THE DELIVERANCE

The Plagues

The story of numerous and horrible plagues that had visited upon Egypt is a stumbling block
to many modern minds. The account demonstrates the power of God and the reason for the Hebrew’s
escape from Egypt. Modern research into Egyptian history and biblical literature brings us new insight
into these plagues while still preserving their essential meaning in the biblical story:

1. Most of the plagues were natural occurences that happen once in a great while in Egypt.
To be specific: it is known that during the annual flood of the Nile, red soil from
Abyssinia is sometimes carried down the river, making it appear very red. Also, during
July and August the presence of certain algae in the water of the Nile, may make it appear
red. Plagues of frogs are not uncommon in Egypt and the Nile delta is even called “the
Eldorado of flies” because of the course of insects that affects the region after the flood
waters of the Nile receded. A plague of cattle murrain is certainly possible, as in much of
the rest of the world. Hail is most uncommon in Egypt and the violent hailstorm might
have caused the unusual damage and fear. The plague of darkness quite possibly was
caused by the southwest wind [khamsin] that blows up huge clouds of sand and dust in
the spring, sometimes darkening the sun and burning and blinding with dust all in its path.
The plagues, therefore, may have been natural occurrences in which the Hebrews saw
good at work in punishing Egypt for the “hardening” of the Pharaoh’s heart.

2. The saga in which these plagues are reported seeks to communicate a sense of the power
of God in acting to save the Hebrews. While modern research helps us to understand the
specific plagues, the truth of the story for the Hebrews was that God acted to save them
from the slavery by means of the plagues.

In the Bible study we constantly walk a thin line between analysis of the materials presented
and listening to the message proclaimed. Analysis is intended to clarify the message. The
story of the plagues and many other miracles recorded in this saga point to the mystery and
power of the Lord God.

Frances Eastman writes about the plagues:

The plagues trouble some modern minds as much as the burning bush. How could
they happen, we ask, and all Egypt except one little corner be affected by them? To such
questions we must reply that the biblical account is not an objective news report. It is an
interpretation of events as Israel experienced them. People outside the Hebrew community of
faith would have interpreted them differently. No doubt the Pharaoh did. But this is not to say
that nothing at all took place. To the Hebrews mind, God expressed His will through nature
which He had created and sustained. He had not retreated from his world but was constantly
active in it. Therefore, the Bible describes the plagues as “signs and wonders”- evidences of
the presence and purpose of God. He could just as well work His purpose [of freeing the
Hebrews] through a swarm of locusts as through the tongues of men. All history and all
nature are at the command of this mighty God.

Undoubtedly, certain rather normal events in nature somehow made the Hebrews’
escape from Egypt easier; many of the plagues are regular occurrences in the Nile country. In
moments of faith, the Hebrews perceived God’s presence in those happenings using them to
carry out His intentions of saving the people.

As the story of the plagues was told and retold in the faith of the people, the simple
contrast in the events became essentially a contest between the God who controls nature and
history and naughty king who assumed that he was lord of lords.
The Passover

The actual escape from Egypt happened during the celebration of Passover. Exodus
12-13:16 tell of this event. It must be remembered that the Passover was a celebration which
dates long before the Exodus.

Apparently in [this] ancient ceremony a lamb was killed at the doorway of the tent
and the blood is collected in a hallow place [basin] made for the purpose. Some of the blood
was sprinkled on the tent poles, perhaps to ward off evil spirits. The lamb was then eaten in a
special meal. Moses reinterpreted the meaning of the ceremony and meal as a celebration of
God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from bondage in Egypt [these accounts are found in 12:21-
28 and in 12:1-14; 43-49].

The Contest with the Pharaoh

It seems that in the contest with the Pharaoh, the two opposing powers are not the
God of Moses and the gods of the Egyptians, but rather God and the “stubborn Pharaoh and
his crafty magicians”. Moses is present with Aaron as representatives of the God of the
Hebrews.

The narratives obviously show Yahweh as being completely in control of everything

that happens so that the Pharaoh is even portrayed as completely under his power…i.e., the
Lord Yahweh hardened his heart.

One passage declares that the very route of escape was providential “when pharaoh
let the people go”, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that
was near. The route referred to here is the main coastal highway leading up unto Canaan
through the coastal-line which shortly after 12 th century B.C. was invaded by the Philistines.
Since this was the main caravan and military highway and was strongly fortified with
Egyptians outposts, the Hebrews would not have had a chance on the road. Before they could
face such hazards, the people needed to be unified and bound together through the
experiences of the desert. So, instead of a shortcut, God’s strategy called for a runabout
journey. “God led the people runabout by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea” [Ex.
13:17-18]. In other words, they left the city of Rameses and struck out into the wilderness
that today borders the Suez Canal.

It has been suggested that they headed toward Lake Sirbonis, which lies on the
Mediterranean side of the coastal highway, but this view is difficult to square up with the
biblical narratives. Rather, the route probably took them in the direction of the marshy area
around Lake Timsah, a shallow extension of the Gulf of Suez. The Hebrew words that are
usually translated “Red Sea” are yam suph. Yam means “sea”; suph means “reed, papyrus”.
Hence, the words would be translated “Reed Sea”, or “Sea of Reeds”, or “Papyrus Lake”.
The reference is to the reeds that grow around the body of water. A great deal of confusion
was caused by the Greek translation of the Old Testament [Septuagint], which rendered the
words “Red Sea”, thus making the story of the crossing of the water much more of a problem
than it actually is. For on the basis of the Hebrew text, there is no need to suppose that the
Hebrews crossed that large body of water.

A Path Through the Waters

Realizing that the fugitive had escaped across the frontier, and that they would be
“entangled in the land” and “shut in” by the wilderness [14:3] the pharaoh’s charioteers raced
to take their easy prey. The ensuing account of the cataclysm at the Reed Sea represents a
blending of traditions and shows the same tendency to heighten the miracle that we have
 already noticed in the accounts of the plagues. The earliest tradition is approximately as
follows:

Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation
of Yahweh, which will work for you today, you shall never see again. Yahweh will
fight for you, and you have only to be still” [14:13-14].

The pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,
coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud
and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the other all night
[14:19b-20].

And Yahweh drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the
sea dry land. [And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea in dry ground].
And in the morning watch Yahweh in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down the
host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, clogging their
chariot wheels so that they drove heavily and the Egyptians said, “Let s flee from
before Israel, for Yahweh fights for them against the Egyptians” [14:21b; 24-25].

And the Egyptians fled into it [the sea], and Yahweh routed the Egyptians in the
midst of the sea. Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians,
and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw the great work
which Yahweh did against the Egyptians, and the people feared Yahweh; and they
believed in Yahweh and His servant Moses [14:27b, 30-31].

This was simply the writer’s way of glorifying God of the Hebrews and to show His
sovereign control. Even the various “signs and wonders” were used to show men the God who
controls history and runs the universe “that you may know that I am Yahweh [Ex. 10:2].

The Exodus Event

In the narrative of the book of Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea is the climactic moment in
a series of events springing from the last plague, the death of the first-born of the Egyptians. Having
portrayed vividly the Egyptian crisis and the Israelites hasty preparations to leave, the narrator pauses
to introduced some ancient rituals, particularly the ordinance that the Passover shall be celebrated
through all generations as a memorial of Yahweh’s deliverance of His people from Egyptian bondage.

The Passover originally was a nomadic festival that antedated the time of Moses. But
whatever its original meaning, it acquired a radically new meaning as a result of Moses’ prophetic
interpretation of the Exodus [see Ex. 12:26-27].

The Route of The Exodus

So the people set out from Egypt in haste. According to the statement in Ex. 12:37, there were
six hundred thousand men, in addition to women and children. This is obviously an exaggeration, for
it does not square with the information in Ex. 1:15-20 that two midwives served the whole Hebrew
colony. Needless to say, the Delta area could not have accommodated that many Hebrews and the
wilderness of southern Canaan could not have supported them. Undoubtedly, the band of slaves were
comparatively small. The record is correct, however, in stating that they were a motley group: not
only descendants of Jacob but a “mixed multitude” [12:38] representing Habiru of other origins.
Indeed, it is historically inaccurate to speak of those peoples as “Israelites” at this stage, although the
narrative does so repeatedly. Only later, as they shared the experiences of the desert and remembered
a common history were they forged into a community, the people of Israel.
 The narrative expresses the belief that God himself was guiding their journey, taking an active
part in the course of events. As their leader, he “went before” them. One Tradition [J] expresses this
conviction by saying that “Yahweh went before them by day in a column of cloud to lead them along
the way, and by night a pillar of fire to give them light” [13:21]. Some scholars, in an attempt to
rationalize this language have conjectured that Sinai, toward which the people moved, was at that time
an active volcano whose eruptions produced a cloud in the day time and fiery glow at night. But this
explanation hardly does justice to the description of the way the pillar of fire and of cloud moved
about [see 14;10-20]; so it is best to understand the fire and cloud as symbols of the divine presence.

One of the characteristics of this source is that Yahweh’s action is represented in human terms
[anthropomorphism]. For instance, he “fights” for Israel, he “clogs” Egyptian chariot wheels. Notice
that in this account of the crossing of the Reed Sea, probably at the eastern shore of Lake Timsah,
occurred when an east wind drove the waters back. This happening is not impossible in this marshy
area where the waters are shallow; in fact it has been witnessed at other times. The miracle was that it
happened at a particular time and with a particular meaning. Israel it was not a freak of nature, but a
sign of the active presence of Yahweh in their midst, who summons a power of the ordinary world
[the wind] to serve His purpose.

Some Interpretations About the Escape

The cloud and fire that went ahead of the people are again symbols of God’s presence. The
exact route of escape is unknown that it would not have been as far south as what we call the Red Sea.
This would have led across a heavily fortified Egyptian military road. Probably the escapees went east
towards the marshy reedy sea towards the gulf Suez. The Hebrew words describing the site mean
“Sea of Reed”; “Red Sea” is an incorrect translation. The company could have traversed the shallow,
marshy area- with the intervention of a mighty God who could command a power of the natural
world, the wind to serve His purpose and sweep a path for them.

