Exodus | Reading Plan + Study QuestionsSample

EXODUS 14

GOD ALLOWS THE ISRAELITES TO CROSS THE RED SEA

God leads His people through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, likely keeping them cool in the day and giving them warmth and light in the night.

God sends the Israelites in an indirect way, confusing Pharaoh and directing them towards the Red Sea. God says that He will get glory over Pharaoh and that the Egyptians will know that He is the Lord.

Pharaoh changes his mind about freeing the Israelites and sends his army after them. The Israelites are terrified when they see the Egyptians coming. Imagine being chased down by an entire army that just lost their free labor! The Israelites see calamity coming and claim that they would be better off as slaves in Egypt than dead in the wilderness.

Even in the face of fear, Moses reassures the Israelites that God will save them! He tells the Israelites, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Moses cries out to God, and God tells Moses to lift up his staff and stretch out his hand to divide the sea. Moses does as God instructed, and God sends a wind that parts the sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land!

After they cross, the Egyptians try to follow after them, but God closes the waters, and they are all crushed by the sea and drown!

STUDY QUESTIONS

God led the Israelites toward the Promised Land with a cloud during the day and a fire at night. How would this have benefited the Israelites in the desert?