Untitled Sermon
As Pharaoh’s charioteers and armed troops approached, fear struck the encampment. They were trapped between the Red Sea (lit., “Sea of [Papyrus] Reeds”; see comments on v. 2) before them and a vicious foe behind them. The reaction of the Israelites here was much the same throughout the book (cf. 5:21) in times of duress and fright. Though they cried out to the LORD, they had no confidence He could help. Quickly forgetting the past, they bitterly accused Moses of deceiving them by leading them into the desert to die.… Didn’t we say … in Egypt, Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians? Moses, recognizing that fear was distorting their memories and arousing their passions against him, sought to reassure them that the LORD would deliver them by fighting for them (cf. 15:3; Neh. 4:20; Ps. 35:1) as they remained firm in confidence. Surprisingly, as they came to their greatest moment of deliverance, the people of God were full of distrust and fear.