“And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.”
My Notes
What Does Exodus 14:10 Mean?
Israel sees the Egyptian army approaching and their response is immediate: "they were sore afraid" and "cried out unto the LORD." The fear and the prayer happen simultaneously. The terror doesn't prevent the praying, and the praying doesn't eliminate the terror. Both coexist in the same moment.
The phrase "lifted up their eyes" suggests they were looking the wrong direction — forward toward the sea — and turned to see the army behind them. The realization that they're trapped (sea ahead, army behind) produces the fear that produces the cry. The geographical impossibility is the catalyst for prayer.
The cry to the LORD (tsa'aq — the same word used for Israel's cry in slavery, Exodus 2:23) connects this moment to the original deliverance. They cried in Egypt and God heard. They cry again at the sea and God will hear again. The mechanism hasn't changed: desperate cry produces divine response.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How do fear and prayer coexist in your own experience — and does fear ever prevent you from praying?
- 2.What 'geographical trap' (impossibility) in your life might be the prerequisite for God's intervention?
- 3.How does the repeated mechanism (cry → God hears → God acts) from slavery to the sea encourage your own prayers?
- 4.When has being fully trapped become the catalyst for the most powerful prayer of your life?
Devotional
They looked up and saw the army coming. And they were terrified. And they cried out to God. Fear and prayer in the same breath. The terror didn't stop the praying. The praying didn't stop the terror.
This is the most realistic description of prayer under pressure in the Bible. Israel doesn't calmly assess the situation and then compose a measured petition. They see the horses and chariots, feel the earth shake under advancing hooves, calculate the impossibility of their position (sea in front, army behind), and scream toward heaven. The prayer is the scream. The scream is the prayer.
The geographical trap is the setup for the miracle. If Israel had an escape route — a mountain pass, a shallow ford, a defensible position — they wouldn't need the Red Sea to part. The impossibility is the prerequisite. You have to be fully trapped before God opens the road through the water. The sea doesn't part for people who have other options.
The cry (tsa'aq) is the same word used for their slavery cry in Exodus 2:23. The mechanism hasn't changed: desperation → cry → God hears → God acts. What worked in Egypt works at the sea. The first cry produced the Exodus. This cry will produce the crossing. God responds to the same kind of prayer in every generation: the desperate, terrified, no-other-option cry of people who are trapped.
You don't need eloquence for this kind of prayer. You need desperation. You need the sea in front and the army behind and nowhere left to go. And then you lift your eyes, see the impossibility, and scream toward the only one who can do anything about it.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And when Pharaoh drew nigh,.... Or "caused to draw nigh" (t); that is, his army, brought it very near to the camp of the…
The children of Israel cried out unto the Lord - Had their prayer been accompanied with faith, we should not have found…
We have here, I. The fright that the children of Israel were in when they perceived that Pharaoh pursued them, Exo…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture