Thus did the Lord, by a splendid miracle, deliver the Hebrews that day from the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord, and believed in Him[1], and in Moses, His servant. “And the children of Israel came into Elim, where there were twelve fountains of waters and seventy palm-trees, and they encamped by the waters.”
COMMENTARY.
The almighty Power of God divided the waters, held them up as walls on either side, made the burning wind to blow, and the lightning to strike the Egyptians.
God's Goodness to His people is shown throughout the whole story. First, He led His people by a visible means, the pillar of cloud. Then He worked a great miracle, and saved them, for good and all, from the power of the Egyptians. By the destruction of their army the Egyptians were so weakened, and the damage done to them so lasting, that they were unable to molest the Israelites, the whole time they were wandering in the wilderness.
The retributive Justice of God. Pharao’s terrible end was a punishment for his impenitence and obstinate resistance to God’s grace. His people were punished also, and perished with him. The Egyptians drowned the Israelite babes in the Nile, and, in punishment for this, their sons were drowned in the sea. How terrible is God’s justice!
Confidence in God. While the Israelites, filled with fear, called upon the Lord for help, Moses remained perfectly calm. Full of confidence in God, he said to the people: “Fear nothing! The Lord will fight for you”: and his confidence was justified and rewarded; for God, to whom nature is subject, sent thunder and lightning, wind and rain
- ↑ Believed in Him. They believed that God indeed had sent Moses to deliver them out of Egypt and make them into a people of God.
