Exodus 14:21-25 (ESV)

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”

What are the Egyptians thinking? This doesn’t seem to make any sense. Yet, within the construct of their polytheistic belief system, it does. Their idea of a god isn’t like our idea of the God. They’ve heard of YHVH, but they think he’s just a god, like their gods. That means he sleeps; he’s moody; he’s unreliable.

So, when the light bulb comes on and the Egyptian army realizes that YHVH isn’t a no-show for this battle, they panic. The sight of the LORD looking down on them from the pillar of fire and of cloud must have been terrifying.

But instead of saying, “Aaaaah!” they say, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.” That sounds pretty ironic in the middle of a panic.

It’s like George Clooney’s highbrow lines in Oh Brother Where Art Thou, or Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke saying, “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” It’s way too reasonable for the situation.

Of course, these words were spoken by the Egyptian commander as he tries to marshal his troops. Presumably, the translation from the original Egyptian turned idioms into literal phrases – like the English subtitles for the jive talk in Airplane.

One group that consistently needs and deserves our prayers is the military. Our troops are trained to react reasonably to terrifying situations because they may encounter terrifying situations. Calm heads are essential in tight spots. Too bad the rest of the Egyptian army wasn’t as disciplined as the commander who calmly told them to retreat.

Pray for the safety of those currently deployed. Pray that their families will be comforted during their prolonged absence. Ask the LORD to give them success in their mission.

And pray that amidst all the chaos of military action that they will not succumb to the stress and deviate from righteousness.

May they remain true to their mission and keep it righteous.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies