During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. The last watch of the night — the pre-dawn hours — is when God intervenes directly in the Egyptian army's movement. The looking down from the pillar is a vivid anthropomorphism: the God who positioned the pillar between the armies now uses it as a vantage point to act. The confusion — hamam, to disturb, to throw into panic — is the same word used in Deuteronomy 7:23 where God promises to throw Israel's enemies into great confusion. The military force that appeared invincible is now panicking in the middle of the sea. The chariots that were Egypt's greatest military advantage are becoming their death trap. The confusion is not random; it is God's intervention at the last moment when the Egyptians are most committed to their pursuit and least able to retreat.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse