Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 11:29
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]: which the Egyptians attempting to do were drowned.
29. they ] Moses and the Israelites.
were drowned ] Lit., “were swallowed up” (Exo 14:15-28; Psa 106:9-12).
which the Egyptians assaying to do ] The Greek words must mean “of which sea” (or “of which dry land”) the Egyptians making trial.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land – Exo 14:22, Exo 14:29. That is, it was only by confidence in God that they were able to do this. It was not by power which they had to remove the waters and to make a passage for themselves; and it was not by the operation of any natural causes. It is not to be supposed that all who passed through the Red sea had saving faith. The assertion of the apostle is, that the passage was made in virtue of strong confidence in God, and that if it had not been for this confidence the passage could not have been made at all. Of this no one can entertain a doubt who reads the history of that remarkable transaction.
Which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned – Exo 14:27-28. Evidently referred to here as showing the effects of not having faith in God, and of what must inevitably have befallen the Israelites if they had had no faith. The destruction of the Egyptians by the return of the waters in accordance with natural laws, showed that the Israelites would have been destroyed in the passage if a divine energy had not been employed to prevent it. On the passage through the Red sea, see Robinsons Biblical Researches, vol. 1, pp. 81-86.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 11:29
Passed through the Red Sea
Israelites passage through the Red Sea
I.
HISTORICALLY, AS A NOTABLE PATTERN OF PROVIDENCE; and so it represents to us two things
1. Unspeakable comfort to all believers in the midst of their extremities. God can disentangle and help them out, for He is with them in all their dangers (Isa 43:2).
2. It speaks terror to the wicked, and such as maliciously pursue the people of God, as the Egyptians did here.
II. SACRAMENTALLY (1Co 10:2).
1. They were baptized unto Moses in the sea; that is, Moses ministry was confirmed by that miracle, and so they were bound to take Moses for their leader and lawgiver; as the miraculous dispensations by Christ assure us that He was sent by God as our Lawgiver, whom we should hear and obey.
2. It is called a baptism, because it signified the difference that God puts between His people and their enemies, or the deliverance of His people from the common destruction of mankind was sealed to them by this passing through the sea, for here God shows that He would put a difference between His people and others.
3. They were baptized in the cloud and sea, because by submitting to Gods command they gave up themselves to Gods direction and the conduct of His providence by this initiating act, that He should lead them through the wilderness unto Canaan, and the land of promise; as we pass through the waters of baptism, that we may give up ourselves to be led through this world, which answers to the wilderness, to heaven, to Canaan, the land of promise, to be commanded and governed by Him till He brings us to our rest.
III. APPLICATIVELY, with respect to the use for which the apostle brings these instances; and it is to confirm believers in the faith of Christ, though they were sorely pushed at, and endured great sufferings for Christs sake.
1. I shall show what is the nature of faith, which we may learn from this instance.
(1) Faith inclined them to obey Gods command, and upon obedience to expect the mercy promised: Go through the Red Sea and you shall be saved. Now this is the common nature of all faith (Psa 119:66).
(2) For the command, faith gives courage to obey God in the most difficult cases.
(3) For the promise, the Red Sea was as a grave to them in visible appearance, and for a considerable time they walked every moment in the valley of the shadow of death. But this is the nature of faith, it teaches us to depend upon Gods promises in the greatest extremities.
2. This instance doth very much commend to us the excellency of this grace of faith, which was so necessary to believers in that age, when they were exposed to such great sufferings. Now, how it is manifested from this instance.
(1) Gods promise produces its miraculous effect through faith, and not otherwise. God could do it, whether the Israelites did believe, yea or nay; but their faith must concur.
(2) Here is another circumstance which commends faith likewise: this faith was weak at first, and mingled with unbelief; for first they murmured Exo 14:11-12). Now, when after such great faults God takes it so kindly, we will believe the promise, we should address ourselves to believe in Him.
(3) There is yet another circumstance in this instance; all of them were not true believers, but the faith of some made others partakers of the benefits. The ungodly receive many temporal benefits by the faith of others Act 27:24).
(4) It is commended to us again by the distinction God makes between believers and unbelievers; the one pass through the sea as on dry land, and the other sink as lead, and are drowned. We see our privileges in their destruction. Having laid this foundation, the doctrine is this–that they who, upon the belief of Gods promises, do resolve to run all hazards with Christ in the performance of their duty to Him, are only capable of salvation by Him. To evidence this, take these five considerations–First, that true faith receives the promise of God, with the terms and conditions which it requireth. Secondly, that the conditions which God requireth are, partly a belief of the promise, and partly obedience to the command annexed; as the Israelites were to believe that God would carry them safe and sound to the next shore through the Red Sea as upon firm land; and therefore, believing this, they were, upon the authority of Gods Word, to resolve to go down into the great deep, and try what God would do for them. Thirdly, these being the conditions, the belief of the promise, and thorough obedience to submit to the appointed way; lest we deceive ourselves with a notion, God loves to try us, to see if we have received the promise sincerely, whether we thoroughly believe His word, and are fully obedient to His commands (Jam 1:12). Fourthly, because we are fickle creatures, God will have us, by the solemn profession of such a faith, visibly to enter into His covenant. Fifthly, having thus solemnly entered into covenant with God, certainly we are bound to make it good, if we would have benefit by it. For it is not enough to make covenant, but all the promises run to him that keepeth covenant. Salvation is promised not to the undertaker, but the conqueror (Rev 2:7). (T. Manton, D. D.)
Gods care of His Church:
What a standing record is here of Gods care of His Church! Does the flood come upon them? Then He will build an ark for them. Have they to go through a wilderness? He will make the wilderness a place of safety and comfort. Are they in want of bread? They shall have manna. Do they come to the Red Sea? He will smite the tongue of the Red Sea. Nothing shall hinder Him from watching over the people, who are dear to Him as the apple of His eye.
I. GOD LEADS HIS PEOPLE FROM TIME TO TIME INTO STRAITS FROM WHICH NO POWER OF MAN CAN EXTRICATE THEM The Word of God declares it, and there are but few of Gods saints but have the testimony of it in their own hearts, and all sooner or later shall. Sometimes this is seen in providential difficulties: the Lord brings them into them. True it is that they are sometimes the means of bringing themselves into straits: but then still the Lord is with them. And we see this too, in spiritual things. He does bring His people to be tried in a way that they had no conception of. Thus the young convert frequently cometh, with his low looks, in great sorrow, wondering whether it is possible for one to be a child of God, and to be assaulted as I am by the powers of darkness. He thought all should be smooth before him: he thought all should be plain under his feet. Perhaps he saw so much in Jesus as made him begin his way happy in God; he thought his enemies were all dead upon the sea-shore. And instead he finds himself let and hindered in prayer. But all these things are of an indispensable necessity: I do not learn what worldliness is by seeing it in my brother, but I learn what it is by seeing it in my own soul; I must know an evil before I can loathe it. And therefore be assured, you that are learning out some of these lessons, painful to your nature, humiliating to your pride, yet be assured of this, we never can know the worth of Jesus but as we try, and never can we know what there is in God but as the creature sinks, and is brought down to his right place before Him. This is Gods mercy, this is Gods wisdom, this is Gods goodness, this is God!s faithfulness, that He brings His people from time to time into such straits as no power on earth but Himself can extricate them from.
II. BUT OBSERVE NOW THAT THE LORD DELIVERS THEM. And if you ask why He delivers them, it is because He loves them. But for whose sake is it that He loveth His covenant people? Is it for Abrahams sake? No; it is for His Sons sake: even as God, for Christs sake, hath forgiven you. It is for His own names sake, and because He had compassion on them, and chose them, and redeemed them, that in time He preserves them; and as long as that blessed Intercessor standeth up at the right hand of God, with your names upon His heart, as long as His great work goeth up with its much incense moment by moment, be assured of this, it is as much impossible for God not to remember His covenant, as it is impossible for God to deny Himself.
III. BUT OBSERVE, NOW, THE WAY AND THE MEANS BY WHICH THE LORD DELIVERED IN THIS CASE. It was a way through the Red Sea, typical of Jesus, the way through the Red Sea to Canaan, and that Red Sea typical of the vials of Gods wrath, the trials and temptations of the way, the floods of evil by which we are surrounded in this poor dying world; and yet Jesus is the way to the land of Canaan, by which all the Israel of God shall pass, and not one shall perish. Is it not a wondrous way to see an incarnate God standing in the breach? Is it not a wondrous way to see Jesus by His own blood opening a way for His ransomed to pass over, yea, bringing life and immortality to light in His own death? See what it has cost: the blood of Gods own Son. See what your sins deserved. See what Gods love was. See what Jesus is. And remark, too, that these very waters, that seemed in themselves as if they must destroy, became a wall on the right hand and on the left, became, as it were, a supporter. Oh, is it not a truth to die upon, when a man turning upon his pillow is enabled to look up and rest in Jesus, the Spirit bearing witness with his spirit that he is a child of God, to see the debt completely paid? Do you think anything like this can bear up a dying bed? And now consider the means. It was by faith. Faith, resting upon the promise, went into the sea; presumption, without a promise, rushed into the sea; faith was safe; presumption was destroyed. Here was faith, with its meek look, resting upon the promise going forward. So it is with you, casting yourselves, in your feebleness, in your beggary, m your vileness, simply upon Gods promise of life in Christ Jesus to every soul that believeth, Now, as faith enters into the mighty waters, it can see righteousness and peace all in glorious perfection. It can stand up, in the midst of providences, and say, not a drop of wrath is here. Mighty faith! O Lord, increase our faith. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)
The Hebrews and Egyptians at the Red Sea: a picture of modern men
I. THEY WERE ALL EMBARKED IN A COMMON ENTERPRISE. The pursuit of happiness is universal. Men seek it in different directions: some in sensual indulgence, some in worldly wealth, some in scenes of revelry and debauch, some in spheres of mental culture and religion. All are trying to cross some Red Sea in its pursuit. They will brave the greatest dangers, and venture their all if haply they may find it.
II. SOME SUCCEEDED AND SOME FAILED. The vast majority get engulfed in the sea of worldly anxieties, spiritual conflicts, moral remorse, and dread forebodings.
III. FAITH EXPLAINS THE SUCCESS OF SOME AND THE FAILURE OF OTHERS. It is certain, says Southey, that all the evils in society arise from want of faith in God, and of obedience to His laws; and it is no less certain that, by the prevalence of a lively and efficient belief, they would all be cured. (Homilist.)
Faith enabling us to do what seems impossible
I. THE DIFFICULTIES WHICH OPPOSED MOSES FAITH
1. The task itself to which he was called seemed impossible.
2. The committing so vast a multitude to the strange pathway was full of peril.
3. The unworthiness of the people seemed to forbid Divine help on their behalf.
II. THE GROUNDS OF MOSES FAITH.
1. Gods revealed purpose.
2. Gods past dealings.
3. Gods glory over His enemies.
III. THE TRIUMPH OF MOSES FAITH.
1. Faith can do what is impossible without it.
2. This because it secures the aid of Omnipotence.
3. And this, by simply doing fearlessly what God bids. (C. New.)
Of sinners perishing by that which preserves saints
1. This comes to pass through mans abuse of the means which God affords for his good.
2. God being provoked by such men turns blessings into curses. This may afford us a good direction about the use of those means which we see to be successful to others.
For this end
1. Be sere of thy warrant for the use of such and such means. These Egyptians had no warrant so to rush into the sea as they did. When the Israelites presumed to go up against the Amalekites and Canaanites without Gods warrant, they were discomfited (Num 14:44-45).
2. Use warrantable means after a right manner: herein David failed (1Ch 15:13).
3. Aim at a right end. The King of Assyria aimed at a wrong end in the successes that God gave him (Isa 10:12-13).
4. In all lawful things seek Gods blessing, for it is not means, but Gods blessing on means, whereby we come to prosper (Deu 8:3; Pro 10:22). (W. Gouge.)
