Moses Leads the Exodus

KEY VERSE: “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

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Exodus 14:10-18, 30, 31

MOSES’ greatness is attributable to the fact that he gave the Lord the glory for everything. By cooperating with the Lord he had accomplished the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage; but he kept the people reminded that it was the Lord who had brought this about. He said to them, “Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place.”—Exod. 13:3

Soon after they left Egypt, Moses and the Israelites were confronted with another crisis. The Lord directed the route they were to take. He “went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light.” (vs. 21) By following the cloud and the pillar of fire, they were led over a route which necessitated crossing the Red Sea, and when they reached the sea there seemed to be no way of crossing safely to the other side.

Meanwhile, after they had left Egypt, Pharaoh repented that he had allowed them to go; so “he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, … and he pursued after the children of Israel.” (Exod. 14:7,8) Pharaoh and his army overtook the Israelites just as they reached the Red Sea, and the people became very much afraid. (vs. 10) They could not go forward, and it looked as though they would be captured and returned to Egypt, or perhaps killed.

So they complained to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hest thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?” (vs. 11) Moses, still trusting in the Lord, said unto the people, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”—vss. 13,14

Jehovah then instructed Moses to go forward. He was told to stretch out his hand over the sea and divide the waters. The record is that a strong east wind blew upon the sea that night and divided the waters, enabling the Israelites to cross over on dry land. The Egyptian army tried to follow, but the waters closed in upon them, and Pharaoh and his warriors were destroyed.

The fifteenth chapter of Exodus contains a song of deliverance which was sung by Moses and the Israelites. Some of the opening words are, “The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation. … Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. … Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. … Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed, thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. … Thou shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”—Exod. 15:2-18

This song of Moses is preeminently one of salvation and deliverance, and is prophetic of a much grander deliverance of the entire world from the thraldom of sin and death. The overcoming church class of the present Gospel Age is shown in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation as being with the “Lamb” on Mount Zion, singing a new song, and, in the fifteenth chapter, as singing the song of “Moses and the Lamb.”—Rev. 14:1-3; 15:3

Thus again, Moses and the mighty works accomplished by the Lott) through him are indicated to be typical of Jesus, the Lamb of Revelation, and the much larger and more important deliverance accomplished by him—first of the church of the firstborn; and later, during the thousand years of his reign—of all mankind.

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