11

THE ROUTE OF THE THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUSEXODUS FROM FROM

EGYPT TO THE RED SEA EGYPT TO THE RED SEAPART ONE!PART ONE!

All scriptures are taken fromAll scriptures are taken from A New English Translation by Fred CoulterA New English Translation by Fred Coulter

unless otherwise noted.unless otherwise noted.

Revised April 11th, 2012Revised April 11th, 2012

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What is our focus to be during the Days of Unleavened Bread beginning with the Night to be much observed at the beginning of 15th Day of the month of Nisan (Abib)?

Many have puzzled over this in the past and perhaps many still do.

The answer is very clear!

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Exodus 12:41-42, “And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, it was even on that very same day, all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.It is a night to be much observed to the Lord for bringing them out from the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord to be observedobserved by all the children of Israel in their generations.

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“Observe” means “to see or notice something, especially while watching carefully”.

God wants us to “observe” or reflect on the incredible miracles He performed in dealing with the Egyptians and in bringing Israel out of slavery in Egypt!

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Exodus 13:3, And Moses said to the people, "Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for the LORD brought you out from this place by the strength of His hand. There shall be no leavened bread eaten.

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Our making an effort to remember and learn more of the events of the Exodus each year will ensure that we do not forget the magnitude of God’s power in dealing with His people and will enable us to better understand that the same power is available to aid us when necessary, if we ask!

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Eating Unleavened Bread for seven days helps point us to the events of the Exodus. It is a daily reminder that we can trust our Father to look after our best interest as He delivers us from our slavery to our human nature, if we ask Him to! And to know that, no matter what happens to us in this life, if we are determined to serve Him, He will give us eternal life at the resurrection!

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Deuteronomy 16:1, “Keep the month of Abib, and observe the Passover to the Lord your God. For in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by brought you out of Egypt by nightnight.

Israel did not begin to leave Egypt until Sundown at the beginning of Nisan 15!

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The events of that night and the following days are to be remembered!

Deuteronomy 16:2-4, “And you shall therefore sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord shall choose to place His name there.

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You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction, for you came forth out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day in which you came forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

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And there shall be no leaven seen with you in all your borders for seven days. Nor shall any of the flesh which you sacrifice the first day at sunset remain all night until morning.”

The Lamb’s remains had to be burned during the night!

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The Days of Unleavened Bread, beginning with the Night to be much observed are a separate Feast from the Passover and are an observance of the great works or miracles God performed in bringing the Israelites out of slavery in the land of Egypt.

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Exodus 13:9-10, And it shall be a sign to you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in your mouth, for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt.You shall therefore keep this lawlaw in its season from year to year.

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Exodus 12:35, And the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses. And they asked for articles of silver, and articles of gold, and clothing from the Egyptians.

They received their “wages” for their Labour and were reasonably well off and equipped when they left Egypt!

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Israel spent the daylight portion of the 14th of Nisan collecting their “back wages” (spoils) from the Egyptians, taking their personal belongings and making their way from their respective homes to Rameses which was their “forming-up place” for the march out of Egypt.

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They Israelite may have formed up into their respective clans or tribes for the march.

Exodus 12:36-38, And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, and they granted their request, and they stripped the Egyptians.

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And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, the men being about six hundred thousand on foot, apart from little ones.And also a mixed multitude went up with them, and flocks and herds, very much livestock.

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Moses, an experienced military commander, had given instructions to the people to assemble at Rameses in their family or tribal groups in preparation for the march to the Red Sea.

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The Exodus from Egypt did not begin on the 14th of Nisan but began after sundown or the beginning of the 15th day of Nisan.

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Exodus 13:17-18, And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines (road name(road name) although that was near, for God said, "Lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt".

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But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea (road name) (road name). And the children of Israel went up armedwent up armed out of the land of Egypt.

Notice Israel had weapons with them!Which road was known as “the way of the Red Sea”?

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The next slide, taken from an old Worldwide Church of God publication, illustrates the route of the Exodus beginning at Rameses and along the Way of the Red Sea running along the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez. Notice the name “Wilderness of Etham”

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Why is the Red Sea called the Red Sea? Is it really Red? Is it another name for the Sea of Reeds as it is called in some translations?

The following writing explains the origin of the name Red Sea.

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March 18th. -- We sailed from Bahia. A few days afterwards, when not far distant from the Abrolhos Islets (Western Australian coast), my; attention was called to a reddish-brown appearance in the sea. The whole surface of the water, as it appeared under a weak lens, seemed as if covered by chopped bits of hay, with their ends jagged. These are minute cylindrical confervae (type of algae) , in bundles or rafts of from twenty to sixty in each.

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Mr. Berkeley informs me that they are the same species (Trichodesmium erythraeum) with that found over large spaces in the Red Sea, and whence its name of Red Sea is derived.

Charles Darwin

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Exodus 13:20, And they moved from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.

The next slide shows a location named Etham by the person who created the map. It seems more likely the name Etham pertains to the whole area and they camped “at the edge of the wilderness of Etham”.

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Three stops on the way to the Red SeaExodus 13:20, 14:2

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NOTE: In locating the crossing point of the Red Sea, the crossing point needs to be possible, logical and harmonize with scripture. For example, crossing a shallow freshwater lake like the Bitter Lakes, where winds merely blew the water away, does not explain how the Egyptian army drowned.

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On the other hand, a crossing through the centre of the Gulf of Suez where the water is often 1,800 meters (1.12 miles) deep easily explains the drowning of the army, but creates a problem in actually getting one million men, women, children and livestock to negotiate the steep 60 degree downward slope to the bottom almost a mile deep, then back up the other equally steep side.

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All things considered, the Straits of Tiran in the Gulf of Aqaba illustrated on the next slide, seem the best candidate for the crossing point.The depth of water in the area they could have crossed is relatively shallow at 250 to 300 metres yet deep enough to drown an army. The greatest depth shown in this area is 903 metres, quite a difference with the 1800 metres in depth across the Gulf of Suez!

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There is one other natural land bridge that provides the only other possible crossing site in the Gulf of Aqaba which we will examine later.

The Gulf of Aqaba is a very deep channel of water ranging from 800-1800 meters in the middle. However at the Straits of Tiran, there is also a natural land bridge so the deepest point the Israelites would encounter is only 366 meters.

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The crossing at the Straits of Tiran is 18 km long and a natural land bridge provides for an 800 meters wide pathway the full distance of the crossing. The Straits of Tiran have a shallow coral reef in the middle with a one way shipping lane on either side.

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From modern nautical charts, we can see that the eastern "Enterprise Passage" is 205 meters deep and 800 meters wide and the western "Grafton Passage" is only 70 meters deep and 800 meters wide.

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A diver need go only 13 meters at deepest point on top of Jackson’s Reef from the surface. Coral growth over the last 3,500 years since the miraculous crossing means that we cannot really know exactly what the sea floor looked like back then.

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For example, as the coral grew up and came to the surface, the tides flowing around the coral would dig a natural channel deeper on the north and south ends of the reef where all the water would flow around.

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Gradually, the coral reefs would act like a partial dam over the center 80% of the strait. This is a very realistic scenario and means that 3,500 years ago, the coral was under water and therefore the tides would not dig the deep channel at either end of the reef where it is today.

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But even with the depths we see today, it causes no problems for the exodus crossing. The slope of descent is far more important than the depth. The Straits of Tiran, as we see them today pose absolutely no problem for a crossing by a million people since the slope is shallow and the depth is no more than 600 feet. (205 meters).

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So 3,500 years ago the 18 km crossing point at the Straits of Tiran would likely have been deeper than it is now over the coral reef and shallower than it is now in the two shipping channels.

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In other words, 3,500 years ago it may have been a uniform depth of between 100 and 200 meters for the entire 18 km . A very easy crossing indeed. The incline across the Enterprise Passage on the west side of Gordon Reef is easy even today to cross.

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There is one other natural land bridge that provides the only other possible crossing site in the Gulf of Aqaba that is adjacent to Nuweiba. This is not likely the crossing point, since the depths there reach 765 meters (2,300 Ft.) and with much steeper slopes.

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Nuweiba is also in the middle of a mountain range making it difficult to access for the Israelites. It doesn’t have easy continuous access back to Goshen like the Straits of Tiran offer. It does too good a job of "shutting them up on the wilderness" since there is a very narrow and long canyon through the mountains they needed to cross to even get to the shore at Nuweiba.

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Nuweiba is therefore a distant second choice to the Straits of Tiran for the location of the Red Sea crossing.

The next slide shows how passage is severely restricted or non-existent for a large body of people to travel north along the west side of the Gulf of Aqaba. This slide is a satellite photograph of the Sinai Peninsula, a desert bounded by the Red Sea.  The Gulf of Suez is to the left and the Gulf of Aqaba is to the right.

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Notice the location of a Migdol or fortified watch tower at the junction of three main bodies of water, the Gulf of Suez, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba on the next slide.

Notice the name Succoth on the map.

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Three stops on the way to the Red SeaExodus 13:20, 14:2

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Scriptures which mention Succoth:

Exodus 12:37: “And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, the men being about six hundred thousand on foot, apart from the little ones."

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Exodus 13:20: “And they moved from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.“

Numbers 33:5-6: “And the children of Israel set out from Rameses and pitched in Succoth. And they set out from Succoth and pitched in Etham, on the edge of the wilderness."

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We do not know exactly where Succoth was located, however we can get a clue based upon a translation of the name found in the “Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament”.

We also do not know to what extent they “pitched” or set up camp in Succoth. Was it a camp or a brief rest area as the main body passed through?

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In Hebrew, Succoth means: "block, stop the approach, shut off, cover" (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, #1492).

(Binyamin Tsedaka of the Samaritan Community stated, “It means "covers" or "booths“, depends on the context.)

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We do not know if the exodus place names were permanent names or names given by the Israelites as they traveled. The name “Succoth” could refer to a place that would "block, stop the approach, or shut off" easy access. It could simply refer to a place of “constriction” or a narrow place which would slow the march down.

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Notice how wide a passage the Coastal Plain is along the north side of the Red Sea making their march relatively easy.

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The next slide shows a possible location of Succoth, according to the previous translation of the word, on the southern edge of the mountain range on the coastal plain. An individual named Steve Rudd, thinks it was “Located 120 km south of the Port of Suez, 160 km north of Red sea crossing (Straits of Tiran).

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Notice the green arrow on the left in the map, indicating a passage way through the Succoth or narrow place, which would have slowed Israels’ march down. The open area would be place they could have “pitched” and those through first rest a while as others made their way through.

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The 290 km (180 mile) coastal plain on the east side of the Gulf of Suez is flat and wide except for the 16 km (10 mile) section of medium difficulty, hilly terrain. This is could be why they called it Succoth.

Moses original request was for permission to make a 3 day journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to God.

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Exodus 3:18, And they shall hearken to your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt. And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us. And now let us go, we beseech you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

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Exodus 5:3, And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go we pray you, three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest He fall upon us with plague or with the sword.” Exodus 8:27, We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as He shall command us.”

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Traveling 290 miles in 3 days would require travelling non stop at 4 miles per hour. If they traveled at 7 miles an hour the first day, they may have rested awhile at Succoth. We also have to remember that no aspect of the Exodus, from the plagues to crossing the Red Sea was natural. God gave the cloud by day and the light by night to lead Israel.

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Since the God given cloud and light were leading the people at the pace and in the direction God wanted them to travel, it seems logical that He would have given them the strength to travel at whatever pace was necessary.

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The Scriptures twice refer to a Book called “Jasher” to give greater credibility to the writer’s statement.“Jasher (Yashar) is a Hebrew word meaning "upright". Jasher is not the name of the author. The name refers to the fact that the record, facts, and history are upright, correct, and thus, trustworthy. Following are scriptures referring to the Book of Jasher.

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Joshua 10:13, And the sun stood still and the moon stood still until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher?

2 Samuel 1:18, And he said to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow. Behold, it is written in the Book of Jasher:

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The Book of Jashertranslated by Mosheh Samuel

Chapter 81

3. And the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in the land of Egypt in hard labor, was two hundred and ten years.

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4. And at the end of two hundred and ten years, the Lord brought forth the children of Israel from Egypt with a strong hand.5. And the children of Israel traveled from Egypt and from Goshen and from Rameses, and encamped in Succoth on the fifteenth day of the first month.

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The scriptures tell us that Israel moved out of Egypt at the beginning of the 15th of Nisan. The Book of Jasher says Israel arrived at Succoth before the end of the same 15th of Nisan (Thursday).

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Could the people have traveled from Rameses to the area of Succoth, a possible distance of 162 miles, in one day? Traveling at an average rate of 7 miles an hour would enable the head of the column of Israelites to arrive at this possible location of Succoth in 24 hours.

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The scriptures tell us they went out in haste and with a high hand which meant they were given anything they wanted from the Egyptians who were anxious to see them leave the land. The scriptures say Israel traveled on foot. They could also have taken anything the Egyptians had that would ease their traveling. The Scriptures also tell us Israel had received weapons when they left.

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Egypt also controlled the Sinai Peninsula through which Israel was travelling. This would probably have spurred the Israelites to maintain a fast walking pace! Wherever Succoth was actually located, they undoubtedly arrived there later that same 15th day of Nisan, as the Book of Jasher says!

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The Book of Jasher, chapter 81

6. And the Egyptians buried all their first born whom the Lord had smitten, and all the Egyptians buried their slain for three days.

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The scriptures tell us that the Egyptians where burying their dead when Israel left Egypt and that Israel was to go three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to God (Exodus 8:27) . Jasher tells us that the Egyptians spent three days burying their dead.

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Three days inclusive, would mean the Israelites completed their three days journey into the wilderness and the Egyptians finished burying their dead at the end of the weekly Sabbath or the 17th day of Nisan.

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It is also interesting to notice the parallel to the crucifixion week when Jesus was in the grave from the beginning of the 15th of Nisan to the end of the 17th of Nisan which was the weekly Sabbath.

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The Book of Jasher, chapter 81

7. And the children of Israel traveled from Succoth and encamped in Ethom, at the end of the wilderness.8. And on the third day after the Egyptians had buried their first born, many men rose up from Egypt and went after Israel to make them return to Egypt, for they repented that they had sent the Israelites away from their servitude.

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Josephus on the Exodus:

“but as they went away hastily, on the third day they came to a place called Baalzephon, on the Red Sea;

Exodus 14:1-2. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol (tower) and the sea, over against (paw-neem‘, in front of, before) Baal Zephon. You shall camp before (nay'-kakh, opposite) it by the sea.

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The third day would be the Sabbath, Nisan 17th.

The next slide shows a map indicating possible locations of Baalzephon ("Baal of the North“) and Pihaharoth ("mouth of water“).

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The following slide is a sketch further illustrating the possible locations of Baalzephon ("Baal of the North“) and Pihaharoth ("mouth of water“).

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The following slide is a part of a chart prepared by Fred Coulter. The chart claims that the crossing of the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba) took place on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Is this feasible?

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EXODUS CHAPTER THIRTEEN CONTINUED…

Exodus 13: 21-22 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night. He did not take away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people”.

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Verses 21 & 22 state that God enabled the people to travel around the clock until they reached the Gulf of Aqaba. Josephus mentions that they went hastily or in a hurry! The distance to the Gulf of Aqaba is about 280 Miles (450 km).

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Josephus also says they arrived at a place called Baalzephon, on the Red Sea on the third day. This is entirely feasible, especially if they covered the first part of the journey in one day.

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280 miles at 4 miles per hour would take 70 hours or 2 hours short of 3 days. Walking faster than 4 miles per hour with periodic short rests would accomplish the same.

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EXODUS CHAPTER FOURTEEN

14:1-3, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal Zephon. You shall camp before it by the sea, for

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Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, 'They are trapped in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.‘”

God led Israel into a situation that was impossible to escape from and ensured the Egyptians would think Israel was “cornered”.

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Where was Migdol located? The following is taken from a miscellaneous article on web:

“The word "Migdol" in Hebrew means "watchtower". It refers to one of many Egyptian military lookout posts scattered across Egypt. The existence of the Egyptian Migdols is confirmed by archeology.”

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Three stops on the way to the Red SeaExodus 13:20, 14:2

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The following slide is a view from the summit of Migdol looking along the Sinai coast towards Egypt to the southwest. This is the direction from which the ancient Israelites came in their exodus, and the direction from which the Egyptian army came in pursuit.

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The following slide is a view from the summit of the Migdol looking inland to the northwest along a wadi called the Wadi Khanasir. 

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The following slide is a view from the summit of the Migdol looking along the Sinai coast to the north.  The Israelites continued past the Migdol, probably continued north along the coastline in the direction shown in this photograph, and then later returned and camped between the Migdol and the sea (Exodus 14:1-3, quoted above).

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It is possible that Israel followed the route we have just seen, the more likely avenue the Israelites followed past Migdol before turning back is the route shown on the previous slide. A sentinel standing on the Migdol probably initiated a signal, ultimately relayed to Pharaoh (the government officials), that the Israelites had returned and encamped near his post.

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Pharaoh would have been advised that the Israelites had passed the Migdol and then returned to it, when Egyptian military watchmen standing on the Migdol or military watchtower, observed the Israelites' movement. Ancient nations, like modern nations, maintained communications between military watchtowers and headquarters, in order to keep command and control of territory and armies.

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The soldier(s) on the Migdol would have initiated a signal that was relayed to another lookout post, and then relayed to another. The signal was perhaps relayed line-of-site via smoke signals, signal flags, a series of light signals from a fire, or possibly even a chain of human messengers. Ultimately, the signal would have been relayed to the government headquarters.

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Within a few kilometers of the Migdol, both the coastal route and the inland route near Migdol end in rugged, mountainous terrain, winding wadis and ravines.  When the Israelites went on passed the Migdol, then turned, came back and camped before the Migdol, Pharaoh would have naturally concluded that the Israelites had turned back because the wilderness they had come to a “dead end”!

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When the Egyptian army pursued the Israelites, the Israelites had no escape route until God parted the sea.

The satellite photograph on the following slide shows that the coastal plain north of the Migdol dead-ends into rugged, mountainous terrain.

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We have seen that Israel completed their three day journey into the wilderness on the 17th of Nisan at the same time as the Egyptians finished burying their dead. For another three full days they remained encamped until the beginning of the Last Day of Unleavened Bread or the 21st day of Nisan.

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THE ENDOF

EGYPT TO THE RED SEA

PART ONE!

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THE ROUTE OF THE THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUSEXODUS FROM FROM

EGYPT TO THE RED SEA EGYPT TO THE RED SEAPART TWO!PART TWO!

All scriptures are taken fromAll scriptures are taken from A New English Translation by Fred CoulterA New English Translation by Fred Coulter

unless otherwise noted.unless otherwise noted.

Revised April 9th, 2012Revised April 9th, 2012

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In Part 1 we learned that Scripture says that Israel came to a dead end at Etham and could go no farther, then God told them to turn back

and retrace their steps and camp directly beside the "Migdol“, or military “look-out tower” in order for pharaoh to say of the sons of Israel, 'They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the

wilderness has shut them in.' Pi-hahiroth means a "mouth of water" in Hebrew. Notice that "Pi-hahiroth faces Baal-zephon" in Num

33:7. If you look at the "mouth" it indeed faces Baal-zephon!

