitous route by which the Lord led his flock out of the land. Here (as in other places such as Ex. 14:1) we are given geographical identifiers that are now lost to us. The place names may correspond to a number of locations, so we cannot now be absolutely certain of the route of the exodus. Finally, however, Israel is led to a place in which they are hemmed in, with the water on one side and the army of Pharaoh on the other.

Some translations use the title ‘Sea of Reeds' (e.g. in Ex. 13:18) as this is a literal translation of the Hebrew sûph (for example, the Ex. 2:3). However, wider Old Testament use of the title yam sûph (e.g. Ex. 23:31; Numb. 14:25; 21:4; Deut. 1:40; Judg. 11:16; 1 Kings 9:26; Jer. 49:21) seems to indicate what we still know today as the Red Sea or its northern extensions the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. Whatever the precise location the repeated references to this event in the Old Testament indicate that the deliverance that took place there was not a natural phenomenon. This was not mere marshy moor, which the Israelites had the skill to negotiate and the Egyptians with their chariots and horses did not. The constant biblical testimony is to a mighty and cataclysmic overthrow of the Egyptian army in an event that could not be explained except by the direct action of the Lord (e.g. Ps. 78:13; 106:9-10; Is. 50:2; 51:10; 63:123; etc.).

Interestingly enough, it has also been pointed out that the word sûph may be the root behind some other Hebrew terms. It is perhaps the root from which ‘the verb soph, meaning "destroy" and "come to an end" originated (cf. Amos 3:15; Jer 8:13; Isa 66:17; Psa 73:19). Another possible development of this root is the word suphah, meaning "storm-wind"...The meanings "end" and "storm-wind" would have constituted nice puns on the event that took place at the yam suph" (Hoffmeier, Ancient Israel in Sinai, p. 214).

What is certain is that Israel is utterly under the hand of God in the whole event. The circuitous root was deliberate. Not only was it to protect the new nation from immediate military conflict (Ex. 13:17), but it was also with a view to God's action in relation to Pharaoh (Ex. 14:3). Having Israel trapped like sitting ducks was part of God's plan to bring Pharaoh to utter ruin. He hardens his heart (Ex. 14:4, 17) and then goes out in battle against him himself (Ex. 14:14, 25; 15:3 cf. Deut. 1:30; 3:22; 20:4) leaving his army decimated (Ex. 14:30). Pharaoh's pride was still strong, and wounded by the loss of the previous encounter with the Lord and his servants Moses and Aaron, he is easily provoked to revengeful action. Having the Israelites trapped in a helpless position was the means God used to bring Pharaoh out to meet his judgement.

God had placed Israel in this situation so that (a) the Lord could gain an everlasting name for himself (Is. 63:12 cf. Ex. 14:18); (b) Israel could know they had nothing to fear from the other nations that they would meet along the way; (c) they would see their past bondage was indeed ended; and (d) they would be given cause to worship and trust the Lord who saved them.

Our attention is drawn to a number of significant features of this deliverance. Firstly, the event is entirely ‘in' the Lord. Israel is enclosed by him, with the Angel of the Lord and the Pillar of Cloud/Fire surrounding them and making a distinction between them and the Egyptians (Ex. 14:19-20). The Pillar is the visible sign of God's presence (in Ex. 14:24 the Lord ‘looks down' on the Egyptians through it) and this Presence accompanies Israel throughout the exodus. Indeed, this becomes the focal point of Moses' later intercession for the people later, as their rank idolatry threatens covenant destruction (Ex. 33:12ff.).

Secondly, the Israelites' fear (Ex. 14:11, where it is linked to the deeply ironical statement about Egypt being devoid of graves, Egypt being the place of all the ancient nations that was obsessed with burial practices, funereal rites and the after life in the underworld!) is met by the word of God through Moses (Ex. 14:13-14). All the way through Exodus first Moses (and Aaron) and thence the Israelites are called to trust the word which the Lord speaks. This word alone is our true security.

Thirdly, the deliverance took place at night, and Israel had to wait all night until they could leave by way of the sea-path in the morning (Ex. 14:21). Their faith needed patience to wait for the Lord's timing, a lesson which they are shown not to have learned here. Repeatedly their grumbling is that the Lord is too lax in providing for their needs. That Egypt's army was destroyed at dawn (Ex. 14:24, 27) is significant, since the dawn was nothing less than the resurrection of Ra from the underworld. God indeed destroys the gods of Egypt (Ex. 12:12)!

Fourthly, the victory is entirely without human intervention of any sort. The Israelites are utterly passive, to the point of silence (Ex. 14:14). They see God fight on their behalf (Ex. 13:13) as he not only parts the waters, but causes the chariot wheels to fall off (the literal translation of Ex. 14:25) and then closes the waters over the heads of the fleeing army (Ex. 14:27).