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Patriarchs and Prophets
and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining
of a flaming fire by night: for above all the glory shall be a covering.
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the
heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from
rain.”
Isaiah 4:5, 6
, margin.
Across a dreary, desertlike expanse they journeyed. Already they
began to wonder whither their course would lead; they were becoming
weary with the toilsome way, and in some hearts began to arise a
fear of pursuit by the Egyptians. But the cloud went forward, and
they followed. And now the Lord directed Moses to turn aside into a
rocky defile, and encamp beside the sea. It was revealed to him that
Pharaoh would pursue them, but that God would be honored in their
deliverance.
In Egypt the report was spread that the children of Israel, instead of
tarrying to worship in the desert, were pressing on toward the Red Sea.
Pharaoh’s counselors declared to the king that their bondmen had fled,
never to return. The people deplored their folly in attributing the death
of the first-born to the power of God. Their great men, recovering from
their fears, accounted for the plagues as 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 chosen chariots, and all
the chariots of Egypt,” horsemen, captains, and foot soldiers. The king
himself, attended by the great men of his realm, headed the attacking
army. To secure the favor of the gods, and thus ensure the success of
their undertaking, the priests also accompanied them. The king was
resolved to intimidate the Israelites by a grand display of his power.
The Egyptians feared lest their forced submission to the God of Israel
should subject them to the derision of other nations; but if they should
now go forth with a great show of power and bring back the fugitives,
they would redeem their glory, as well as recover the services of their
bondmen.
The Hebrews were encamped beside the sea, whose waters pre-
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sented a seemingly impassable barrier before them, while on the south
a rugged mountain obstructed their further progress. Suddenly they
beheld in the distance the flashing armor and moving chariots beto-
kening the advance guard of a great army. As the force drew nearer,
the hosts of Egypt were seen in full pursuit. Terror filled the hearts of