Exodus 14:2 :"Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth,

between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.

Numbers 33:7: They journeyed from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-

zephon, and they camped before Migdol.

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The Book of Jasher

81:8-24, “And on the third day after the Egyptians had buried their first born, many men rose up from Egypt and went after Israel to make them return to Egypt, for they repented that they had sent the Israelites away from their servitude. And one man said to his neighbor, Surely Moses and Aaron spoke to Pharaoh, saying, We will go a three days' journey in the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God.

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Now therefore let us rise up early in the morning and cause them to return, and it shall be that if they return with us to Egypt to their masters, then shall we know that there is faith in them, but if they will not return, then will we fight with them, and make them come back with great power and a strong hand.

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And all the nobles of Pharaoh rose up in the morning, and with them about seven hundred thousand men, and they went forth from Egypt on that day, and came to the place where the children of Israel were. And all the Egyptians saw and behold Moses and Aaron and all the children of Israel were sitting before Pi-Hahiroth, eating and drinking and celebrating the feast of the Lord.

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And all the Egyptians said to the children of Israel, Surely you said, We will go a journey for three days in the wilderness and sacrifice to our God and return. Now therefore this day makes five days (19th of Nisan) since you went, why do you not return to your masters?

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And Moses and Aaron answered them, saying, Because the Lord our God has testified in us, saying, You shall no more return to Egypt, but we will betake ourselves to a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord our God had sworn to our ancestors to give to us.

And when the nobles of Egypt saw that the children of Israel did not hearken to them, to return to Egypt, they girded themselves to fight with Israel.

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And the Lord strengthened the hearts of the children of Israel over the Egyptians, that they gave them (the Egyptians) a severe beating, and the battle was sore upon the Egyptians, and all the Egyptians fled from before the children of Israel, for many of them perished by the hand of Israel.

And the nobles of Pharaoh went to Egypt and told Pharaoh, saying, The children of Israel have fled, and will no more return to Egypt, and in this manner did Moses and Aaron speak to us.

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And Pharaoh heard this thing, and his heart and the hearts of all his subjects were turned against Israel, and they repented that they had sent Israel; and all the Egyptians advised Pharaoh to pursue the children of Israel to make them come back to their burdens.

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And they said each man to his brother, What is this which we have done, that we have sent Israel from our servitude? And the Lord strengthened the hearts of all the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites, for the Lord desired to overthrow the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

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Insert: (Notice the statement “the Lord strengthened the hearts of all the Egyptians to pursue the Israelites”. From the Exodus we can learn that God can give groups of people or individuals, the will or determination to do or accomplish whatever He wants done.)

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Jasher 81:22. And Pharaoh rose up and harnessed his chariot, and he ordered all the Egyptians to assemble, not one man was left excepting the little ones and the women. And all the Egyptians went forth with Pharaoh to pursue the children of Israel, and the camp of Egypt was an exceedingly large and heavy camp, about ten hundred thousand (million) men .

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And the whole of this camp went and pursued the children of Israel to bring them back to Egypt, and they reached them encamping by the Red Sea.

End of quote from the Book of Jasher, chapter 81!

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On the 19th of Nisan, the word was relayed to Pharaoh that Israel refused to return. A large number of charioteers were dispatched. Travelling at a rate of 12 miles per hour they would have reached Israel’s location in one day or sooner depending on the base they came from. The main body traveling on foot would have taken considerably longer.

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The scriptures say they camped overnight intending to force Israel to return to Egypt the next day. Reinforcements could have been arriving all night. Israel may have camped in front of the Migdol or watch tower for three days waiting for the arrival of the Egyptian Army after repulsing the small group who came after them first!

This waiting in a seemingly hopeless situation would explain why many Israelites once again, became upset with Moses!

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Exodus 14:4-23. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he will follow them. And I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so.

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And the king of Egypt was told 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?“ And he made his chariot ready and took his people with him.

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And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he pursued the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with a high hand.

