Exodus 14 Observations

Exodus 14:5 Pharaoh and his servants had just received judgment upon them and upon their land by the mighty hand of YAHUAH Elohim. They lost their firstborn sons to the last plague. Yet, in verse five, they asked this question:

…Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?  Exodus 14:5

Seriously? Really? How could they ask that question at all? Above all, how could they not know and see the answer in the mayhem that lay all around them?

The answers to these two questions are found in the written Word of YAH. The short answer is that they were controlled by wicked entities that had possessed them to the extent that their ability to reason was blocked. Cognitive dissonance is a major steppingstone to the state called reprobate.

As we search the Scriptures concerning this observation, we will see that this behavior was not unique to Pharaoh and his people.

Men of Sodom  Even after blinded, they still searched for
the door.

Ham  Survived the flood of judgment, but still violated and/or disrespected Noah.

Korah Witness firsthand the judgment of YAH on Egypt, and judgment on Miriam for challenging Moses, but he still challenged Moses and went after Aaron’s job

Balak His donkey spoke words, and he saw angel with flaming sword, but still kept trying to get to Balam.

Saul Saw that YAH was with David when he super-naturally empowered him to take down Goliath, but he still tried to take David’s life.

Jezebel  Either saw or heard about fire coming down from heaven by YAH at Mt. Carmel, but she still continued in her wickedness and tried to pursue the prophet Elijah.

I have a few questions about these histories in Scripture? What can we learn from them? And what is in our lives that we keep returning to, even after seeing the futility of such behavior; even after knowing that it is not YAH’s righteous will to do so?

Another related observation to Pharaoh and his servants’ question is this. Those of Egypt (representative of the world) are already controlled by Pharoah (representative of the wicked one). Notice in this verse that he was not seeking to chase after any Egyptians (worldly people). They were already his. He wanted to chase after the Children of Israel.

The same is today. People who practice the ways of the world are already under the control of the wicked one—even if they are unaware of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11). But he does not stop his pursuit of the redeemed. When (not if) we see that we continue to be plagued and harassed by the wicked one even after crossing over from Egypt (as best as we can in the diaspora), know that this has been throughout time.

Yet, also know that our Elohim is the Mighty, Mighty deliverer of His covenant-keeping, redeemed-by-the-blood-of-the-lamb people. Chapter 14 of Exodus shows us how to deal with the pursuit of the wicked one:

Exodus 14:10      “Be not sore afraid.” YAH surely fights for us.

Exodus 14:15      Go forward. Don’t stop.

Exodus 14:19      YAHUAH is our rear guard as we continue to move forward.

Exodus 14:23      Stay on the path that YAH has laid out for us. The wicked one is not authorized to go that way. Pharaoh’s army met their demise when they took it upon themselves pursue YAH’s redeemed within the miracle that He did for the Children of Israel. Pharaoh thought his army could also walk on dry ground between the walls of the waters of Red Sea. The nerve! There are some paths that the wicked one cannot tread without peril. Here are three of them:

1. The path of righteousness.
2. Closely related to the path of righteousness is the path of obedience.
3. The path of humility.

Exodus 14:24 Deliverance came in the morning watch (between 3 am and 6 am)

Exodus 14:25 Why did they not come to this obvious conclusion back in Egypt at the death of their firstborn sons, BEFORE they foolishly (Psa. 14:1) pursued Israel?