The Eleventh Plague,
The Eleventh Miracle

Timothy Krupa

There were multiple routes leading out of Egypt to the east. The shortest route to Palestine passed through a fortified and highly guarded frontier. If Moses had led the Israelites on this most direct route to Canaan, and if they had encountered no resistance, the journey would have taken something like twelve days. But the reality was they would have encountered great military resistance. God knew that these people, who had been slaves for such a long time, were in no condition to fight the armies of the Philistines and Canaanites.

According to Jewish history an incident took place several years earlier that demonstrated their unpreparedness for military conflict. Quoting from Rabbi Jeffrey M. Cohen in his book 1001 Questions and Answers on Pesach: “The Targum [an Aramaic Commentary] preserves another explanation of why they took a circuitous route. It relates that [a large band of] fully armed warriors of the tribe of Ephraim defied the will of God and fled Egypt thirty years before the time decreed for the Exodus. They attacked the Philistines at Gath, and were annihilated.”

Jehovah said in Exodus 23:29,30 that he intended that they take the Promised Land “by little and little.” This was to be after they had become strengthened in faith and had put the mentality and habits of slavery well behind them. Later, of course, the disobedience of the Israelites, and especially their poor reaction to the report of the twelve spies, caused God to have them wander for forty years before entering the Promised Land. Forty years to reach Canaan is a lot more than twelve days.

Direct Instructions

God told Moses exactly what route to take and he warned Moses that Pharaoh would pursue them (Exodus 14:1-4). Pharaoh recovered quickly enough from mourning the death of Egypt’s firstborn to mobilize his army. Exodus 14:7 says, “He [Pharaoh] took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.” Josephus, in The Antiquites of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 15, elaborates on this, saying Pharaoh pursued the Israelites with “six hundred chariots, with fifty thousand horsemen, and two hundred thousand footmen, all armed.”

Even if we discount the size of the army somewhat because of Josephus’ reputation for enhancing numbers, what a terrifying sight this must have been for the unarmed former slaves. Absolutely terrifying. “They were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord” (Exodus 14:10).

The prescribed route led the Israelites seemingly into a box between two mountains. The Egyptians were on the third side and the Red Sea was to their backs. They were trapped. “And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians?” (Exodus 14:11,12).

This reaction of the Israelites was so hys­terical that it actually provoked God. They forgot all the miracles that had been performed on their behalf. Later Jewish writers characterized their reaction as a rebellion: “Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea” (Psalm 106:7). They had been free only a few days and they were ready to return to slavery.

Moses Predicts Deliverance and the Demise of Egypt

“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD ... The Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever” (Exodus 14:13). Moses’ statement was probably not understood by the Israelites, but he was promising that something dramatic would extricate Israel from this seemingly hopeless situation.

The angel who was leading the host of the Israelites was manifested in a pillar of a cloud. When the multitude reached the roadblock at the Red Sea, the angel moved from the leading position to one in the rear of the company, a position of protection between the Israelites and the Egyptian army: “And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus 14:20).

Jewish rabbis and historians say the records show that six days transpired from the time the Israelites left Egypt until they reached the shores of the Red Sea and that the climax ­occurred on the seventh day.

Most of the action took place during the night. Verse 20 says the cloudy pillar separated the two camps during the night. Verse 21 says a strong east wind blew all that night. Verse 24 says that in the “morning watch” they could see the “Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud.” Josephus adds to the description: “Showers of rain also came down from the sky, and dreadful thunders and lightning, with flashes of fire. Thunderbolts also were darted upon them. Nor was there any thing which used to be sent by God upon men as indications of his wrath which did not happen at this time, for a dark and dismal night oppressed them.”—Antiquities of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 16.

But the great miracle was now transpiring. In the midst of all the “natural” phenomena of lightning, rain, and wind, on the other side of the cloudy pillar the children of Israel were passing over the sea bed upon dry ground (Exodus 14:22).

