The Lord is setting the scene for a great miracle. He knows Pharaoh is about to change his mind and come after the Israelites so He tells the Israelites to set up camp in a particular area near the Red Sea. When the Egyptian army approaches, it will appear to all human eyes as if the Israelites are trapped. They'll be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, as the saying goes, with Pharaoh and his army behind them and a large expanse of deep water in front of them.
The average depth of the Red Sea in modern times is about 1,610 ft. Even if the depth was slightly lower in Moses' day (and we have no reason to assume it was, since the Bible makes no mention of a drought during the exodus) it would still have been far too deep for anyone to cross on foot or even on horseback. It would have taken an enormous number of boats to allow the approximately 2,000,000 in their party to cross over the sea. They don't have any boats and when the army approaches they wouldn't have time to board boats and cast off and make their escape even if they had them. So what are they to do? Where are they to turn when escape looks impossible? Did they flee slavery in Egypt only to be captured or slaughtered on the shores of the Red Sea? If they had no mighty Defender in heaven they'd be doomed. But they do have Almighty God on their side! They do serve a God who is able to make a way where there is no way.
How many times have your own circumstances appeared hopeless? How many times have you said in fear and despair, "There's no way!" and then suddenly a way forward opened up? Suddenly something changed and you had breathing room, you had a direction in which to move, and you saw a disaster averted. I can think of times in my life where I saw no place to take the next step---no place to put my foot on dry and level ground. That's the type of situation the Israelites are going to find themselves in here in Chapter 47, but a way is going to open up and they'll be able to take one step forward and then another and then another until they've made it to the other side of the Red Sea without even getting their feet wet! Praise be to the God who makes a way where there is no way!
The Lord tells Moses where the people are to camp. "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.'" (Exodus 14:1-2) The Lord has the people turn aside to camp in a particular place. They are backtracking a bit. This delays their journey forward and they must have wondered why the Lord issued these instructions. They don't know He intends for them to appear trapped by the Red Sea when the king of Egypt comes after them, but even though their circumstances will temporary look dire, He has nothing but their best interests at heart. If He had not set this scene up the way that He has, one of the greatest miracles of the Bible would not have occurred. The Israelites need to see an astonishing miracle. They may not know they need it, but so many challenges and battles lie ahead of them that they are going to have to be able to look back on what the Lord did for them at the Red Sea in order to find the strength to keep on going. The miracle at the Red Sea has to be stored up in their hearts so that in the future, when they feel like they're between a rock and a hard place, they will know there is a God capable of moving heaven and earth for them.
Another reason for having the people backtrack a bit is so Pharaoh will hear about it and think they are lost. The Lord tells Moses what's going to be going through the king's mind. "Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'" (Exodus 14:3) Pharaoh will laugh derisively at his former slaves and say to himself and to his officials, "These dummies don't know how to get back to Canaan! Just think of them, wandering around aimlessly in the desert where they'll die of hunger or thirst or heat exhaustion. They were far better off here in Egypt than they are now, but no, they just had to have their freedom! They thought they were going to go back to Canaan to become a great nation but instead they're lost in the desert. Sounds to me like they're easy pickings right now. Like a bird circling a carcass in the wilderness, I'm about to swoop down on them and snatch them up in my talons."
The Lord does nothing to stop Pharaoh from pursuing them. If He had stood in Pharaoh's way, the miracle at the Red Sea would never have happened and it must happen. It must happen for the glory of God so the Israelites will trust Him more fully. It must happen so the Egyptians will be forced to admit that the God of the Israelites exists and is a powerful foe to anyone who opposes Him and to anyone who oppresses those who serve Him. Pharaoh's grief over the death of his son has had time to turn to anger over the past several days and now he lays all the blame for his son's death at the Israelites' feet. He never once looks inward and acknowledges that every plague that hit Egypt was a result of his sinful stubbornness. He never repents of living in opposition to Almighty God. He's never sorry for his prejudice toward the Israelites or for his ill treatment of them. Instead he decides to pursue the people he blames for his misfortune. Instead of regretting his sins, he regrets ever letting his slave workforce leave his country.
God never forced Pharaoh to be a hard-hearted man; a hard-hearted man is who Pharaoh feels comfortable being. He has a natural tendency to be cruel and, lacking any desire to know or serve the Lord, there's nothing spiritual about him that makes him want to be a better man. He has no interest in changing and the Lord doesn't force him to change. On the contrary, the Lord uses the king's stony heart in His plan to do something utterly amazing for the Israelites. The Lord uses the king's hatred of the Israelites to---ironically---do the Israelites good. A blind rage enters the king's heart and the Lord does nothing to restrain his rage. The Lord does nothing to restrain Satan's influence on a man who has given himself over to pagan idolatry and cruelty, so in that sense we might say that the Lord allows the devil to encourage Pharaoh to go after the Israelites. "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them." (Exodus 14:4)
Join us tomorrow as Pharaoh and his soldiers saddle up and race toward the Red Sea. Join us as we discuss something that at first appears to be a paradox: how the Lord can be glorified by the hardness of a man's heart. It's easy for us to see how the Lord is honored by a person's love and obedience toward Him, but how on earth can someone's disobedience glorify the Lord? We'll take a look at this in Saturday's study when the Lord says that He will "gain glory for Myself through Pharaoh and all his army".
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