Fear and courage:
While at war with each other a small company of Thebans under Pleopidas unexpectedly met their Lacedaemonian enemies on the road. One ran and told Pleopidas, We are fallen into the enemies hands. And why not they, said he, into ours? (Plutarch.)
Folly of presumption:
Presumption is a fire-work made up of pride and foolhardiness. It is indeed like a heavy house built upon slender crutches. Like dust, which men throw against the wind, it flies back in their face, and makes them blind. Wise men presume nothing, but hope the best: presumption is hope out of her wits. (T. Adams.)
Reckless presumption
A noble ship was bearing in to port. It was the evening hour, and too late to enter without a pilot. There were two passages into the harbour: one a dangerous narrow channel, the other a wide and safer one. The captain determined to pilot himself by the narrow passage. A storm was coming up; and the passengers, with fear and consternation, begged him to take the wider channel. He laughed at their cowardice, and swore he would do as he pleased. As the night advanced, the gale increased. Soon arose a cry, Breakers ahead, breakers ahead I The captain flew to the wheel; the sails were struck; the wind had the mastery; and the captain found a will that could defy his own. The vessel made a fearful plunge, struck the foreship deep into the sand, to be shattered by the wild waves pleasure. Few survived the terrors of that fearful night; but among the dead thrown up by the rising tide was the body of the wilful and presumptuous captain. (New Cyclopedia of Illustrations.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 29. By faith they passed through the Red Sea] See the notes on “Ex 14:22“. The Egyptians thought they could walk through the sea as well as the Israelites; they tried, and were drowned; while the former passed in perfect safety. The one walked by faith, the other by sight; one perished, the other was saved.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: the same faith enabled Moses eminently, and those other believers, as Aaron, Caleb, Joshua, &c.; for all Israel believed not, 1Co 10:5, yet for the faithfuls sake were they kept from drowning, after Moses had, at Gods command, (when the Israelites were ready to be fallen on by the Egyptians), lifted up his rod, and stretched his hand over the Red Sea, when God immediately, by an east wind, divided it, made the waters to stand up on each side like walls of crystal, and the bottom of it to be dry; then entered Moses and lsrael into the empty and dry space, and walked through it on dry ground, and not a soul of Israel miscarried, but might see astonishing power and mercy in it, Exo 14:22.
Which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned: in the mean time the Egyptians, with their king, pursuing Israel for their ruin, find their own; for presumptuously adventuring to pursue them through this miraculous space, guided by sense, and not by faith, and thinking to pass as safe as Israel, when they had no word for it, God troubles them by his angels in their motion, makes them drive heavily; and having brought them into his pit in the midst of the channel, the crystal walls dissolve, and the waters, returning to their fluid nature, quickly overwhelmed and swallowed up all that host, so as not one of these unbelieving, presumptuous, persecuting wretches escaped. Gods great work in this, as to Israel, had a double meaning; literal, their salvation from the Egyptians; mystical, their baptismal initiation into the covenant of God by Moses: though all of them had not faith unfeigned, yet they professed faith in God; and the doctrine Moses brought from him, was accounted sufficient to attain both, 1Co 10:2.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29. theyMoses and Israel.
Red Seacalled so fromits red seaweed, or rather from Edom (meaning “red”), whosecountry adjoined it.
which . . . assaying todoGreek, “of which (Red Sea) the Egyptians havingmade experiment.” Rashness and presumptionmistaken by many for faith; with similar rash presumption manyrush into eternity. The same thing when done by the believer, andwhen done by the unbeliever, is not the same thing [BENGEL].What was faith in Israel, was presumption in theEgyptians.
were drownedGreek,“were swallowed up,” or “engulfed.” They sank inthe sands as much as in the waves of the Red Sea. Compare Ex15:12, “the earth swallowed them.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
By faith they passed through the Red sea, as by dry land,…. Not through a river, but through the sea, the Red sea, the sea of Suph, or weeds; [See comments on Ac 7:36]. Some say they came out on the same side they went in; but it should seem rather, by the phrase here used, that they passed through it, from one side to the other; and that all one as if it had been on dry ground; even Moses, and all the children of Israel: and this they did by faith, believing, that God would make a passage quite through it for them, and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, who were closely pursuing them:
which the Egyptians assaying to do, were drowned. These were Pharaoh, and his numerous army; who, observing the Israelites march on through the sea, as on dry land, thought they could do the same; and so made an attempt, but were everyone of them drowned; in just retaliation for the cruel edict for drowning the male infants of the Israelites, as soon as they were born.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Which assaying to do ( ). Literally, “of which taking trial” (second aorist active participle of , to take). The idiom occurs in De 28:56, in N.T. only here and verse 36, though a classical idiom (Demosthenes, etc.).
