Chapter Recap - Moses has gotten comfortable with his career-shift from first family of Egypt to minding the family store. But just then, as Gunkel suggests, the sheep become “divine guides” and move him toward the holy mountain. The angel of the Lord = probably a theophany, that is, deity who temporarily embodies humanity (v. 4). The flame = physical, material manifestation of God. In the story, the emphasis is on God’s intrusion and initiative, not Moses’ seeker-sensitive quest. The temporal scène is “the fullness of time;” God is revealed as the great destroyer and deliverer and Moses is chosen to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Josephus: What Moses Prayed - . . . You are not ignorant, O Lord, that it is beyond human strength to avoid the difficulties we are now under . . . we despair of any other assistance and we hope only in you . . . we are in a helpless place, but you still possess this place; the sea is yours; the mountains also that enclose us are yours, and they will open in you command them and the sea also will open at your command . . .[1]

Origen [fl. 200-254] - How hard a temptation it is to pass through the midst of the sea, to see the waves rise piled up, to hear the noise and rumbling of the raging waters! But if you follow Moses, that is, the law of God, the waters will become for you walls on the right and left, and you will find a path on dry ground in the midst of the sea. [2]

How would you describe the leading of God in your community? In your life and ministry? In circles? In the dark? Through fire?

• Let Moses’ uplifted staff provide you with an image of God’s caring power in your life. The army of the Egyptians chasing you might represent the dangers you face. As God parts the waters, see his intervention in your life-things that God has done to save you. Look back and see the miracles, the parted waters you have passed through, the shore of safety to which a loving God has brought you.

Recall the story about the little boy who returned home from Sunday School with a whopper of a story about the crossing of the Red Sea: “It was really cool! Moses and his people came out with lasers and blew a hole right in the middle of the Red Sea. Then UFO’s ferried the Israelites across and the Loch Ness monster snuck up behind the Egyptians and gobbled them up. “Why, Elliott, that’s not what happened!” “I know, mom . . . but you’d never believe the wild story they told me!”

• A wild whopper of a story indeed! Two versions of this story are mixed together. Version 1: Moses divides the sea with his rod until the tribes reach the other side at which time Moses uses the rod to return the waters. Version 2: Yahweh the storm god drives back the sea just long enough for Israel to cross in the night, then in the morning Yahweh returns the sea to its accustomed place. Yahweh’s storm capsizes the Egyptian boats and establishes Yahweh’s superiority among the Egyptian gods.
• What truth is this story conveying?

The key actor in this narrative is Yahweh. It is Yahweh who issues the decisive decree to Moses and who is the target of doubt, the goal of defiance, and the focus of faith. It is Yahweh who is the subject of the crucial verbs, even the “hands-on” verbs, like clogged (v. 25) and tossed (v. 27), as well as . . . saved (v. 30)  [3]

• . . . the story of the stunning triumph of Yahweh over the great power of Egypt is told in order to summon Israel to faith.

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[1] Josephus: Complete Works (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications , 1960), page 63.
[2] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture III (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2001), page 76.
[3] The New Interpreter’s Bible I (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), page 796.