Exodus 14
05 May 2026 - Theology
The Red Sea
Faith Like Moses
In verses 10-15, we see an interesting interaction between the Israelites, Moses, and the Lord.
Exodus 14:10 - “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.”
The children of Israel cried out to the Lord because they were afraid. Notice that Moses then responds in verses 13-14:
Exodus 14:13-14 - “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
Moses responded this way before he heard from the Lord, or before he knew that the Lord would even save his people by parting the Red Sea.
Exodus 14:15 - “And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”
This may seem like a strange response from the Lord, but I believe it shows a difference in faith between that of Moses and the Israelites.
What exactly is faith?
faith - Strong’s Concordance [4102]
- a knowledge of, assent to, and confidence in certain divine truths, especially those of the gospel
- true faith produces good works, false faith does not
Faith is not blind trust, but rather the knowledge and confidence in truth. We gain this knowledge and increase in confidence in it by remembering what the Lord has done for us (and others) in our past. It is the past outpouring of His love for us that gives us confidence in an outpouring of His love for us today.
Moses had a level of faith that enabled him to respond differently to this negative circumstance than the rest of the Israelites did. This was because Moses knew the Lord’s promises (knowledge) and had seen the Lord fulfill His word (confidence). This level of faith comes only through an intimate relationship with the Lord, through intentional time spent studying His Word and praying in order to hear from Him. Let us be a people that do not quickly react out of emotion, but who understand the heart of the Father, that He will work all things for good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28).
Another Birth Image
In Exodus 13, we talked about how the Passover door was a birth image. Rabbis also consider the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14 to be an image of a birth canal.
John 3:5 - “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Jesus is using Exodus language to define what it means to be born again.
Exodus 14:21 - “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
“wind” = ruach - breath, the Spirit of God
The water was divided by the Spirit of God so that the Israelites could walk through and be born again.
A New Creation
The sages of the Midrash believe that when the people of Israel walked through the sea on dry land, if you glanced to the right or the left you would see fruit trees. Could this be true?
It appears the sages of the Midrash are trying to show us a parallel:
Exodus 14:21 - “And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
It is dark, water is everywhere, and there is a wind from God blowing over the waters. Where have we seen this before?
Genesis 1:2 - “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit [wind] of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Is the parting of the Red Sea a parallel back to Creation?
In the Creation story, the next thing God does is create light, and He divides the light from the darkness (Genesis 1:3-4). Does anything similar happen here in Exodus 14?
Exodus 14:19-20 - “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.”
The Divine Presence manifested itself before the people as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). However, at this point it removed itself from leading the people of Israel and stood behind them, going between the camp of Israel and the camp of the Egyptians. Verse 20 says it was a pillar of cloud and darkness to the Egyptians, and a pillar of fire that gave light to the Israelites.
Thus, in a very real way, the Divine Presence had divided between light and darkness - just as it had done at creation.
Genesis 1:6-7 - “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.”
By this act of Creation, a vast air pocket is placed between two sources of water, dividing the waters above from the waters below.
Exodus 14:22 - “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
This is the main miracle in the Red Sea story: water that splits in two, with breathable air in the middle which the Israelites walk through.
Back in Genesis, the next thing to happen in the Creation story is this:
Genesis 1:9 - “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
Of course, this is what we see in the Red Sea story: dry land appearing that the Israelites can walk through (Exodus 14:22).
The next Creation event is the creation of plants, including trees:
Genesis 1:11 - “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”
This is why the sages of the Midrash say that there must have been fruit trees on the dry ground that the Israelites walked on.
In Genesis 1:14-19, God creates the sun, moon, and stars to govern the day and night, marking the boundaries of time.
Exodus 14:24 - “And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,”
Why else give us this seemingly unimportant detail of “the morning”, when the Israelites had light the whole time because of the pillar of fire, unless it was an important part of a parallel?
Next in Genesis 1:20-22, God commands the waters to teem with living creatures. And that is exactly what happened in the Red Sea story, the Egyptians pursued the Israelites into the midst of the sea, and then they were drowned in the sea when the waters returned and covered them.
Then, on day 6 of Creation, we come to the creation of humanity. In Genesis 1:26-27, God creates humanity in His image and likeness to have dominion over the earth.
In Exodus 14:30-31, Israel safely emerges onto the opposite shore of the sea. The text states: “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day… and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.” This is the official birth of Israel as a new human collective — God’s “firstborn son” entering a new world.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Day 7 of Creation was the Sabbath, during which God ended his work and rested. We will see a Sabbath of rest and worship for the people of Israel next in Exodus 15a.
References:
- The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
- The BEMA Podcast, Episode 19: A Strengthened Heart
- The BEMA Podcast, Episode 20: With All Your Heart
- The Exodus You Almost Passed over, by Rabbi David Fohrman (2021)