“And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.”
My Notes
What Does Exodus 14:18 Mean?
"The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." The purpose of the Red Sea event is stated before it happens: the Egyptians will know who God is. The drowning of Pharaoh's army isn't random destruction — it's revelation. God's identity is the goal. The military defeat serves the theological purpose.
The phrase "gotten me honour" (kavod — glory, weight, significance) means God will be glorified through the defeat of Egypt's military. The chariots, the horsemen, Pharaoh himself — all become the stage on which God's glory is displayed. The most powerful army in the world becomes the prop in God's self-revelation.
The knowledge — "shall know that I am the LORD" — is Ezekiel's signature phrase centuries before Ezekiel. The recognition formula appears throughout the Exodus and the prophets: the goal of divine action is divine knowledge. God acts so that people know who He is.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What event in your life was designed by God to produce knowledge of who He is?
- 2.How does the Red Sea serve Egypt's education rather than just Israel's safety?
- 3.What does God gaining glory through the destruction of human pride teach about His priorities?
- 4.What 'chariots' in your world might become the stage for God's self-revelation?
Devotional
The Egyptians will know I am the LORD. That's why the sea opens. That's why the chariots drown. That's why the most powerful army on earth is swallowed by the water it tried to cross. The destruction serves the knowing.
God's primary purpose in the Red Sea event isn't Israel's safety — though that's accomplished. It's Egypt's education. The Egyptians who worshipped the Nile as a god will watch their army drown in a different body of water. The nation that believed Pharaoh was divine will see Pharaoh's forces consumed by the real God's power. The knowing is the point.
The glory God gains is displayed on the wreckage of Egypt's pride: chariots, horsemen, Pharaoh's own military apparatus. The instruments of Egyptian power become the evidence of divine power. What Egypt trusted — its military — becomes the object lesson in what God can do to what you trust.
Every divine action in the Exodus has this purpose clause: that they may know I am the LORD. The plagues. The sea. The wilderness provision. The Sinai theophany. All of it — designed to produce knowledge of God. Not knowledge about God (they already had information). Knowledge OF God — the experiential, undeniable, personal encounter with who He actually is.
What is God doing in your life that's designed to produce knowledge — not of theology, but of Him?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,.... Acknowledge him to be Jehovah, the self-existent, eternal, and…
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