Exodus 15:22-19:2 describes the three months in the wilderness before the Hebrews reached
Sinai. Moses was leading the Hebrews to the mountain on which God had called him to his service
[Ex. 3;12]. Getting the people to this place proved extraordinarily difficult. They were not really
prepared for the responsibilities of freedom; they had little experience in looking out for themselves.
Now there was no food; water was scarce; desert tribes were hostile. Life in Egypt suddenly looked
rosy and desirable. Within a few days of their escape the Hebrews rebelled. “We would rather have
died in Egypt!” they railed at Moses. Like many a prophet after him, Moses cried to Yahweh “What
shall I do with this people?” and Yahweh responded with practical guidance.

This is the way it seemed to the Hebrews as they looked back upon this initial period of their
freedom. Undoubtedly Moses’ knowledge of desert life helped proved solutions for its problems, but
in the very use of that knowledge, and as its source, the Hebrews say God was guiding them on their
way. This same motif is repeated throughout the Old Testament.

The Significance of the Exodus Event

As it has been pointed, the core of Israel’s faith and life, God’s deliverance from Egyptian
bondage, is what the Exodus event is all about.

First of all, the Exodus even formed the center of the Israelite confession of faith and cultic
worship. The Israelites came to know God in the context of worship, where historical happenings
were narrated as the great deeds of God in bringing a people into existence. They were trained that
God reveals himself in historical events.

Secondly, the Exodus event determined the Hebrew people’s understanding of God’s
righteousness. This means God’s ultimate power acting to liberate or deliver the weak, the oppressed,
the poor and the enslaved. It was not primarily justice distributed according to social status, but
redemptive action according to need. The Hebrew economic life reflected this understanding
profoundly, even in the earliest preserved laws. As God is righteous, so the Hebrews were to be
righteous; and this meant economically that weakness and poverty were not to be made into a source
of profit by the strong [Ex. 22:25-27], whether the weakness was that of a fellow Hebrew or a
foreigner.

Thirdly, the concept that the Hebrews were the chosen people of God [Ex. 19:5-6] arose as a
primary inference from God’s liberating acts from Egypt. However, in the Old Testament, there are
two traditions about the origin of the concept of election or being chosen. These are: the account of
Abraham’s call in Genesis and God’s liberating acts in the Exodus event. Yet, there can be no doubt
that historically the conception of Israel as a chosen people arose in later period, although it was
probably derived from early traditions subsequently interpreted to be fulfilled partially in the exodus
event. Also, the Exodus event providing the setting in which the relationship between God and His
people could be comprehended. The primary act which called the Hebrew people into being was
God’s gracious initiative. Having been the recipients of God’s unmerited grace, the Hebrews were
called upon to respond with love and fidelity. The grace of God and people’s response in this type of
covenant relationship is what is described by a later prophet as “steadfast love” [Hos. 6:6].

There are four things to remember, writes Anderson, regarding the covenant relationship
between God and the Hebrews:

First, God takes the initiative in establishing the covenant relationship. He steps on to the
stage of history and confronts men and women with His sovereign claim. Israel did not choose but
was chosen. Therefore, faith is wholehearted response to God’s initiative as manifested in His
“mighty act of deliverance”.

Second, the covenant relationship places men and women under an unconditional demand:
“Thou shalt”. God addresses men and women in categorical terms and they are responsible to him.
One cannot serve God half-heartedly, and the other half of his loyalty belonging to somebody else.
Like any absolute commitment, the covenant allegiance is essentially a “jealous one”.

Third, faith involves not only obligations toward God, but obligations toward the other
members of the covenant community. This is the meaning of the giving of the Law in connection
with the making of the covenant. These laws more often adopt to new cultural circumstances but the
basic principles remain constant: men and women are absolutely responsible to one another because
they are responsible to God.

Fourth, ethical responsibility is motivated by gratitude for what God has done, that is, His
liberating acts in the Exodus event. Men and women are to obey God, not as slave driven to their
duties, but as people who have been graciously liberated and redeemed.

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Sources:
Anderson, Bernhard W. Understanding the Old Testament, 4th ed., pp. 48-52; 55-60;
19;74.
Niguidula, Lydia N. The Heritage of the People of God, pp. 12-22.
Aoanan, Melanio L., God’s Liberating Acts, pp. 4-8. Holy Bible, Exodus 1-14.
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Definition:
Hebrew- today the term is often used to refer to the Jewish people or to their classical language,
Hebrew, but it once had a wider meaning. It does not express the sense of communal
solidarity implied by the word “Israel”, for there were Hebrews who were not members of the
Israelite community. The term originally was more inclusive than it is in biblical texts, which
refer specifically to those Hebrews who were slaves in Egypt and who eventually became the
community known as Israel. Later on, when these social realities were forgotten, the term was
restricted to the biblical Hebrews, the Jewish people.