Then the Lord said to Moses: stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen. The second stretching of Moses' hand reverses the first. The water that was driven back for Israel is called back over Egypt. The same gesture that opened salvation for Israel initiates judgment on Egypt. The waters that were held at bay for the crossing are released for the closing. The command is direct and final — this is not a warning or a negotiation; it is the execution of the sentence that has been building since Exodus 4:21. The army that pursued Israel through God's divided sea will be covered by God's restored sea. The instrument of Israel's crossing becomes Egypt's tomb.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse