Chapter 17: Out of Egypt

Exodus 13:17-14:12

Q1 - In what other instances in the Bible did God’s presence dwell within the form of a cloud?(See 1 Kings 8:10–13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17; Revelation 14:14.)

A1 - These passages refer to both times past and times in the future. You may know of other scriptures that tell of God’s presence dwelling within a cloud.

The passage in 1 Kings 8 describes the time when King Solomon built the temple for the Lord and the ark of the covenant was first placed inside the Most Holy Place. As the priests withdrew from putting the ark in its place, the glory of the Lord in the form of a cloud filled the temple such that the priests could not perform their service.

The passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 (NIV) describes when the Lord will come again. The dead in Christ will rise first, and then in verse 17, “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Revelation 14:14–16 (NIV) describes the harvesting of the earth: “I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, ‘Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.”

Q2 - As Pharaoh and his army drew near to the Israelites, what do you suppose they were thinking when they saw the Israelites near the sea?

A2 - Pharaoh and the Egyptian army probably thought the Israelites did not know the best route to take out of Egypt, and now they were trapped with the army on one side and the sea on the other. This relatively slow moving group with children and livestock likely appeared to be easy prey for the soldiers to slaughter or recapture.

Q3 - How did the route the Israelites took out of Egypt work to their advantage in the end, even better than if they had taken the shorter route through Philistine territory?

A3 - Not only did the Israelites get to witness God’s great might in destroying the Egyptian army, but now the army was eliminated! If the Israelites had taken the shorter route, the Egyptians would likely not have stopped in their pursuit at the border of Egypt. The Israelites would still have been in grave danger in Philistine territory, both from the Egyptian army continuing to chase them and also with the possibility of the Philistines coming to fight them as well.

With the Egyptian army killed in the waters of the Red Sea, there was no one left to pursue them. If Pharaoh had been thinking, he would not have entered the sea with the walls of water looming over them and would have instead gone around and pursued the Israelites on the other side. Of all people, he should have been cautious, as he had witnessed over and over the power of the God of the Israelites.