Exodus [ In Greek is more descriptive name, Exodus, from ex hodos, which means a way out. It's the road out, literally. At this point we are about 1 week into the journey. ] 1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, [ Moses is both an Egyptian and Hebrew name. Because most scholars agree that it's originally an Egyptian name. The name Moses derives from the Egyptian verb, mes, which means to bear or to begat, to give birth to. The name Moses would then mean, begotten. A deity name implied such and such is begotten. The deity name, or the deity is begotten. You know, you're familiar with Rameses, with Thutmoses, and Ahmose and some others. There's no deity name mentioned with Moses's name. ] saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. [ The Pharaoh looks at what Moses is doing and he kind of laughs I suppose. Kind of like Moses has no idea what he is doing, and the wilderness will overtake them for sure. ]

4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, [ JST : "And Pharaoh will harden his heart, and he shall follow after them. And I will be honored upon Pharaoh at all and upon his house. The Egyptians may know that I am the Lord." ] that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured [ The Lord will give one last display of his power. ] upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know [ Same wording that he used when he declared the plagues. ] that I am the LORD. And they did so.

5 ¶ And it was told the king of Egypt 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? [ Seriously do you not remember why you let the people go? The plagues were not happy days. ]

6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, [ These horses were kept inside so they were not killed by the hail when it destroyed the flocks and the herds as well as the fruit of the field. ] and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. [ Going boldly or defiantly. At this point they do not know that Pharaoh is after them and they are feeling pretty good about everything. ]

9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.

10 ¶ And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: [ So the armies of Pharaoh are approaching. Can't you just hear the people of Israel saying "Moses, what a great leader you are, what great military strategy you have used. You have had us camp along the shores of the red sea and now we have no possible way to escape. Gee, what a great idea, Moses." And the Pharaoh knew it, too. I mean, it sounds like they knew it. In verse three, "They are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in." They just went up against a wall called the water. Well, God knows what he's going to do with the water, but they didn't see the way out, right? Do we do this when we say "Look God I have done what you asked, the personal revelation that I feel that I received or at least I have tried to, now look at the situtation I am in, Why did you do this to me?" ] and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. [ Was this a cry from a point of faith or coming from a point of fear? A cry for help or a cry of complaint. ]

11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? [ The children of Israel begin to murmur. There is a good object lesson here for us. Do you think that the Lord would have done all that he has at this point to just leave them to die in the desert? To not complete his purpose with them, without fulfilling his promises to them? I think that the easy answer for us in No he did not, he would not do that, We must remember the same when it seems like the Lord has carried us along a path, everything has been going as planned, we feel as if we have been lead to a point and then nothing. IT is the same with us, this is when we have to learn to trust him. as if he is saying to us "I did not bring you to this point to let you die in the desert". We often see things from a very limited perspective, we cannot see the forest for the trees so to speak. But God see's things from a different perspective. We sometimes need to try to see things from his perspective, maybe a eternal one will often help. ] wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, [ They feel like Moses made then the victims? Moses only tried to help, to answer their prayers of deliverence. ] to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, [ Remember Moses we tried to tell you back in Egypt, just leave us alone. Let us stay here. It's better for us to live in Egypt than die in the wilderness. Now look at our misery, and it;s all on you. ] that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

13 ¶ And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, [ Moses responds Have a little faith guys. It's like Laman and Lemuel who see an angel then 5 minutes later are complaining. 1 Ne 17. "Our father is foolish. He's led us out of the land of Jerusalem. We've wandered in the wilderness. It would have been better..." Oh how I need to remember this when things are not going as planned. Notice the confidence with Moses has acquired in God, he does not hesitate. Remember the words of Nephi to his brothers 1 Nephi 4:2, "Therefore, let us go up. Let us be strong like unto Moses." ] which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. [ Maybe a little bit of frustration on the point of Moses. He stops short of saying "Shut up". Proverbs 3, the, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not to thine own understanding." You can see how often with the murmurings they're leaning to their own understanding. The Lord's saying, "Will you just hold your peace? And if you will I'll fight for you. But you have to be patient in me." ]

15 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? [ Moses has just made a great point to the children Of Israel, the half time talk kind of speech, and then he turns and looks to God, and God says what are you looking at me for? You are the one that gave them the message to stand still, to stay where you are vs 13. God wants them to move forward. I get the sense that Moses is a little frustrated, this leadership thing is new to him as well. God is now trying to teach Moses and the people that they need to exercise faith, they need to move forward. If they will do so God will protect them, so if they are doing their part God will do his. But God is not going to just move them in a whirlwind to the promised land in one day, even though he could. That is not the process. No they need to learn to move forward trust move forward move trust again in whatever hardship they encounter. They need to exercise their agency, they need to be anxiously engaged. ] speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: [ After the Lord suggests that they trust him he encourages them to move forward. In essence have faith that I will keep my end of the agreement. They really have 3 choices they could go back, if they do they will forfeit the blessings which God has in store for them. They can stop right were they are, if they do they will surely die physically and spiritually, and will forfeit the promised blessings. The last choice is to move forward, to trust, to grow, in doing so the Lord promises to fight their battles, to protect them and seeks to give them blessing beyond measure if they will accept them. This is a process. At this point Moses does not see the go forward method, why? Because going forward means go directly into the red sea, which as Moses see's it as not am option. ]

