Page 43 - Pentateuch

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The last events in this section are the crossing of the Red Sea, the destruction of Pharaoh’s army, and the
Israelite’s song of praise to the LORD. They have witnessed a whole series of incredible interventions by
God. At the Red Sea, with chariots pursuing, their faith wavers. “It
would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die
in the desert! (14:12)” Their trust in God is weak. Yet he
encourages these recent slaves, “The LORD will fight for you; you
need only to be still (14:14). Modern pictures of the crossing of
the Red Sea are misleading. The crossing is not a small matter.
Israel’s population, including animals, is significant. If they crossed
in a steady stream of 1,000 people, it could take eight hours for
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the whole nation. They learn the lesson and praise God together
in a mighty chorus. “The LORD is my strength and my defense; he
has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my
father’s God, and I will exalt him (15:2).” Timbrels are brought out,
and all the women of Israel dance in joy to the Lord (15:21).

Deliverance from bondage has begun. The greater task lies ahead. The bondage of physical slavery is great,
but the bondage of spiritual slavery is still greater. Our next section gives us some sense of how great
spiritual slavery really is.

Let’s Practice…

1. Why did God bless the Hebrew midwives?

2. What does God’s name “YHWH” mean?

3. What three signs did God give to Moses to convince Israel that God had sent him?

4. Moses was as _____________________ to Pharaoh and Aaron was his ______________________

5. After which plague did God start to harden Pharaoh’s heart?

6. After the plague of gnats, the Egyptian magicians admitted that

7. Against whom were the plagues primarily directed in judgment?

8. The tenth plague brought judgment on

9. Israel avoided the judgment of the tenth plague by

10. How did Israel celebrate the victory over Pharaoh’s army?

51 We could discuss the location of the Red Sea for several pages. Most commentators identify it as a different body of
water calling it by various names. The actual location matters little. God’s miracle could have been accomplished at
several different locations in the area.
52 These figures come from class notes given by Dr. Barry Beitzel in “Pentateuch and Former Prophets.”
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