Were swallowed up (). First aorist passive indicative of , to drink down, to swallow down (Mt 23:24).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “By faith they passed through the Red Sea,” (pistei diebesan ten eruthran thalassan) “By (means of) faith they went thru the Red Sea;” He who had delivered them from death, who by faith caused them safely to pass thru, to cross, the Red Sea dry shod, protected from nature’s harm and Pharaoh’s army, Exo 14:13-22.
2) “As by dry land,” (hos dia kseras ges) “As (though) they were passing through dry land,” Exo 14:29, declares, “But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea.” The Lord saved or delivered Israel that day from the hate of Pharaoh’s army, Exo 14:30-31.
3) “Which the Egyptians assaying to do,” (hes peiran labontes hoi aiguptioi) “Which trial the Egyptians taking it on themselves to do, of their own accord; They pursued Israel into the sea where God had rolled back the waters, Exo 14:23-26. Their chariots stalled; their wheels ran off; their horses stampeded; they drowned at the Word of God and the hand of Moses, Pro 29:1; Psa 106:9-12.
4) “Were drowned,” (katepothesan) “They were swallowed up,” or drowned, in the same Red Sea, at the same location; They had not entered the waters (between the wall of the waters) by, in, or thru faith, and the shedding of the Passover blood; In presumptuous sin they all died, Exo 14:27-28; Pro 1:22-30; Jud 1:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
29. By faith they passed, etc. It is certain, that many in that multitude were unbelieving; but the Lord granted to the faith of a few, that the whole multitude should pass through the Red Sea dryshod. But in doing the same thing, there was a great difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians; while the former passed through safely, the latter coming after them were drowned. Whence was this difference, but that the Israelites had the word of God, and that the Egyptians were without it. The argument then derives its force from what happened to the contrary; hence, he says, that the Egyptians were drowned. That disastrous event was the punishment of their temerity, as on the other hand, the Israelites were preserved safe, because they relied on God’s word, and refused not to march through the midst of the waters.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(29) Which the Egyptians assaying to do.Literally, Of which the Egyptians making trial were swallowed up (Exodus 14, 15). In the same trial, but with the support of the word of God, had consisted Israels faith. The word land is not in the ordinary Greek text (and hence stands in italics), but is found in the best MSS. It is with this word that the following clause (of which . . .) connects itself.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
29. They The Israelites under Moses, implied but not expressed.
Drowned Were swallowed down, as if the sea were a sea monster to them.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians attempting to do were swallowed up.’
Note the change from ‘he’ to ‘they’, made more emphatic by the fact that he could have previously said ‘they kept the Passover’ rather than ‘he kept the Passover’, for the Passover revealed their faith as well as his. This thus represents a specific and deliberate change in emphasis. Here all the people are seen as being drawn in and involved. Moses’ part was done. Attention is now drawn to the faith of the people as a people. This ‘faith of the people’ did not mean that all truly believed. It is the faith of the whole seen as one. ‘Israel’ as a whole had faith, even though some within Israel did not.
Concentration is now on the faith of the many and it is contrasted with the Egyptians. Israel believed. Egypt (the representative of the world in its opposition to God) did not. Through the faith of Moses the Red Sea opened up before Israel, and through their combined faith they passed through it on dry land, while the Egyptians who lacked true faith were all swallowed up and drowned (see Exo 14:15-31). We are to see here the faith of Moses absorbed into the resulting faith of the people in what God was doing. On being tested they did not finally return to Egypt, even though many did waver, because they held their trust in the promises of God. Their resultant increased faith is stressed in Exo 14:31.
