27...CUTTING TO THE CHASE

 Based on EX. Chs. 13 - 15...Read more there 

After the dramatic build up - see Ep. 26 if you need to refresh your memory - the Hebrews leave Egypt rather matter-of-factly. They don't take the more direct route towards Canaan & Palestine for strategic reasons, instead taking a more roundabout way to reach the edge of the Sea of Reeds on the eastern arm of the Red Sea without apparent incident. Truth is no-one knows the exact route they took though several have been suggested. The point is they left! But by now, the Pharaoh is having second thoughts at losing such a huge slave-labour force. Could it be, too, that Egyptians have been pressed into service to take the place of the Hebrew slaves on never ending building projects Pharaohs were noted for, and are pressuring him to bring the Hebrews back? Whatever the cause of his change of heart, by the time the Hebrews reach the Sea of Reeds the Pharaoh & his army are in full pursuit & catching up. The Hebrews can see the sand & dust storm their chariots & horses are throwing up, & many of them are afraid, despite the pillars of fire & cloud that assure them of God's presence & protection. Some complain to Moses, "Weren't there enough graves in Egypt that you had to bring us out here into this wilderness to die?" [14:11] & want to turn back. As the Egyptians close in on them panic sets in among the ranks of the Hebrews. Moses reassures them, though, & at God's instigation stretches out his staff (the one YHWH God has used in the earlier conjuring contest with the Egyptians, see Ep.24) & the swampy waters are parted. The Hebrews pass through safely, & then, before the Egyptians can cross too, the waters return, swamping & annihilating the whole Egyptian army. While the story of this climactic event is told to us as supernatural intervention, we could say the miracle is not simply that, but the result, too, of obedience. Willingly or grudgingly, the Hebrews obey the instructions YHWH has given through Moses. This means they're there in time to take advantage of tide & winds advantageous to their crossing what we now believe was merely a few hundred metres of shallow swampland. It is no less miraculous & significant for this being the case. The fact that the story gets bigger & better with countless re-tellings, & becomes a foundation for the Jewish people's belief is no great problem when we allow for the fact that it is storytelling of the first order! Within the story itself there is clear evidence of two ways of looking at things - the confluence of natural causes like being in exactly the right spot at the right time to take advantage of strong winds & extremely low tide. Maybe, too, the Egyptians fall victims to panic when they realize they haven't timed things too well & are destroyed by natural events even though those same events are seen through Hebrew eyes as a supernatural parting of the waters & the resulting 'walls of water'. Might the events of Dunkirk in 1940, seen by many as miraculous & by others as the result of superb planning & effort perhaps be a similar illustration of both sides of a story coming together as one? To return to the fleeing Hebrews, reaching the other side in safety with the Egyptians no longer a threat doesn't absolutely restore the people's faith in either YHWH or Moses! But that's another story...28: Grizzling, Griping, & Goings On. 

(1) Brevard Childs (Exodus, SCM Press, p.28) thinks the contrasting natural / supernatural aspects come together when later compilers gives natural aspects of the Exodus a theological 'twist' (my word). (2) If the story of Dunkirk isn't familiar to you, 'Google' it! 

Question: How far is too far when it comes to giving natural events a supernatural 'twist' - or vice-versa?