The Bible

 

Exodus 14:5-28 : Crossing the Red Sea

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5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?

6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.

9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.

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.

11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

13 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.

14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

19 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:

20 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.

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.

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.

23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

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,

25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

Commentary

 

Crossing the Red Sea

By New Christian Bible Study Staff

This is a satellite image of the Red Sea. The Sinai peninsula is near the top of the image.

The Children of Israel are fleeing slavery in Egypt. The Red Sea is a barrier across their path to Sinai, and Pharoah and his army are in pursuit. A miracle saves them - the waters are rolled back, and they cross on dry land. What does this story mean, in the internal sense?

This whole story, from Exodus 14:5-28, is explained in the work "Arcana Coelestia", starting from section 8141 and extending to section 8232.

In this brief explanation, let's focus just the part of the story in verses Exodus 14:19-25. Jehovah, represented in the pillar of cloud and fire, leads the Children of Israel to the Red Sea. He separates them from the Egyptians, and then - through the night - causes a strong east wind to divide the waters of the Read Sea, so that the Israelites can cross on dry land. In the morning, the camp of the Egyptians is troubled, and their chariots lose wheels, and drive heavily.

Here's what the story means, (as drawn from sections 8192-5 of Arcana Coelestia):

As we follow the leading of the Lord, we open our minds to be rearranged by Divine Truth. We begin to make progress towards having more true ideas, and loves for doing good things.

While this is happening, we are protected, by the Lord, from the influx of false ideas that stem from evil loves, and our newfound loves for good - for God and our neighbors - are protected, too.

God stands between our false ideas, represented here by Egypt, and the truths that are becoming clearer, springing from good loves, represented here by Israel. If we have the "Egypt" mindset, our evils, and the false ideas that arise from them, keep us in darkness. If we're trying to follow God's leading, the night is lit up for us.

Our warring mindsets are separated; they don't communicate.

When we are in states of obscurity, God continues to operate in our minds, increasing the strength of our true ideas and dispersing our false ones. Truths are separated from falsities.

As we trust in the Lord, we are able to cross the Red Sea spiritually - to get through the hellishness that is blocking our passage, and be protected so that we are not overwhelmed by falsity. Even so, we still get attacked by the Egyptians - Pharoah, his host, chariots and horsement. These stand for facts that come from a twisted understanding of what's real, true, and important, and doctrines that reinforce false ideas, and human reasoning from our merely natural minds - they come after the new truths in our spiritual minds.

God's love and wisdom flows into our minds, and "trouble the camp of the Egyptians". The evil loves and false ideas recoil from this influx. The false ideas lose their power. They are separated from our true ideas and good loves.

This happens when we open our minds to the Lord's leading; it's Divine power, not ours, that really fights and wins the battle.