From: Exodus 14:5-18
The Egyptians in Pursuit
[5] When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharoah and his servants was changed toward people, and they said, "What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" [6] So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him [7] and took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. [8] And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the people of Israel as they went forth defiantly. [9] The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-ha-hiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
[10] When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were in great fear. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord; "and they said to Moses, "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, in bringing us out of Egypt? [12] Is not this what we said to you in Egypt. 'Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." [13] And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. [14] The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still."
Crossing the Red Sea
[15] The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. [16] Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea. [17] And I will harden the heart of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horse men. [18] And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
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Commentary:
14:10-14. The Egyptians get so close that the Israelites are terrified; this produces their first crisis of faith: the liberty they seek means giving up a quiet life in Egypt. Moses begins to reveal himself not just as a charismatic leader but as a mediator between the people and God. The words of v. 13 underlie the theological virtue of hope: God is the one who acts, man has to stand firm in faith; he has no reason to fear. As the Letter to the Hebrews teaches, Jesus is the model of faithfulness and hope: "Therefore [...] let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb 12:12)
14:17-18. The military language and the depiction of God as a warrior should cause no surprise: it is a daring anthropomorphism which shows that God is almighty and therefore can deliver the elect from any danger that threatens: "You, too, if you distance yourself from the Egyptians and flee far from the power of demons," Origen comments, "will see what great helps will be provided to you each day and what great protection is available to you. All that is asked of you is that you stand firm in the faith and do not let yourself be terrified by either the Egyptian cavalry or the noise of their chariots" ("Homiliae in Exodum", 5, 4).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
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