Crossing the Red Sea
God makes a path through the sea
This story includes an army chasing people and drowning in the sea. It is told plainly, without graphic detail.
Two things you can tap
- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Moses: The Israelite God sent to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt.
- The LORD: God. LORD in capital letters stands for God's personal name. Jewish readers traditionally don't say it aloud, out of respect.
- Pharaoh: The king of Egypt. He let the Israelites go, and now he wants them back.
- Miriam: The sister of Moses and Aaron. The Bible calls her a prophetess, a woman who speaks God's message.
- The Israelites: The family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A few days ago, they were slaves in Egypt.
Setting
- The desert road out of Egypt. Then a camp on the shore of the sea, with the desert all around.
When
- More than 3,000 years ago, a few days after the first Passover.
Before the Story
God spared his people at Passover. Each Israelite family put a lamb's blood on its doorframe. At midnight, the last plague struck Egypt, and God passed over the marked homes (12:13, 12:29). Our story called The Passover tells what happened.
Pharaoh told them to leave. That same night, Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Get up and go." The Egyptians hurried the Israelites out (12:31-33).
They left in a hurry. About 600,000 men walked out, plus women and children. They had lived in Egypt for 430 years (12:37, 12:40).
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: Pharaoh would change his mind again. But God already had a plan.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The long way | 13:17-22 | God leads them with cloud and fire |
| 2. Pharaoh changes his mind | 14:1-9 | Pharaoh's army chases them |
| 3. Trapped at the sea | 14:10-14 | The people are terrified. Moses says, "Be still" |
| 4. The cloud moves | 14:15-20 | God stands between them and the army |
| 5. A path through the water | 14:21-25 | God opens the sea |
| 6. The water comes back | 14:26-31 | The army drowns. The people believe |
| 7. A song by the sea | 15:1-21 | Moses and Miriam lead the people in praise |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 7The Long Way
A crowd of former slaves walked out of Egypt. There was a shorter road through the land of the Philistines. But God did not lead them that way.
God said that if the people faced war, they might change their minds and go back to Egypt. So he led them the long way, through the desert, toward the Red Sea.
Moses carried the bones of Joseph with them. Long ago, Joseph had made his family promise something. When God came to help them, they would take his bones out of Egypt. Now they were keeping that promise.
They camped at Etham, at the edge of the desert. God went ahead of them. In the daytime, he was in a pillar of cloud, a tall column that showed them the way. At night, he was in a pillar of fire that gave them light. The pillars never left their place in front of the people.
Scene 2 of 7Pharaoh Changes His Mind
God told the Israelites to turn back and camp by the sea. God said Pharaoh would think they were lost in the desert. God would harden Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh would chase them. To harden someone's heart means to make that person stubborn. Then the Egyptians would know that God is the LORD.
Back in Egypt, Pharaoh was told that the people had left. He and his officials changed their minds. "What have we done?" they said (14:5). They had let their slaves go.
Pharaoh got his chariot ready. Chariots are war wagons pulled by horses. He took 600 of his best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt. His whole army went with him.
The LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh chased the Israelites. His horses, chariots, and soldiers caught up with them at their camp by the sea.
Scene 3 of 7Trapped at the Sea
The Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptian army coming. The sea was in front of them. The army was behind them. They were terrified, and they cried out to the LORD.
Then they blamed Moses. "Were there no graves in Egypt?" they asked him. They meant that Moses had brought them into the desert to die. "What have you done to us?" they asked. They said it would have been better to stay slaves in Egypt than to die in the desert.
Moses said, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD's salvation" (14:13). Salvation means rescue.
"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still" (14:14).
Halfway thereThis is a good place for a break. Your spot is saved on this device.
Scene 4 of 7The Cloud Moves
God said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward" (14:15).
God told Moses to lift up his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea. The sea would split. The Israelites would walk through on dry ground.
God said he would harden the Egyptians' hearts. Then the Egyptians would follow the Israelites into the sea. And the Egyptians would know that he is the LORD.
