Chapter 14:
God is leading the Israelites in the form of a pillar. They arrive at their encampment, find the Egyptian army on their heels, and immediately accuse Moses of bringing them there to die. God led them there--why are they afraid?

Ted: Because the Israelites' faith always was lacking (even with God directly there with them), and they were petrified that the Egyptians were going to kill all of them there in the desert. Many also may have thought that the Egyptians would take them captive back into Egypt, and mistreat them even worse than before, for leaving.

  • Ted: Many people (with little faith) have a hard time believing that the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites was any big deal. They propose that, at that location, the Red Sea must have been very shallow, allowing a crossing there. But when confronted with the fact that the Israelites crossed over on DRY land (Exo. 14:16,21), and that the waters then covered the entire Egyptian army, including all of their chariots and horsemen, and that not one of them survived (14:28), they usually do not have an argument to counteract that.


    • Chapter 16:
  • Ted: Exodus 16:23 is the first mention of the Sabbath in the Bible. The observance of this day later would become one of the Ten Commandments (20:8-10). But, already, the Israelites attempted to break God's command (of the Sabbath) by going out to find manna on the seventh day (16:27), even though God had told them not to. It was because the Israelites grumbled and griped and disobeyed God constantly that God made them wander around the desert for 40 years.


    • Chapter 17:
  • Ted: Joshua was in charge of fighting the Israelites' first enemy, the Amalekites (Exo. 17:10). It is he, forty years later, who replaced Moses as their leader. He was only one of a handful of the original generation of Israelites whom God allowed into the promised land; all the rest died for disobeying and rebelling against God.