For not all who perished in the wilderness were unbelievers. Many were true believers, even though they were yet weak and disobedient. Indeed this is confirmed by the fact that neither Aaron nor Moses reached the promised land. Yet they were still people of faith. So it turned out that many also were disobedient believers who had to face the consequences of their disobedience and yet were not excluded from God’s final mercy.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Faith That Received Miraculous Deliverances in the Course of the Fulfilment of God’s Promises ( Heb 11:29-31 ).
Heb 11:29. By faith they passed through the Red sea “By faith operating in Moses, and in its degree in them likewise, they passed over the Red sea, sedately, as if they had marched on dry land, while its waters by the Divine command divided, and left the channel bare to them, so that they completed their march through it, and arrived safelyon the opposite shore; which the Egyptians making an insolent and rash attempt to do, were all drowned, and sunk like lead in the mighty waters, which returned upon them with irresistible violence.”
Heb 11:29 . Comp. Exo 14:22 ff.
] Oecumenius: .
] namely, the Israelites under Moses .
] as through dry, firm land . The less usual with the genitive, alternating with the ordinary accusative in connection with , was probably occasioned by the reading of the LXX. Exo 14:29 ( ).
] in the essaying of which the Egyptians were drowned .
refers back to , not, as Bhme, Kuinoel, Klee, Stein, Stengel, Bloomfield, Delitzsch, Kurtz suppose, to . For the former is the main thought, of which the readers are reminded anew by , whereas contains only a subsidiary feature, attached by way of comparison.
stands here in the active sense. Otherwise Heb 11:36 .
, however (comp. Exo 15:4 ), is a more general expression for the more definite , which latter ( ) is found also in our passage, in some cursives, as likewise with Chrysostom and Theodoret.
29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land : which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
Ver. 29. They passed through the Red Sea ] Which threatened to swallow them, but yet preserved them. Faith will eat its way through the Alps of seemingly insuperable difficulties, and find unexpected exits.
As by dry land ] “Israel saw no way to escape here, unless they could have gone up to heaven, which because they could not, saith one, heaven comes down to them, and paves them away through the Red Sea.
Assaying to do were drowned ] Here that holy proverb was exemplified, “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead,” Pro 11:8 . See Isa 43:3 . God usually infatuateth those whom he intendeth to destroy, as these.
29 .] By faith, they (see above) crossed (the verb is used of crossing water, whether in boats, or on a bridge, or swimming or wading: e. g. Herod. i. 75, of the river Halys, , : . : , . Here it is used of a bridge , of crossing, generally , and of a ford . See other examples in Bl.) the red sea (so the LXX always for , the sea of (red) weeds) as through dry land (we should rather expect ; but the unusual expression is apparently borrowed from the narrative in Exodus (ref.), ): of which (viz. of the red sea , not, of the dry land , as Bhme, Kuinoel, and Klee. For as Ln. observes, the idea of the sea is necessarily called up again by , shewing that it, and not the dry land, is the leading idea) the Egyptians making experiment (here, is in an active sense: in Heb 11:36 , in a passive. Both are sufficiently common: e. g. for the active, Plato, Protag. p. 342 A, : ib. 348 A: Gorg. 448 A: Polyb. ii. 32. 5, . See many others in Bleek: and for the other sense, on Heb 11:36 ) were swallowed up (by the sea. The verb is a general one, qualified by the particular mode of . So in reff. Exod. and Num.: Diod. Sic. i. 32, . . And Polyb. ii. 41. 7, using the word of drowning, qualifies it: , . . There is something to be said for the reading , though it is weakly supported by mss., as being the Alex. reading of the LXX in Exo 15:4 , and found in Chrys. and Thdrt. Bleek inclines to think that our Writer may have had it in his Alexandrine LXX).
passed through. Greek. diabaino. See Act 16:9.
assaying = endeavouring or attempting (Greek. peira; here and Heb 11:36).
drowned = swallowed up. Greek. katapino, as 1Co 15:54.
29.] By faith, they (see above) crossed (the verb is used of crossing water, whether in boats, or on a bridge, or swimming or wading: e. g. