For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
Israel were brought to camp by the sea in a rocky defile where they appeared completely shut in, with mountains hemming them on either side, the Red Sea lying before them, and Pharaoh's army pursuing behind, so that to human sight there was no way of escape. God himself directed them to encamp in exactly that place, and He told Moses beforehand that Pharaoh would say of them that they were entangled in the land and that the wilderness had shut them in, and that upon saying so he would pursue them. Their apparent danger was no accident but God's deliberate plan to draw Pharaoh and his host after them, that their deliverance might bring honor to God before Pharaoh and all his host and that the Egyptians might know that He is the Lord.
He had led them about by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea instead of by the near way through the Philistines' land, because the Philistines would have treated them as escaped slaves who had stolen away from their masters, opposed their passing, and made war with them. At the sight of war Israel would have repented and returned to Egypt, and in sparing them that trial God revealed Himself compassionate as well as a God of judgment. After Israel had been gone some days Pharaoh was told that they had fled and would never return to serve him, and the Egyptians mourned the loss of their service and regretted letting them go. Though hardened by continual rebellion despite all they had suffered from God's judgments, they decided to bring Israel back by force into Egypt, so the king took a very large army with six hundred chariots and pursued and overtook them while encamped by the sea.
The place to which God's direction brought them was one where the people saw only disaster and defeat and death, yet their confinement did not mean Moses had acted wrongly. He had followed God's direction in placing them there and trusted His promises for their deliverance. Their discouragement and blame toward him came from their own rebellious, unsubdued hearts, when they should have stood by and supported the leader God had appointed.
Israel were brought to camp by the sea in a rocky defile where they appeared completely shut in, with mountains hemming them on either side, the Red Sea lying before them, and Pharaoh's army pursuing behind, so that to human sight there was no way of escape. God himself directed them to encamp in exactly that place, and He told Moses beforehand that Pharaoh would say of them that they were entangled in the land and that the wilderness had shut them in, and that upon saying so he would pursue them. Their apparent danger was no accident but God's deliberate plan to draw Pharaoh and his host after them, that their deliverance might bring honor to God before Pharaoh and all his host and that the Egyptians might know that He is the Lord.
He had led them about by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea instead of by the near way through the Philistines' land, because the Philistines would have treated them as escaped slaves who had stolen away from their masters, opposed their passing, and made war with them. At the sight of war Israel would have repented and returned to Egypt, and in sparing them that trial God revealed Himself compassionate as well as a God of judgment. After Israel had been gone some days Pharaoh was told that they had fled and would never return to serve him, and the Egyptians mourned the loss of their service and regretted letting them go. Though hardened by continual rebellion despite all they had suffered from God's judgments, they decided to bring Israel back by force into Egypt, so the king took a very large army with six hundred chariots and pursued and overtook them while encamped by the sea.
The place to which God's direction brought them was one where the people saw only disaster and defeat and death, yet their confinement did not mean Moses had acted wrongly. He had followed God's direction in placing them there and trusted His promises for their deliverance. Their discouragement and blame toward him came from their own rebellious, unsubdued hearts, when they should have stood by and supported the leader God had appointed.