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The Beginning of the End
herds. In leading them by the Red Sea, the Lord showed Himself to
be a God of compassion.
The Pillar of Cloud
“So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham
at the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by
day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way; and by night in a pillar of
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fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night. He did not
take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night
from before the people.” The psalmist says, “He spread a cloud for
a covering, and fire to give light in the night” (
Psalm 105:39
). (See
also
1 Corinthians 10:1, 2
). It served as a protection from the burning
heat, and its coolness and moisture provided welcome refreshment
in the parched, thirsty desert. By night it became a pillar of fire,
illuminating their encampment and constantly assuring them of the
divine presence.
They journeyed across a dreary, desert like region, and were
already becoming weary with the difficult terrain. Some began to
be afraid that the Egyptians would come after them, but the cloud
went forward, and they followed. Now the Lord directed Moses to
turn off their path into a rocky gorge and set up camp beside the sea.
God revealed to him that Pharaoh would pursue them but that God
would be honored in their deliverance.
Pharaoh’s counselors told the king that their slaves had fled, never
to return. Their great men, recovering from their fears, claimed that
the plagues were the result of natural causes. “Why have we done
this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” was the bitter cry.
Pharaoh collected his forces, “six hundred choice chariots, and
all the chariots of Egypt,” horsemen, captains, and foot soldiers. The
king himself, attended by the great men of his realm, led the attack-
ing army. The Egyptians were afraid that their forced submission
to God would make other nations ridicule them. If they could now
go out with a great show of power and bring back the fugitives, they
would redeem their glory as well as recover the services of their
slaves.
The Hebrews were camped beside the sea, which seemed an
impassable barrier in front of them, while on the south a rugged