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Israelites Leave Egypt
177
mountain blocked their further progress. Suddenly in the distance
they saw flashing armor and moving chariots. Terror filled the hearts
of Israel. Most of them rushed to Moses with their complaints:
“Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to
die in the wilderness? ... It would have been better for us to serve
the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
True, there was no possibility of deliverance unless God Himself
intervened for their release; but since they had been brought to this
position by obeying the divine direction, Moses felt no fear of the
consequences. His calm, assuring reply to the people was, “Do not
be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He
will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see
today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for
you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Lacking discipline and self-control, the hosts of Israel became
violent and unreasonable. Their wailings and laments were loud and
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deep. They had followed the wonderful pillar of cloud as the signal
of God to go forward, but now had it not led them on the wrong side
of the mountain, into an impassable way? To their deluded minds
the angel of God appeared as an omen of disaster.
As the Egyptian army approached them, the cloudy column rose
majestically into the heavens, passed over the Israelites, and came
down between them and the armies of Egypt. The Egyptians could
no longer see the camp of the Hebrews and were forced to stop.
But as night deepened, the wall of cloud became a great light to the
Hebrews.
Then hope returned to the hearts of Israel. “And the Lord said to
Moses ... ‘Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your
rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the
children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the
sea.’”
As Moses stretched out his rod, the waters divided, and Israel
went into the middle of the sea on dry ground, while the waters
stood like a wall on each side. The light from God’s pillar of fire
lighted the road cut like a groove through the waters.