Speaker 1: Life Audio The Bible Study Podcast, Episode nine seventy four. Today,
Speaker 1: The Bible Study Podcast continues the study of the Book
Speaker 1: of Exodus with Chapter fourteen. Chapter fourteen is going to
Speaker 1: be where Egypt comes after Israel. But before we get
Speaker 1: to that, we'll have a word from this sponsor. Exodus fourteen.
Speaker 1: Then the Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites to
Speaker 1: turn back and encamp near pi Haithrath, between Migdahl and
Speaker 1: the sea. They are doing camp by the sea, directly
Speaker 1: opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering
Speaker 1: around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert,
Speaker 1: and I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them.
Speaker 1: But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and
Speaker 1: all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I
Speaker 1: am the Lord. So the Israelites did this. When the
Speaker 1: King of Egypt was told that the people had fled,
Speaker 1: Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,
Speaker 1: what have we done. We have let the Israelites go
Speaker 1: and have lost their services. So he had his chariot
Speaker 1: made ready and took his army with him. He took
Speaker 1: six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the
Speaker 1: other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.
Speaker 1: The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
Speaker 1: so that he pursued the Israelites who were marching out boldly.
Speaker 1: The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen and troops,
Speaker 1: pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by
Speaker 1: the sea near pi Hahirath, opposite baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached,
Speaker 1: the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians marching
Speaker 1: after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.
Speaker 1: They said to Moses, was it because there were no
Speaker 1: graves in each other eyp that you brought us to
Speaker 1: the desert to die? What have you done to us
Speaker 1: by bringing us out of Egypt. Didn't we say to
Speaker 1: you in Egypt, leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians.
Speaker 1: It would have been better for us to serve the
Speaker 1: Egyptians than to die in the desert. So this is
Speaker 1: not the last time. The people will say why did
Speaker 1: you bring us here to die? But it is the
Speaker 1: first time, and you can see why they say that.
Speaker 1: They look back and they see Pharaoh in his army,
Speaker 1: and they have never fought anyone. They have been slaves,
Speaker 1: and so this looks like their destruction, and so they panic.
Speaker 1: They lose their faith very quickly and blame Moses. Why
Speaker 1: didn't you just leave us in Egypt? I think of
Speaker 1: the old Keith Green song. So you want to get
Speaker 1: out of Egypt, which talks about the grumbling of the
Speaker 1: people of Israel on this journey to the Promised Land.
Speaker 1: But why didn't you? Were there not enough graves in Egypt?
Speaker 1: That is where their hope is right, Their hope is
Speaker 1: pretty low at this point. But God has already told Moses,
Speaker 1: I'm doing this on purpose. Moses answer, the people, do
Speaker 1: not be afraid. Stand firm, and you will see the
Speaker 1: deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you
Speaker 1: see today you will never see again. The Lord will
Speaker 1: fight for you. You need only to be still. Then,
Speaker 1: the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out
Speaker 1: to be Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your
Speaker 1: staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to
Speaker 1: divide the waters, so that the Israelites can go through
Speaker 1: the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts
Speaker 1: of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them,
Speaker 1: And I will gain glory through Pharaoh in all his army,
Speaker 1: through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know
Speaker 1: that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh,
Speaker 1: his chariots, and his horsemen. Then the Angel of God,
Speaker 1: who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew
Speaker 1: and went behind them. The pillar of Cloud also moved
Speaker 1: from in front and stood behind them, coming between the
Speaker 1: armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night, the cloud
Speaker 1: brought darkness to the one side and light to the
Speaker 1: other side, so neither went near the other all night long.
Speaker 1: Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and
Speaker 1: all that night the Lord drove the sea back with
Speaker 1: a strong east wind and turned it into dry land.
Speaker 1: The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the
Speaker 1: sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on
Speaker 1: their right and on their left. So this happens a
Speaker 1: little differently in the actual book version that happens in
Speaker 1: the cecil By de Mille movie version with Charlton Heston,
Speaker 1: where he stretches out his hand and the sea immediately parts. Instead,
Speaker 1: it's talking about a wind that is blowing these waters
Speaker 1: back all night long, and that God is holding off
Speaker 1: the Egyptians with this pillar of cloud, this pillar of fire,
Speaker 1: until the way is paved and they now have a path.
Speaker 1: And so they walk through this wall of water on
Speaker 1: their right and on their left. And this had to
Speaker 1: be pretty weird. This had to be scary and great
Speaker 1: and all of those things. And what would you know
Speaker 1: what to think if you were the Israelites. You can
Speaker 1: see that God is literally sheltering you from the Egyptians
Speaker 1: with this cloud that you already have come to understand
Speaker 1: is the is the mark of his presence. And so
Speaker 1: Moses says, there's a way out, a way you didn't
Speaker 1: see right, a way that was not obvious to you.
Speaker 1: God has built away through where your faith didn't find one.
Speaker 1: Then the Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and
Speaker 1: chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the
Speaker 1: last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from
Speaker 1: the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army
Speaker 1: and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of
Speaker 1: their chariots, so they had difficulty driving, and the Egyptian said,
Speaker 1: let's get away from the Israelites. The Lord is fighting
Speaker 1: for them against Egypt. So in the version that I'm
Speaker 1: used to in the films, here you see the Lord
Speaker 1: just closes things up. But first what happens here in
Speaker 1: the actual book version is they're thrown into confusion. Their
Speaker 1: chariots stop working, as they're here in the middle between
Speaker 1: this wall of water on their left and a wall
Speaker 1: of water on their right, and they're panicking, and they're
Speaker 1: already fleeing, saying this is a bad idea. We shouldn't
Speaker 1: have done this. The Lord is fighting for these people.
Speaker 1: Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand
Speaker 1: over the sea, so that the waters may flow back
Speaker 1: over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. Moses stretched
Speaker 1: out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak, the
Speaker 1: sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing
Speaker 1: toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea.
Speaker 1: The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen.
Speaker 1: The entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites
Speaker 1: into the sea, not one of them survived, but the
Speaker 1: Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a
Speaker 1: wall of water on their right and on their left.
Speaker 1: That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of
Speaker 1: the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on
Speaker 1: the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand
Speaker 1: of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared
Speaker 1: the Lord and put their trust in him and in
Speaker 1: Moses his servant. You get to that last sentence here
Speaker 1: that they finally put their trust in him and in Moses,
Speaker 1: your servant, and you think, well, it's about time. But
Speaker 1: unfortunately that trust won't last forever. But we've got a
Speaker 1: victory right now, we're going to celebrate the victory. We're
Speaker 1: going to celebrate the victory next week. But with that,
Speaker 1: we're going to end this episode of the Bible Study Podcast.
Speaker 1: If you have any questions, send an email to Chris
Speaker 1: two x at gmail dot com, or, better yet, leave
Speaker 1: a comment on this episode at the Bible Study Podcast
Speaker 1: dot com. And as always, thanks so much for listening.
Speaker 1: I want to take just a second to thank the
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