Now Pharaoh was near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians had set out after them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 To Moses they said, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the Lord will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. 16 And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. 17 But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
19 The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, 20 so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, 22 so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.
23 The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. 24 But during the watch just before dawn, the Lord looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; 25 and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their horsemen. 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal flow. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward it when the Lord cast the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the horsemen. Of all Pharaoh’s army which had followed the Israelites into the sea, not even one escaped. 29 But the Israelites had walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of Egypt. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore 31 and saw the great power that the Lord had shown against Egypt, the people feared the Lord. They believed in the Lord and in Moses his servant.
The Israelites, trapped between Pharaoh’s advancing army and the sea, cry out in fear and Moses reassures them, declaring, “The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.” At God’s command, Moses stretches out his hand, and the waters part, allowing Israel to pass through on dry land. The Egyptians pursue them, but the sea returns to its normal course, drowning the army. This miraculous deliverance was not only a physical salvation but also a divine sign meant to foster Israel’s faith in God and His servant Moses. However, as later events reveal, their faith was still weak and needed growth (cf. Ex. 16:2-3, 17:3).
The crossing of the Red Sea is explicitly identified in the New Testament as a prefiguration of baptism: “Our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-2). The mention of "the cloud" refers to the divine presence that guided and protected Israel (cf. Ex. 13:21-22), just as the Holy Spirit leads and sanctifies the baptized. Just as Israel was delivered from physical slavery through the waters of the sea, so Christians are delivered from the slavery of sin through the waters of baptism (cf. Rom. 6:3-4). In baptism, we pass from death to life, just as Israel moved from oppression to freedom (cf. Col. 2:12, Tit. 3:5). The destruction of Pharoah and his army in the Red Sea parallels the defeat of Satan in Christ’s redemptive work (cf. Heb. 2:14-15, Col. 2:15). Just as God triumphed over Pharaoh, Christ triumphs over sin and death, freeing us from their dominion (cf. Rom. 8:2).
The Cross and Resurrection parallel the Exodus, as Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection is the true and definitive "exodus" (cf. Lk. 9:31), leading humanity from the bondage of sin to the freedom of divine life. Christ, the New Moses, leads His people through the waters of baptism into the promised land of eternal life. As the Israelites saw the bodies of their oppressors washed away (Ex. 14:30), so in baptism, our old selves are buried with Christ and we rise as new creations (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). Just as Israel was called to trust in God’s power, so too must Christians place their faith in Christ, our ultimate Deliverer (cf. Jn. 14:6, Heb. 12:2). Through baptism, we do not merely experience symbolic renewal but are truly incorporated into Christ, guided by His Spirit, and called to persevere in faith on the journey to our heavenly inheritance (cf. Gal. 3:27, Phil. 3:20-21).
Almighty God, You led Your people through the sea and delivered them from slavery. Guide us through the waters of baptism into the freedom of Christ. As You triumphed over Pharaoh, so too, in Your Son, You have conquered sin and death. Strengthen our faith, so that we may trust in Your saving power and walk in the newness of life. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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