16 But lift thou up thy rod, [ The Egyptian word medu, which means a rod or a staff, it's also the verb for to speak. Elsewhere in Exodus, it's called the Matteh ha-elohim, the rod of God. ] and stretch out thine hand over the sea, [ 1 Ne 17:53 Nephi uses the same gesture with his brother as a sign of what he could do under the power of God, just as Moses parted the red sea with a stretch forth hand. This is the same powere given to Enoch and Melchizedek to divide waters, move mopuntains, defeat armies JST Gen 14:25-40. ] and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. [ See additional info on Crossing The Read Sea. The dilemma is that they are on one side of the red sea and future life is on the other side - how do we even get there it is pretty insurmountable task. "The celestial kingdom's on the other side of this massive sea that I cannot get to, right? There is no way for me to get to heaven, and I need a way." Jacob seems to use that idea of the atonement of Christ is the dry road. The way across. Remember how Moses received the promise that he would be made stronger than many waters? ]

17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

19 ¶ And the angel of God, [ There's a whole ton of discussion on the identity of who this is. sometimes it is not clear that the angel of the Lord isn't the Lord himself. ] which went before the camp of Israel, [ This angel has been out in front of them. ] removed and went behind them; [ The angel swings around from the front to the back. It was now between the children of Israel and the Egyptian armies. In essence this angel of God has now become the protection of Zion, to his people, to their homes and dwelling places. From this point forward the Lord is now going to act as a divine warrior to fight the battle for Israel, and he is going to make sure that they have all the protection that they need to pull it off. ] and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: [ He has their six in military terms. This is the greatest fear of the people right now, and it is what is behind them. ]

20 And it [ The pillar of the cloud which provided shade, and maybe that they could not see what was behind them, and a light by night. ] came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

21 And Moses stretched out his hand [ Again the imagery of the use of the hand, a symbol that the children of Israel would be very familiar with. See D&C 8:2-3. ] over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. [ This is where one of my very favorite characters in the Old Testament comes in. His name is Nahshon and was a son of Amminadab, descendant in the fifth generation of Judah, and Aaron’s Brother-in-law. He’s mentioned 8 times in the Old Testament and a couple of times in the New. He’s given some amazing privileges and honors in the Old Testament. Among them Nahshon was appointed by Moses, upon God's command, as prince and military commander of the Tribe of Judah. But holy writ doesn’t tell us much more about him. However; there is a wonderful Talmudic legend that describes his courage. Tradition has it that when Pharaoh’s army comes into view and the children of Israel are backed up against the Red Sea, Nahshon and Moses are sitting on a rock overlooking the Red Sea talking. Nahshon says to Moses: “We’re in dire circumstances here Moses. What are you going to do? What would God Almighty have us do?” Moses replies: “God wants us to go through the water.” Nahshon questions, “Through the water?” Moses says: “Yup.” Then Nahshon replied: “That’s good enough for me!” And he jumped off the rock and went to ward the red sea. So Moses holds his hand up and the waters are not parted right away and so Nahshon exercised his faith and proceeded to go forward walking in the water of the Sea. When the water reached in his nose---the sea finally parted and the rest of the children of Israel follow. He didn’t choose easy---he choose the path of most resistance. He chose courage. The Midrash relates that during the Exodus, when the Israelites reached the Red Sea, it did not automatically part. The Israelites stood at the banks of the sea and wailed with despair, but Nahshon entered the waters. Once he was up to his nose in the water, the sea parted. This is the origin of his name "Nahshol", that is, "stormy sea-waves". Nahshon was the first to experience the mighty miracle of the parting of the Red Sea because he courageously trusted God enough to step into that water. He so strongly believed that God would not fail or forsake him that it didn’t matter the size of the Sea or the depth of that water. And because of his courage he prevailed and so did the rest of the children of Israel that day. ]

22  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea [ How much faith would this take? You have a wall of water on the left and a wall of water on the right. Have you ver been ripped apart by a wave, full clothed, with all of your belongings strapped to your side? You have to wonder to yourself how long will the wall of water hold up? ] upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

23 ¶ And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

25 And took off their chariot wheels, [ This would slow them down giving the Children of Israel time to cross. ] that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

27  And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, [ Through the power of God Moses sets things back the way that they were.] and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. [ The water was deep enough that when it returned is wiped out the army. In a way this is symbolic for the Children Of Israel that their past has now been washed away. ]

29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did [ Israel saw the great hand, which the Lord wielded upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant, Moses. That's the start of the doctrine of Christ. Faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. And so we're on the covenant path. We see all the ay through chapter 14 that the word "hand" is used. Verses 8, 16, 21, 22, 26, 27, 29. The hand was very symbolic to the Egyptians as used in the metaphor's like pharaohs raised hand, always raised to strike, his strong arm. So here we have the Lord demonstrating in a manner which they will understand through the use of his hand. His hands also invoke a personal involvement, hands suggest precision in the work. So this idea that the Lord is the one with the strong arm and the high hand is meant to help Israelites understand where the power really is. Not in Pharaoh. It's in God. It's in his high hand. With his strong hand, he'll lead us out. Easy application there for us is there's all sorts of high hands, arm of flesh around us. The Lord is trying to tell us he is the power. In the ancient world, the right hand had connotations of favor. The left hand... In fact, the Latin word for left hand is sinister. ] upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.