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AFTER HE HAD LET THEM GO

    The second reason could have been that if the Israelites met anyone along the way that would have told them that Pharaoh was preparing to give chase, they would have been afraid and ran back to Egypt. Also, YHVH wanted them to be in circumstances that they would see constant miracles in order to survive. This would be their schooling back to the faith they once held from their ancestors long ago. Even now, their experience keeps bolstering our own faith today that YHVH always makes a way for his children. Ex. 14:1-2 And Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people to turn around and set up camp in front of Pi-Hachirot, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Ba’al-Tz’fon, camp opposite it, by the sea. Now what is going here? After three days journey away from Egypt, now YHVH tells them to go backwards to this certain place. So what is Ba’al-Tz’fon, a city or what?

     What it is, happens to be an idol. It was the only idol that had not been destroyed before the Exodus. YHVH did this to let Pharaoh rationalize that this idol or god, was so strong that it had started bringing the Israelites back toward him. The Israelites were now ripe for the taking. By strengthening Pharaoh’s heart with this belief, YHVH merely gave him courage to carry out what he really wanted to do all along in his heart. So now we see Pharaoh set an example for his people by harnessing his own chariot and leading his army in pursuit. He attracted his soldiers by persuasion, telling them they would all share in the spoils & that he would join them, unlike other kings who sit back in luxury while their soldiers go out and risk their life. Here is the chronology. Israel left Egypt on the morning of the 15th of Nissan and the sea split on the 21st of Nissan.

     The chronology of events during those seven days was as follows: 15th of Nissan Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth 16th of Nissan They traveled from Succoth to Etham 17th of Nissan They retreated back toward Egypt 18th of Nissan Pharaoh’s spies reported that three days had gone by and the Israelites were not back in Egypt. 19th-20th of Nissan Pharaoh organized his forces and pursued the Israelites. 21st of Nissan the sea split to save Israel and then returned to wipe out the Egyptians. You know most of the time we believe the cloud that led Israel by day was just an ordinary cloud that YHVH pulled out of the sky & formed it the shape he wanted it, but if you look at chapter 13, verse 21, it plainly states: Adonai went ahead of them “in” a column of cloud. So we plainly see here that “Adonai was in the cloud” leading them and that it was not just any old cloud.

    The same holds true according to scripture on the pillar of fire. Exodus 14:30 On that day, Adonai saved Israel from the Egyptians; Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. YHVH wanted the Israelites to see their complete salvation. So he had the sea toss the bodies of the dead Egyptians onto the shore where the Israelites had emerged. Otherwise, the Israelites might have thought, “Just as we emerged out of the sea, so the Egyptians will emerge on another bank somewhere and still pursue us.” Besides, YHVH had to kill Pharaoh to secure their physical freedom, because until Pharaoh died, they were still technically slaves fleeing from their owner. But now they knew they were truly free from Pharaoh forever. Then all is well, for the time being. We always hear how Miriam led everybody in praise after their crossing over. If you look at chapter 15:1 however, you see it was really Moshe who began to lead the people in song. Miriam does come in later (verse 20) to lead the women in praising and dancing. So Moshe was the first to lead the singing. There are four themes basically to the song they sang, (1) general praise of YHVH their redeemer, (2) a review of the miracles accomplished at the splitting of the sea, (3) the reaction of the Canaanite and other nations to the miracles when it pertained to them, and (4) Israel’s future as YHVH’S nation in Eretz Israel. So we travel on to the last verses of chapter 15 and the beginning of chapter 16, where things are beginning to turn bitter, no pun intendedJ. First, we see the Israelites complaining about lack of water. As we know Marah means bitter. In the plain literal sense of the scripture it refers to the water here.

    The Baal Shem Tov interprets homiletically that the reference is to the people. It is human nature that when a person is embittered, he sees everything negatively, because the people were bitter, they found the water to be bitter. The next thing we see them complaining about is the food. This happened on the fifteenth of Iyar, a month after the Exodus. Until then they were surviving on the food they brought out of Egypt. This was in itself a miracle that their food had lasted this long. (Rashi) So YHVH begins giving them bread from Heaven and meat to eat. This too would be another spiritual lesson for them to learn on trusting YHVH for their daily provisions. He also showed them that by providing a double portion on the sixth day that keeping Shabbat would not hinder their livelihood. So they were told by YHVH for every person to gather one omer (equals=2quarts or a tenth of a dry bushel). But as the way with man, some gathered more and others less, but when all was measured each person had an omer’s worth of manna. The manna stopped falling on the seventh of Adar, when Moshe died before the people had crossed the Jordan. From then on remnants of it remained in their vessels and they continued to eat the leftover manna until the sixteenth of Nissan, when they were in the land and then able to eat it’s produce. (Kiddushin 38a) Exodus 17:12-14 However, Moshe’s hands grew heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aharon and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other; so his hands stayed steady until sunset. Thus Y’hoshua defeated Amalek putting their people to the sword. Adonai said to Moshe, “Write this in a book to be remembered, and tell it to Y’hoshua;

     I will completely blot out any memory of Amalek from under Heaven. When Moshe raised his hands they would keep winning, and when he let them down, they started to lose. This was to teach us that in the battles we face we are to always look ‘upward’ to our Redeemer, not downward to the earthly means of survival. Moshe sat on a stone as opposed to something soft because he did not want to be in comfort while his fellow Israelites were in danger and suffering. (Rashi) As for the writing in the book, Ramban and Iban Ezra, this book spoken of was the Torah. For the commandment to exterminate Amalek it is recorded in Deu: 25:17-19. At this particular time YHVH did not let Amalek be destroyed, but would continue to deal with him in future generations. We see as far down as King Saul, he was told to wage war against Amalek when he became King and because he did not carry out this charge, he was stripped of his throne. (1st Samuel 15:14-28) So Amalek’s enmity against Israel stems not only from its legacy as Esau’s grandson, but from what it represents, the struggle between good and evil. We see this struggle even today and will for as long as it takes until Yeshua returns and rids the Earth of all evil. Shalom.