Out of Egypt & Back Again
Between the Waters: Part 1
September 14, 2025
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water comes back and covers the Egyptians, their chariots, and their cavalry.” So, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. At daybreak, the sea returned to its normal depth. The Egyptians were driving toward it, and the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the cavalry, Pharaoh’s entire army that had followed them into the sea. Not one of them remained.
~ Exodus 14:26-28 (CEB)
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There are so many angles we could take with this familiar story of God bringing salvation to the Israelites through the Red Sea. But this last part, the drowning of Pharaoh’s army, is the part I usually skim past. I don’t believe God directly causes tragedy and violence the way some parts of Scripture appear to describe.
A second look, however, shows that what happened here is not a random act of a wrathful God, but the inevitable result of human arrogance and oppression. If we only see it as “God’s action,” it’s too easy to claim that God is on our side, and will destroy our enemies for us, or at least bless us when we destroy them ourselves. That kind of thinking is still alive today, fueling cycles of nationalism, violence, and oppression in God’s name.
But what if the real tragedy of the Red Sea is not a violent God avenging God’s people, but two nations who never really got the point? Let me explain:
On Egypt’s side, the ending is a simple case study in pride and power. In Exodus 12:31-32, Pharoah finally relents and sends Israel away to worship. But he can’t live with defeat. His arrogance leads him to a reckless pursuit into waters he cannot control, all to prop up his own power and keep Israel enslaved. His pride destroys him and his army.
Israel’s reaction is more complicated. Their joy is understandable, after centuries of slavery. But in celebrating the downfall of their enemies, they may have missed a deeper point. God did not free them so they could become another nation like Egypt, but so they model a different way and extend God’s blessing to the world. But over time, they built their kingdom on the same foundations of wealth, military might, and idolatry. Under Solomon, they even returned to Egypt to acquire horses and chariots. And like their former enslavers, their own arrogance led to destruction, first at the hands of Assyria, then Babylon.
The point was never that Israel was so special God would always slaughter their enemies. The point is the same truth Jesus teaches many centuries later: the first will be last and the last will be first; the powerful will be brought low and the weak and poor will be lifted up. God is always on the side of the oppressed. And the oppressors will always bring disaster upon themselves, even if the oppressors are God’s own people.
For Further Reflection:
How do we guard against celebrating political or cultural “victories” that come at the expense of justice, compassion, or the dignity of others?
Where are we aligning ourselves with God on the side of the oppressed and marginalized, and where are we complicit with the oppressors?