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So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army. And they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes. And, behold, the Egyptians marched after them. And they were very afraid. And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

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And they said to Moses, "Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness because there were no graves in Egypt? Why have you dealt this way with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this word in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.“

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And Moses said to the people, "Fear not! Stand still and see the salvation of the LORD which He will work for you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them again! The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall be still.“ And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward.

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And you-lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And behold, I am about to harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. And I will get honor for Myself upon Pharaoh, and over all his army, over his chariots and over his horsemen.

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And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I will be glorified* through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.“

*(Note the emphasis on God being glorified through Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen.)

And the angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved. And he went to the rear of them. And the pillar of the cloud went from in front of them and it stood behind them.

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And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. It was a cloud of darkness to one, but gave light by night to the other, so that the two did not come near one another all night.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

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And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground. And the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the middle of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen*.

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*(It was Pharaoh’s charioteers and mounted troops who gave pursuit into the sea. They could move considerably faster than the Israelites and should have been able to catch them quickly and surround them. But God had something else in mind.)

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Josephus on the Exodus:

“…Now, while these Hebrews made no stay, but went on earnestly, (going through the sea) as led by God's presence with them, the Egyptians supposed at first that they were distracted, and were going rashly upon manifest destruction.

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They put their horse foremost, and went down themselves into the sea. Now the Hebrews, while these were putting on their armor, and therein spending their time, were beforehand with them, and escaped them, and got first over to the land on the other side without any hurt.”

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The mounted troops assumed they would have no problem riding through the sea and catching up with Israel, so they took their time suiting up with armour and weapons, giving Israel time to clear the sea and arrive on dry land.

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EXODUS CHAPTER FOURTEEN CONTINUED…

14:24-31 And in the morning watch it came to pass that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and the army of the Egyptians was thrown into confusion (in their camp!).

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And He loosened their chariot wheels, and made them go heavily, so that the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians (seems God may have given them a warning!). “But when they saw that they were going a great way without any harm, and that no obstacle or difficulty fell in their journey, they made haste to pursue them, hoping that the sea would be calm for them also.

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And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea. And the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians tried to flee from it. And the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.

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And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them (not the entire army). There did not remain so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land through the middle of the sea. And the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

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So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

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The following map shows the area of the Exodus and the middle east as it is known today.

Notice the name “Red Sea”includes the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba.

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THE SONG OF MOSES(A Prophesy of us, in the future!

Revelation 15: 2-4)

Exodus 15:1-19, “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying, "I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.

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The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will glorify Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a Man of war; Jehovah is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

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The depths have covered them; they sank into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power. Your right hand, 0 LORD, has shattered the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellency You have overthrown them that rose up against You. You sent forth Your wrath, consuming them like stubble.

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And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’ But, You blew with Your wind; the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

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Who is like You, 0 LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them. You in Your mercy have led forth the people which You have redeemed. You have guided them in Your strength unto Your holy habitation. The people shall hear; they shall tremble. Pangs of sorrow shall take hold on the people of Philistia.

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Then the princes of Edom were terrified. Trembling seized upon the mighty men of Moab. All the people of Canaan shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon them. By the greatness of Your arm they shall be still as a stone until Your people pass over, 0 LORD, until the people whom You have purchased pass over.

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You shall bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, the place, 0 LORD, You have made for You to dwell in; the Sanctuary, 0 LORD, which Your hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. “For Pharaoh's horses went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord turned back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land through the middle of the sea.”

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END OF THE SONG OF MOSES

Did Israel cross the Red Sea on the 21ST day of Nisan or the Last day of Unleavened Bread? In all probability, YES!YES!

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The scripture telling us to "Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt,” may also be a reference to the Last Day of Unleavened Bread being the day they finally left Egyptian controlled territory behind!

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Why do we observe the Days of Unleavened Bread, starting with a Holy Day which has the Night to be Observed at its beginning, and ending with a Holy Day?

So we will remember the great So we will remember the great works of God and not become works of God and not become complacent or fearful!complacent or fearful!

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THE ENDTHE END