Read Exodus 14 at Bible Gateway.
When chapter 14 opens, it isn’t long before Israel finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place, but watch how YHVH’s deliverance explodes both rocks and hard places through the Chiastic Structure:
Notice the A pair.
1A) Exodus 14:1-21
1. The Egyptians pursued Israel into the wilderness; Exo 14:5-9
2. Israel saw the Egyptians marching after them; Exo 14:10a
3. Israel feared Pharaoh; Exo 14:10b
4. Israel cried out to YHVH in terror and anguish; Exo 14:10c-12
2A) Exodus 14:30-31
1. The Egyptians pursued Israel into the sea; Exo 14:23-30a
2. Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore; Exo 14:30b
3. Israel feared YHVH, and believed Him and Moses; Exo 14:31
4. … Stay tuned tomorrow …
Same Egyptians, same Israelites, same God—who just finished keeping every single promise with ten shattering plagues, blood on the doorposts, and darkness you could feel. Yet the moment chariots appeared, faith evaporated and terror of man rushed in to fill the vacuum. The structure itself brings the fear and belief/ unbelief link into stark relief (Exo 14:10b/ Exo 14:31).
Unbelief is the root that bears the ugly fruit of the fear of man.
Why This Matters: He is holding up a mirror to the exact same thing we do every day, when we take our eyes off the One who split the sea, and locking them onto whatever “Egyptians” are thundering behind us today. That terrifying anguish? It’s simply the red flag telling us, “Wrong focus!” And there He stands, mighty arm already bared, just waiting for us to turn our eyes back to Him.
The Hebrew paragraphs for this chapter:
14:1-14 {p} Pharaoh pursues Israel/ Israel complains/ YHVH’s assurance of deliverance
14:15-25 {p} The Red Sea divided; Israel goes through on dry ground
14:26-31 {p} YHVH overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea
If there are questions, these are good resources:
The Red Sea Miracle, Parts I and II – Thinking Man Films
The Lost Sea of the Exodus – Dr. Glen Fritz
“The fear of man is the fruit borne by the root of unbelief.
Now lest we despise them, don’t we do the exact same thing? When we take our eyes off of YHVH and who He is and what He has said, and what He has done, the Egyptians who might be pursuing us can look terrifying! When we experience the fear of man, we have our eyes fixed on the wrong thing. ”
This! Was A LOT of perspective, to me! I have been living in fear of man, of so many other “cares” of this world that I have completely taken my eyes of of Him! There lays my problem.
Put my eyes back on YHVH!
My strong tower!
Thank you for an of your feasting on this site, Christine. It has given me “a little MORE, true perspective!”
Thank you for your kind comments, Veronica. Please do come back again! <3