Then the angel of God, who had been leading the camp, moved behind the Israelites. The pillar of cloud moved too. The cloud stood between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. All night long, the two camps did not come near each other.
Scene 5 of 7A Path Through the Water
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. All night, the LORD pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. The water split apart. The sea floor became dry land.
The Israelites walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right and on their left.
The Egyptian army followed them into the sea. All of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and riders went in.
The last hours of the night were called the morning watch. At that time, the LORD looked down on the army from the pillar of fire and cloud. He threw the Egyptians into confusion. He made their chariot wheels wobble, so they could hardly drive.
The Egyptians shouted, "Let's get away from the Israelites. The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
Scene 6 of 7The Water Comes Back
God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea again.
Moses did. At sunrise, the water flowed back. The Egyptians tried to get away. But the LORD swept them into the sea.
The water covered the chariots and the riders. It covered the whole army that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground.
That day the LORD saved Israel from the Egyptians. Israel saw the Egyptian soldiers dead on the shore.
The people saw the great power of the LORD. They feared the LORD, and they believed in him and in his servant Moses. Here, fear means deep respect and awe.
Moses had said, "Stand firm and you will see the LORD's salvation." Now they had seen it.
Scene 7 of 7A Song by the Sea
Then Moses and the Israelites sang a song to the LORD. "I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted" (15:1). Exalted means lifted high, above everyone else.
They sang, "The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation" (15:2).
The song told what God had done. "The horse and rider He has thrown into the sea" (15:1). It said, "The LORD is a warrior, the LORD is His name" (15:3).
The song told how God blew with his breath and the sea covered the army. This is a comparison. The song describes the wind as God's breath.
The song asked, "Who among the gods is like You, O LORD?" (15:11). It promised that God would lead the people he had rescued. "With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed" (15:13). Redeemed means bought back and set free. The song said other nations would hear and tremble. God would bring his people to the place he had prepared for them.
The song ended, "The LORD will reign forever and ever" (15:18).
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.
Miriam sang back to them, "Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted" (15:21).
Back in Egypt, cruel slavery had left the people too discouraged to listen to Moses (6:9). Now they were singing.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "The LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud" (13:21) | God did not send them out alone. He went with them, day and night. |
| "Stand firm and you will see the LORD's salvation" (14:13) | The people could not save themselves. They would watch God do it. |
| "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still" (14:14) | Being still means trusting God. It does not mean doing nothing. Right after this, God told them to move forward (14:15). |
| "Walls of water on their right and on their left" (14:22) | The same water that trapped them became their protection. |
| "The people feared the LORD and believed in Him" (14:31) | To fear God here means deep respect and awe. Seeing God save them led to trust. |
| "The LORD is my strength and my song" (15:2) | The people could not win by their own strength. God was their strength. So they sang. |
Back Then
Chariots were carts pulled by horses and used in war. Later, King Solomon got most of his chariots from Egypt. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
The "morning watch" (14:24) was the last part of the night, from about 2 a.m. until sunrise. Israelites divided the night into three watches, times when guards took turns staying awake. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
A timbrel, or tambourine, was a small drum. It was a very old instrument, mentioned as far back as Genesis (Genesis 31:27). (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Joseph's bones had stayed in Egypt for hundreds of years. Joseph asked his family to carry them home when God rescued them (Genesis 50:25).
Literal Reader Alert
Was it really the Red Sea? The Hebrew words are often translated "Sea of Reeds." Nobody knows exactly where the crossing happened.
How did the sea split? The Bible says God used "a strong east wind" all night (14:21). It also says the people saw God's great power (14:31). God can work through wind and water.
Did Israel celebrate that the Egyptians drowned? Israel praised God for saving them (15:1-21). An old Jewish teaching says God stopped the angels from singing that night. God said the Egyptians were the work of his hands too (Talmud, Megillah 10b and Sanhedrin 39b). The Bible shows God rescuing his people. It does not ask us to enjoy anyone's death. Christians have struggled with this passage for a long time. If this story brings up big feelings, talk with a parent, pastor, or trusted adult.
