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Exodus 14:22
Verse
Context
Parting the Red Sea
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
Sermons
David Wilkerson
J. Vernon McGee
A.W. Tozer
C.H. Spurgeon
William MacDonald
Don Courville
G.W. NorthSummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
And the waters were a wall unto them on their right and on their left - This verse demonstrates that the passage was miraculous. Some have supposed that the Israelites had passed through, favored by an extraordinary ebb, which happened at that time to be produced by a strong wind, which happened just then to blow! Had this been the case, there could not have been waters standing on the right hand and on the left; much less could those waters, contrary to every law of fluids, have stood as a wall on either side while the Israelites passed through, and then happen to become obedient to the laws of gravitation when the Egyptians entered in! An infidel may deny the revelation in toto, and from such we expect nothing better; but to hear those who profess to believe this to be a Divine revelation endeavoring to prove that the passage of the Red Sea had nothing miraculous in it, is really intolerable. Such a mode of interpretation requires a miracle to make itself credible. Poor infidelity! how miserable and despicable are thy shifts!
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, &c.--It is highly probable that Moses, along with Aaron, first planted his footsteps on the untrodden sand, encouraging the people to follow him without fear of the treacherous walls; and when we take into account the multitudes that followed him, the immense number who through infancy and old age were incapable of hastening their movements, together with all the appurtenances of the camp, the strong and steadfast character of the leaders' faith was strikingly manifested (Jos 2:10; Jos 4:23; Psa 66:6; Psa 74:13; Psa 106:9; Psa 136:13; Isa 63:11-13; Co1 10:1; Heb 11:29).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground,.... Some Jewish writers say (c), that the tribe of Judah went in first, and then the other tribes followed; but it is most likely, what Josephus says (d), that Moses first entered in, and then the Israelites, encouraged by his example, went in after him; and a very adventurous action it was, and nothing but strong faith in the almighty power and promise of God could have engaged them in it, to which the apostle ascribes it, Heb 11:29. It is the opinion of Aben Ezra, and some other Jewish writers, that the Israelites did not pass through the Red sea to the opposite shore, only went some way into it, and took a compass in a semicircle, and came out on the same shore again, and which has been espoused by some Christian writers; and chiefly because they were in the wilderness of Etham before, and from whence they went into it, and when they came out of it, it was still the wilderness of Etham they came into, and went three days' journey into it seeking water; see Exo 13:20. Though it is possible the wilderness on the opposite shore might bear the same name, because of its likeness to it; and if it was the same wilderness that went round the Arabic gulf, or Red sea, and reached on to the other side of it, and so the wilderness of Etham lay on both sides, the difficulty is removed; for it seems most agreeable to the expressions of Scripture, that the Israelites passed through it from shore to shore. Others, in order to lessen the miracle, would have it that Moses, well knowing the country, and observing the tide, took the advantage of low water, and led the Israelites through it; and this story is told by the Egyptian priests of Memphis, as Artapanus (e) relates; but were the Egyptians less knowing of their country, and of the tide of the Red sea? and could Moses be sure of the exact time when they would come up to him, and the tide would serve him? Besides, the Egyptian priests at Heliopolis own the miracle, and relate it much as Moses has done; which must proceed from a conviction of the truth of it. And the above historian reports that the king (of Egypt) with a great army, and consecrated animals, pursued the Jews because of the substance they had borrowed of the Egyptians, which they took with them; but Moses being bid by a divine voice (or the voice of God, of Jehovah) to smite the sea with a rod, and hearkening to it, he touched the water with the rod, and so it divided, and his forces passed through a dry path, and the Egyptians attempting the same and pursuing, fire or lightning flashed out against them; and the sea shutting up the path again, partly by fire, and partly by the flow of the water, they all perished: and that this affair was miraculous, and could not be owing to any advantage taken from the tide, the following things have been observed; it is owned that the Red sea ebbs and flows like other seas that have a communication with the ocean, that is, the waters rise towards the shore during six hours, and having continued about a quarter of an hour at high water, ebb down again during another six hours; and it is observed by those who have examined it, that the greatest distance it falls from the place of high water is about three hundred yards; and that during the time of low water, one may safely travel it, as some have actually done; so that those three hundred paces, which the sea leaves uncovered during the time of low water, can continue so but for the space of half an hour at most; for during the first six hours, the sea retires only by degrees, and in less than half an hour it begins again to flow towards the shore. The most therefore that can be allowed, both of time and space of passable ground, in a moderate computation, is about two hundred paces, during six hours, or one hundred and fifty paces, during eight hours. Now it is further observed, that it is plain that a multitude consisting of upwards of two millions and a half of men, women, children, and slaves, encumbered besides with great quantities of cattle, household stuff, and the spoils of the Egyptians, could never perform such a march within so short a time; we may say within even double that space, though we should allow them also double the breadth of ground to do it on. This argument, it is added, will hold good against those who suppose they only coasted along some part of the sea, and those who maintain that they crossed the small arm or point of it which is toward the further end, near the isthmus of Suez; seeing that six or eight hours could not have sufficed for the passage of so immense a multitude, allow them what breadth of room you will; much less for Pharaoh to have entered it with his whole host (f): and for the confirmation of the Mosaic account of this affair, and as miraculous, may be observed the testimony of Diodorus Siculus, who reports (g) that it is a tradition among the Ichthyophagi, who inhabit near the Red sea, or Arabic gulf, which they have received from the report of their ancestors, and is still preserved with them, that upon a great recess of the sea, every place of the gulf became dry, the sea falling to the opposite parts, the bottom appeared green, and returning back with a mighty force, was restored to its place again; which can have reference to nothing else but to this transaction in the time of Moses. And Strabo (h) relates a very wonderful thing, and such as rarely happens, that on the shore between Tyre and Ptolemais, when they of Ptolemais had a battle with the Emperor Sarpedon at that place, and there being put to flight, a flow of the sea like an inundation covered those that fled, and some were carried into the sea and perished, and others were left dead in hollow places; after a reflux followed, and discovered and showed the bodies of those that lay among the dead fishes. Now learned men have observed (i), that what is here said of the sea of Tyre is to be understood of the Red sea, and that Sarpedon is not a proper name, but the same with , "Sarphadon", the prince of deliverance, or of the delivered, as Moses was: and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left; some of the Jewish Rabbins from Exo 15:8 have supposed that the waters were frozen as they were drove back by the east wind, and so stood up firm while the Israelites passed through, and then another wind thawed them, which brought them upon the Egyptians; but no doubt this was done by the wonderful interposition of divine power, and perhaps the ministry of angels was made use of, to detain and continue them in this position, until the end was answered. Adrichomius says (k), the breadth of the sea was six miles at the passage of the Israelites; but a late traveller (l) tells us, that the channel between Sdur (or Shur, on the opposite side) and Gibbel Gewoubee, and Attackah (which he supposes was the place of their passage), was nine or ten miles over. Thevenot says (m), that during the space of five days he kept along the coast of the Red sea, in going to Mount Sinai, he could not observe it to be anywhere above eight or nine miles over. A later traveller (n) tells us, that from the fountains of Moses may be plainly seen a wonderful aperture (Pihahiroth; see Exo 14:2) in the mountains on the other side of the Red sea, through and from which the children of Israel entered into it, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned; which aperture is situated west-southwest from these fountains of Moses, and the breadth of the sea hereabouts, where the children of Israel passed it, is about four or five hours' journey. The Arabic geographer (o) calls the place Jethren, where Pharaoh and his host were drowned; and represents it as a dangerous place to sail in, and where many ships are lost, and that this rough place is about the space of six miles. A countryman (p) of ours, who had been in these parts, guesses that the breadth of the place (called by the Mahometans, Kilt el Pharown, the well or pit of Pharaoh) where the Israelites are said to pass through is about six or seven leagues; the difference between these writers may be accounted for by the different places where they suppose this passage was. (c) Pirke Elizer, c. 42. (d) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 2. (e) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 436. (f) Universal History, vol. 3. p. 392, 393. marg. (g) Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 174. (h) Geograph. l. 16. p. 521, 522. (i) Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 1. p. 167. (k) Theatrum Terrae, p. 123, 124. (l) Dr. Shaw's Travels, p. 314. Edit. 2. (m) Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 33. p. 175. (n) A Journal from Grand Cairo, &c. in 1722. p. 13. Edit. 2. (o) Climat. 3. par. 3. (p) Pitts's Account of the Mahometans, p. 77.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
14:22 As with the plagues, naturalistic explanations for this event are beside the point. A strong, steady wind blowing across a relatively shallow, contained body of water can change its depth dramatically, but that does not produce dry ground, with walls of water on each side. The Lord can intervene in nature and do with it as he wishes.
Exodus 14:22
Parting the Red Sea
21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,22and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Let Him That Thinks He Stands Take Heed Lest He Fall
By David Wilkerson4.8K49:10EXO 14:22EXO 16:15EXO 17:61CO 10:61CO 10:11In this sermon, the preacher begins by expressing his pain and asking God for relief. He then encourages the congregation to look to Jesus as the author and finisher of their faith. He urges them to believe in the impossible and not be discouraged by the challenges they face. The preacher also addresses the issue of societal changes, such as the removal of God's name from coins and the pledge of allegiance, and emphasizes the need for believers to stand up and defend God's name. He warns against giving in to temptation and highlights the importance of self-discipline. The preacher concludes by reminding the congregation of the examples and privileges they have as believers and urges them to beware of falling into unbelief.
(Exodus) Exodus 13:20-22
By J. Vernon McGee4.7K03:12ExpositionalEXO 13:20EXO 14:22MAT 6:33ROM 9:4EPH 1:3In this sermon, the speaker discusses the journey of the Israelites through the wilderness after leaving Egypt. The speaker emphasizes how God provided for them by leading them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The speaker also highlights the difference between the Israelites' experience and the experience of the church today. While the Israelites had the visible presence of God, the church walks by faith and does not require a visible presence. The speaker concludes by referencing Romans 9:4, which mentions the glory that the Israelites had as a unique aspect of their relationship with God.
The Sin of Murmuring
By A.W. Tozer3.5K50:01MurmuringEXO 14:22In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of learning from the lessons of the Old Testament. He highlights the example of the Israelites in the wilderness, who all experienced the same blessings and provisions from God. However, despite this, some of them still fell into sin and faced God's discipline. The preacher reminds the audience that as Christians, we should not feel entitled or think that the world owes us anything. Instead, we should recognize our debt to the world and strive to fulfill our responsibilities and obligations.
His Name -- Wonderful!
By C.H. Spurgeon3.0K42:18EXO 14:22PSA 55:22PSA 89:7PSA 126:3ISA 9:6MAT 11:281TH 4:16In this sermon, the preacher describes a time when the world as we know it will come to an end. He speaks of the earth's bowels moving and the dead rising from their graves. The preacher also mentions the sea giving up those it has swallowed, creating an army of men standing before God. He emphasizes the surpassing wonder of Christ and how all the wonders we have seen in the world pale in comparison. The preacher then shares a personal experience of being condemned by the law and the intense suffering he endured. However, he finds hope in the message of God's mercy and salvation. The sermon concludes with a reference to a bright spot in the future where peace, prosperity, and blessedness will prevail.
Studies in 1 Corinthians-08 1 Cor 10
By William MacDonald1.4K53:30EXO 14:22EXO 16:15EXO 17:6MAT 6:331CO 10:1In this sermon, the preacher discusses the story of the golden calf from the Bible, where the Israelites engaged in idolatrous feasting and dancing. He emphasizes that this seemingly tame act was actually a pagan orgy and a result of sin in the human heart. The preacher also highlights the connection between idolatry and sexual immorality. He then relates this story to the importance of self-control in the life of a believer and the responsibility that comes with privileges. The sermon concludes by emphasizing that every word of God has instruction for us, even if it isn't directly written to us.
On Eagles' Wings Pt 505
By Don Courville30832:38Radio ShowEXO 14:22JOS 3:9JOS 3:14JOS 4:9MAT 3:7MAT 6:33In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of remembering God's wonderful works through memorials. He uses the example of the rainbow as a memorial of God's covenant with Noah. The preacher also highlights the tendency of humans to forget, which is why God gave us signs and memorials to help us remember Him. Memorials are not only for our own remembrance but also to teach and prepare the next generation. The sermon then focuses on the story of Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan River, highlighting the significance of the 12 stones that were set up as a memorial of God's faithfulness.
The Communion 2 - Are You in It?
By G.W. North1421:04:39CommunionEXO 14:221CO 1:91CO 10:131CO 10:16In this sermon, the speaker describes his experience of preaching for ten minutes at the end of a three-day event. Despite the lack of traditional elements like hymns and prayer, the speaker captivated the audience, particularly the teenagers, who were moved by his straightforward and honest approach. He emphasizes the power and influence of worldly pursuits like oil and atomic energy, and contrasts it with the opportunity for communion with God through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. The speaker encourages the audience to fully embrace this communion and highlights the significance of the blood and body of Christ in the communion ceremony.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
And the waters were a wall unto them on their right and on their left - This verse demonstrates that the passage was miraculous. Some have supposed that the Israelites had passed through, favored by an extraordinary ebb, which happened at that time to be produced by a strong wind, which happened just then to blow! Had this been the case, there could not have been waters standing on the right hand and on the left; much less could those waters, contrary to every law of fluids, have stood as a wall on either side while the Israelites passed through, and then happen to become obedient to the laws of gravitation when the Egyptians entered in! An infidel may deny the revelation in toto, and from such we expect nothing better; but to hear those who profess to believe this to be a Divine revelation endeavoring to prove that the passage of the Red Sea had nothing miraculous in it, is really intolerable. Such a mode of interpretation requires a miracle to make itself credible. Poor infidelity! how miserable and despicable are thy shifts!
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, &c.--It is highly probable that Moses, along with Aaron, first planted his footsteps on the untrodden sand, encouraging the people to follow him without fear of the treacherous walls; and when we take into account the multitudes that followed him, the immense number who through infancy and old age were incapable of hastening their movements, together with all the appurtenances of the camp, the strong and steadfast character of the leaders' faith was strikingly manifested (Jos 2:10; Jos 4:23; Psa 66:6; Psa 74:13; Psa 106:9; Psa 136:13; Isa 63:11-13; Co1 10:1; Heb 11:29).
John Gill Bible Commentary
And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground,.... Some Jewish writers say (c), that the tribe of Judah went in first, and then the other tribes followed; but it is most likely, what Josephus says (d), that Moses first entered in, and then the Israelites, encouraged by his example, went in after him; and a very adventurous action it was, and nothing but strong faith in the almighty power and promise of God could have engaged them in it, to which the apostle ascribes it, Heb 11:29. It is the opinion of Aben Ezra, and some other Jewish writers, that the Israelites did not pass through the Red sea to the opposite shore, only went some way into it, and took a compass in a semicircle, and came out on the same shore again, and which has been espoused by some Christian writers; and chiefly because they were in the wilderness of Etham before, and from whence they went into it, and when they came out of it, it was still the wilderness of Etham they came into, and went three days' journey into it seeking water; see Exo 13:20. Though it is possible the wilderness on the opposite shore might bear the same name, because of its likeness to it; and if it was the same wilderness that went round the Arabic gulf, or Red sea, and reached on to the other side of it, and so the wilderness of Etham lay on both sides, the difficulty is removed; for it seems most agreeable to the expressions of Scripture, that the Israelites passed through it from shore to shore. Others, in order to lessen the miracle, would have it that Moses, well knowing the country, and observing the tide, took the advantage of low water, and led the Israelites through it; and this story is told by the Egyptian priests of Memphis, as Artapanus (e) relates; but were the Egyptians less knowing of their country, and of the tide of the Red sea? and could Moses be sure of the exact time when they would come up to him, and the tide would serve him? Besides, the Egyptian priests at Heliopolis own the miracle, and relate it much as Moses has done; which must proceed from a conviction of the truth of it. And the above historian reports that the king (of Egypt) with a great army, and consecrated animals, pursued the Jews because of the substance they had borrowed of the Egyptians, which they took with them; but Moses being bid by a divine voice (or the voice of God, of Jehovah) to smite the sea with a rod, and hearkening to it, he touched the water with the rod, and so it divided, and his forces passed through a dry path, and the Egyptians attempting the same and pursuing, fire or lightning flashed out against them; and the sea shutting up the path again, partly by fire, and partly by the flow of the water, they all perished: and that this affair was miraculous, and could not be owing to any advantage taken from the tide, the following things have been observed; it is owned that the Red sea ebbs and flows like other seas that have a communication with the ocean, that is, the waters rise towards the shore during six hours, and having continued about a quarter of an hour at high water, ebb down again during another six hours; and it is observed by those who have examined it, that the greatest distance it falls from the place of high water is about three hundred yards; and that during the time of low water, one may safely travel it, as some have actually