The unsuspecting Egyptians raced after them and headed for total destruction. When the “natural” forces of God descended upon them, they realized too late that they once again faced the power and might of the God of Israel: “The Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians” (v. 25).

It was perfectly clear to the Egyptians that the Lord was fighting for Israel. It was not that they had no understanding of what or why this was happening. When God finally destroys the forces of evil that still control this present evil world, that destruction will not be a mystery ­either. It will be perfectly clear.

Moses Acts

Just as the sea parted when Moses stretched forth his hand, the sea came back together when the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand a second time. This was not a series of events that took place randomly depending upon weather conditions. The Lord decided, Moses is told to take action, and it happened. The elements are totally under God’s control. What resulted was the total destruction of the armed forces of Egypt. Total annihilation. Every last one of the Egyptian army was destroyed.

The Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore: “And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31). And they said, “The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:2).

They Were Baptized Into Moses

The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:1,2, says that for the Israelites, crossing the Red Sea was a baptism into Moses. He must have meant that because Moses was their new leader and the savior of all of them, they were now committed, almost obligated, to living a life like Moses, doing as he commanded, and going where he would lead them. It seems that Paul liked the expression “a baptism into…” because he used it multiple times. The church is baptized into Christ. It is baptized into his death, baptized into one body, baptized into putting on Christ, baptized into his burial. From the point of our baptism into Christ we are likewise committed to Christ, to living like Christ, to doing as he commands and committed to going where he leads (Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12).

The apostle Paul makes a good point, the parallel is clear, and we take the lesson seriously regarding our personal baptism into Christ. However, the story of passing over the Red Sea, when looked at as a total picture, is not about the passing over of the “firstborn”; it is a larger picture of the passing over of the ­entire company of God’s people.

Notice there is no mention of the “firstborn” in this account. The firstborn pass through the Red Sea experience commingled with the entire nation. The firstborn were not separated for service until some time later, just before the wilderness experience. “The coming through the Red Sea shows the ultimate deliverance of the entire world of mankind” (C. T. Russell, Convention Report Sermons, Expanded Biblical Comments, Hebrews 11:29).

What did the baptism into Moses do for the Israelites? Much like what baptism into Christ does for us. It brought them into relationship with God by canceling past sins, and also brought them certain graces or favors from God. Despite their enthusiasm and rejoicing when they completed the “passing over” and the “baptism,” it was only a matter of days ­until the flesh once again reigned supreme.

Lessons for Us

God’s Incredible Power to Save. Perhaps the most obvious lesson is the demonstration of God’s incredible power and desire to save his people. The nation of Israel was helpless in the face of her enemies just as the world of mankind is helpless to extricate itself from the morass of this present evil world. It took God’s almighty power to deliver his people at the Red Sea and it will take the same power to destroy the present order of things and institute a new ­order.

God’s Enemies. Another important lesson from this account is what happens to the enemies of God’s people and how it happens. Think of what would have happened if the hosts of Pharaoh and Pharaoh himself were allowed to remain alive, standing on the western shore of the Red Sea. If they had survived this experience, they would have lived to fight ­another day and never ceased in their efforts to destroy and control God’s people. It would have been a constantly repeating scenario of chasing and trying to escape. So, we see that the complete destruction of Pharaoh and his ­legions is perhaps the key feature of this event. Pharaoh and every soldier he had were completely destroyed. They were gone, never again to harass God’s people.

So it will be in God’s coming kingdom. Eventually Satan will be destroyed, all of his legions will be destroyed, and that’s when the people of God, all who are willing to learn his ways, will pass over from sin and death and rejoice and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.

Who Fights and Who Does Not Fight. It is quite interesting to consider how these enemies of God’s people were actually destroyed. God’s people play a passive role. They don’t fight, they don’t have swords in their hands. They are not the active agents of the destroying force. It might be said that they are marching ahead, virtually fleeing from the enemy. We conclude that the victory over the powers of evil, which we expect in the near future, will not be accomplished by God’s people having the ­largest and best army on the face of the earth. The victory will not be accomplished by human, mortal combat with the powers of evil. Satan and his hosts will be overcome by Gods’ power and God’s weapons.

This fits well with the end-time scenario described as taking place in the valley of Jehosha­phat. In Joel 3:2 the prophet says that Jehovah will gather all nations to this valley. In verse 12 Jehovah continues, saying “Let the heathen … come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” Verse 14: “Multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near.”

In Jehoshaphat’s day, Jehovah delivered his people from a great invading army without the people raising one sword to defend themselves. As the enemy approached, King Jehoshaphat spoke to the people, much like Moses did on the banks of the Red Sea: “Believe in the Lord your God” (2 Chronicles 20:20). The Israelites went out toward the battlefield singing songs of praise; they found the enemy had already been destroyed by Jehovah. In both of the end-time pictures, “the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Rebellion of Some of God’s People. We should not pass lightly over the fact that the Israelites, despite all that God did for them, were a rebellious and stiff-necked people. Many of them had to be destroyed for their constant provoking of Jehovah. All who are seriously striving to be the “spiritual Israel” of God need to carefully examine each thought and motive for an act or word which would likewise “provoke” God.

Those who desire to be “baptized into Christ” must become committed, virtually obligated, to living a life like Christ, doing as he commanded, and going where he would lead them. As the apostle Paul expressed it, we must be baptized into his death, baptized into one body, baptized into putting on Christ, baptized into his burial. This leaves little or no time for the things left behind in Egypt.

Events Were Clearly Predicted

None of the events of the “passing over of the Red Sea” should have come as a surprise to the Israelites. God had clearly informed Moses of all that was about to happen and Moses, in turn, had clearly informed the Israelites of the events that were ahead. So it is with us. We have adequate knowledge of the events that lie before us. We should understand the implications of the prophecies about to be fulfilled and it should be clear to us what personal experiences, what near death experiences, we will be undergoing. And it should be just as clear, when these events unfold, that God’s providences and overruling powers are supreme. What a glorious prospect!

This great story of the “passing over of the Red Sea” spread far and wide. Some forty years later, when the two spies were scouting the city of Jericho, Rahab told them: “We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt” (Joshua 2:10). Likewise the true story of God’s power to save all the willing and obedient will some day spread far and wide.

God’s enemies will surely be destroyed. ­Another event similar to the passing over of the Red Sea occurred almost nine hundred years previous. It too involved water, massive quantities of water. It too involved the saving of God’s people (Noah and his family) and likewise it destroyed all of the wicked (Genesis 7, 8). In the flood we also see that it was not Noah and his family who destroyed the wicked. Noah simply did as the Lord instructed. He built the ark, saved his family, and the animals. God closed the ark door and then proceeded to destroy the wicked.

Never to be Forgotten!

Many years before the exodus, Joseph predicted that God would take his people back to the promised land, and Joseph requested that his bones be taken with them when that happened: “And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you” (Exodus 13:19).

This is one of the most touching parts of the story. First, it shows Joseph’s heart condition that he did not want to be buried in Egypt, even though that is where he saved God’s people and even though his wife was Egyptian. Second, it was admirable that Moses and probably Joseph’s family, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, remembered Joseph’s request.

Sometimes we see Joseph as a picture of our Lord Jesus; to whatever extent the picture shows our journey, Jesus’ sacrifice will never be forgotten. We, and soon the entire world of mankind, will carry forever the memory of our Lord’s life and his life’s work on behalf of all of us (1 John 2:2).

Likewise, the passing of the Red Sea has been told for centuries and it will continue to be told again and again in the ages to come. It is one of the most dramatic incidents of God saving his people. As the Israelites were making the crossing, the towers of water on each side, the dry sand beneath their feet, the protecting pillar of fire and cloud insured their safe passage. It was all a picture of the days of transition as God establishes his heavenly and earthly kingdom. We are now living in the time when much of this will literally be fulfilled on a larger scale than even the Red Sea.

So let us embrace the baptism in Christ and apply the words of Moses to ourselves: “Stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah.”