"The LORD is a warrior" (15:3). This song praises God for fighting for slaves who could not fight for themselves. It is not permission for people to hurt others in God's name. Jesus taught, "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). Luther taught that we should not try to look into God's hidden ways. We should look at God where he shows himself to us, in his Word, and most clearly in Jesus (The Bondage of the Will, 1525). We use that teaching here, when God seems frightening.
Who was Miriam? She was the sister of Aaron and Moses (Numbers 26:59). Many readers think she was the sister who watched over baby Moses in the reeds (2:4). The Bible doesn't name that sister there.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pharaoh and his officials | Regret | They said, "What have we done?" after letting their slaves go (14:5) |
| The Israelites | Terrified | An army was behind them and the sea in front (14:10) |
| The Israelites | Angry at Moses | They thought he had led them out to die (14:11) |
| The Egyptians | Panicked | Their wheels wobbled, and they saw the LORD fighting for Israel (14:25) |
| The Israelites | Filled with awe and trust | They saw God save them (14:31) |
| Miriam and the women | Joyful | They sang and danced with tambourines (15:20-21) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Where are you in this story today? Tap one.
Trapped at the sea
Sometimes there is no way forward that you can see. Moses said the LORD would fight for them. Then God told them to move forward. Being still means trusting God. It does not mean doing nothing.
Wishing I could go back
The Israelites wanted to go back to slavery. Fear can make an old, hard life feel safer than something new. God did not leave them. He kept leading them forward.
Ready to sing
Miriam took her tambourine. When God rescues you, it's good to celebrate and tell others.
Scared and frozen
God knew they were afraid. He stood between them and the army all night. You don't have to be brave for God to fight for you.
It's really bad right now
Please tell a trusted adult today. If you are in danger right now, call 911 or your local emergency number. In the United States, you can also call or text 988 any time, day or night. Outside the United States, findahelpline.com lists free helplines.
You Might Have Heard
"Moses was a great hero who rescued his people."
What's true: Moses was brave in the end. He went back to Pharaoh again and again, and he told the people not to be afraid.
What the story is mainly about: God is the rescuer. Moses made excuses (4:10-13). The people could not even listen (6:9). Pharaoh was strong. God heard, God came down (3:7-8), and God fought for them (14:14). Even the song by the sea sings to the LORD, not to Moses.
Where Jesus is: Paul says the Israelites were "baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Corinthians 10:2). Christians see the sea crossing as a picture of Baptism. In the Bible's last book, God's people sing "the song of God's servant Moses and of the Lamb" (Revelation 15:3). The Lamb is Jesus.
Good News
God heard slaves who could barely pray. He came down to rescue people who could not save themselves. He brought them through the water to be his own people.
In Baptism, God brings you through the water too, and claims you as his own. Israel did not have to swim. God made the path. In the same way, Baptism is God's work, not yours.
You don't have to be brave enough. The LORD fights for you.
Big Idea
God fought for his people when they could not save themselves, and brought them through the sea to freedom.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
In his service for Baptism (1523, revised 1526), Luther wrote a prayer called the Flood Prayer. It remembers Noah and the flood. It also remembers how God led Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground, while Pharaoh's army drowned. Luther said these were pictures of Baptism. Lutheran baptism services today still thank God for bringing Israel through the sea.
In Church
Many churches follow the Revised Common Lectionary. A lectionary is a shared list of Bible readings for each Sunday. This lectionary reads Exodus 14:10-31 and Miriam's song (15:20-21) every year at the Easter Vigil, the night service before Easter morning. The Song of Moses (15:1-13, 17-18) is sung after it. In Year A, the lectionary also reads Exodus 14:19-31 in September, in the weeks after Pentecost. The Song of Moses is one choice in place of a psalm that day.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
How did that feel?