done; so that those three hundred paces, which the sea leaves uncovered during the time of low water, can continue so but for the space of half an hour at most; for during the first six hours, the sea retires only by degrees, and in less than half an hour it begins again to flow towards the shore. The most therefore that can be allowed, both of time and space of passable ground, in a moderate computation, is about two hundred paces, during six hours, or one hundred and fifty paces, during eight hours. Now it is further observed, that it is plain that a multitude consisting of upwards of two millions and a half of men, women, children, and slaves, encumbered besides with great quantities of cattle, household stuff, and the spoils of the Egyptians, could never perform such a march within so short a time; we may say within even double that space, though we should allow them also double the breadth of ground to do it on. This argument, it is added, will hold good against those who suppose they only coasted along some part of the sea, and those who maintain that they crossed the small arm or point of it which is toward the further end, near the isthmus of Suez; seeing that six or eight hours could not have sufficed for the passage of so immense a multitude, allow them what breadth of room you will; much less for Pharaoh to have entered it with his whole host (f): and for the confirmation of the Mosaic account of this affair, and as miraculous, may be observed the testimony of Diodorus Siculus, who reports (g) that it is a tradition among the Ichthyophagi, who inhabit near the Red sea, or Arabic gulf, which they have received from the report of their ancestors, and is still preserved with them, that upon a great recess of the sea, every place of the gulf became dry, the sea falling to the opposite parts, the bottom appeared green, and returning back with a mighty force, was restored to its place again; which can have reference to nothing else but to this transaction in the time of Moses. And Strabo (h) relates a very wonderful thing, and such as rarely happens, that on the shore between Tyre and Ptolemais, when they of Ptolemais had a battle with the Emperor Sarpedon at that place, and there being put to flight, a flow of the sea like an inundation covered those that fled, and some were carried into the sea and perished, and others were left dead in hollow places; after a reflux followed, and discovered and showed the bodies of those that lay among the dead fishes. Now learned men have observed (i), that what is here said of the sea of Tyre is to be understood of the Red sea, and that Sarpedon is not a proper name, but the same with , "Sarphadon", the prince of deliverance, or of the delivered, as Moses was: and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left; some of the Jewish Rabbins from Exo 15:8 have supposed that the waters were frozen as they were drove back by the east wind, and so stood up firm while the Israelites passed through, and then another wind thawed them, which brought them upon the Egyptians; but no doubt this was done by the wonderful interposition of divine power, and perhaps the ministry of angels was made use of, to detain and continue them in this position, until the end was answered. Adrichomius says (k), the breadth of the sea was six miles at the passage of the Israelites; but a late traveller (l) tells us, that the channel between Sdur (or Shur, on the opposite side) and Gibbel Gewoubee, and Attackah (which he supposes was the place of their passage), was nine or ten miles over. Thevenot says (m), that during the space of five days he kept along the coast of the Red sea, in going to Mount Sinai, he could not observe it to be anywhere above eight or nine miles over. A later traveller (n) tells us, that from the fountains of Moses may be plainly seen a wonderful aperture (Pihahiroth; see Exo 14:2) in the mountains on the other side of the Red sea, through and from which the children of Israel entered into it, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned; which aperture is situated west-southwest from these fountains of Moses, and the breadth of the sea hereabouts, where the children of Israel passed it, is about four or five hours' journey. The Arabic geographer (o) calls the place Jethren, where Pharaoh and his host were drowned; and represents it as a dangerous place to sail in, and where many ships are lost, and that this rough place is about the space of six miles. A countryman (p) of ours, who had been in these parts, guesses that the breadth of the place (called by the Mahometans, Kilt el Pharown, the well or pit of Pharaoh) where the Israelites are said to pass through is about six or seven leagues; the difference between these writers may be accounted for by the different places where they suppose this passage was. (c) Pirke Elizer, c. 42. (d) Antiqu. l. 2. c. 16. sect. 2. (e) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 436. (f) Universal History, vol. 3. p. 392, 393. marg. (g) Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 174. (h) Geograph. l. 16. p. 521, 522. (i) Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. vol. 1. p. 167. (k) Theatrum Terrae, p. 123, 124. (l) Dr. Shaw's Travels, p. 314. Edit. 2. (m) Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 33. p. 175. (n) A Journal from Grand Cairo, &c. in 1722. p. 13. Edit. 2. (o) Climat. 3. par. 3. (p) Pitts's Account of the Mahometans, p. 77.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
14:22 As with the plagues, naturalistic explanations for this event are beside the point. A strong, steady wind blowing across a relatively shallow, contained body of water can change its depth dramatically, but that does not produce dry ground, with walls of water on each side. The Lord can intervene in nature and do with it as he wishes.