Why did you bring us out of Egypt? (Exod 14:1-12)

Having avoided the coastal route where Israel might have encountered heavy military opposition, God now seems to manoeuvre His people deliberately into a corner. By doubling back on their tracks towards Egypt, they give Pharaoh the impression that they are lost (Exod 14:3). We may be wondering why God puts His people into this position given His earlier considerations about their anxious state. Perhaps one difference is that as events unfold, Israel will not need to fight, but simply trust God and observe His saving acts. It will afford them no opportunity to get puffed up in pride, rather, the situation will glorify God.

Once again, Scripture makes clear that God wants to be known and honoured (Exod 14:4) and this is no vain pursuit on His part. Rather, because we (the creatures) depend on Him (the Creator), knowing and honouring Him aligns us with His purposes. Jesus’ prayer before His arrest highlights the same connection when He says that He glorified God by accomplishing the work God has given Him to do (John 17:5). Sadly, the Egyptians will not honour God themselves, but His glory will nevertheless be revealed as He deals with their rebellion against Him. Despite ten plagues, the suffering and death of many, Pharaoh’s earlier repentance and brokenness was only skin-deep. Once again, he has a change of heart/mind and is determined to re-capture Israel (Exod 14:5-7). God’s hardening affirms or strengthens this already existing resolve (Exod 14:8), so that nothing holds him back from unleashing his fury on Israel and ultimately destroying himself. This is a sober picture of what persistent rebellion against God leads to.

This encounter will also be a moment of truth for Israel. So far, they were largely passive observers of what the Lord was doing for them through the plagues, though in the Passover they had to show an act of faith. Nevertheless, this is the first time since the plagues started that they have to respond in a moment of deep crisis: they are boxed in by Pharaoh’s troops behind and with waters ahead. It is instructive that not long before they were going out boldly (v.8), a translation that stands for the Hebrew ‘with a high hand’. This expression is used mostly of God and evokes a victorious general raising his arm in a sign of triumph. When speaking of people, the phrase is often synonymous with rebellion either in a political sense (1Kings 11:26) or against God (Num 15:30-31). If the phrase has negative connotations here, then we might say that Israel got cocky, but when faced with the Egyptian threat they quickly became frightened (Exod 14:10).

The people’s complaint reveals a deeply flawed perspective and a victim mentality that takes no responsibility for one’s life (Exod 14:11-12). They suggest that they had no say in leaving Egypt, these things simply happened to them because of Moses. They even imply that they were taken against their will: they preferred slavery in Egypt reasoning that even a half-life was better than the prospect of death. In one of my jobs I met a Christian woman who had recurring suicidal thoughts and had sometimes inflicted self-harm on herself slashing her wrists. Yet she was unwilling to seek help and felt that as long as she could hide her inner turmoil so that others saw her as normal then she was OK. I wondered at the fear she must have felt at the thought of uncovering her deep wounds that she preferred to struggle on this way, enslaved by her past hurts, rather than face them. While our lives may not be so painful, the principle nevertheless stands, whether the issue is trauma or a pattern of sin. Transformation from unhealthy and destructive ways of living can feel like a form of death. Yet there is hope because God will make a way for Israel and for us through death into life.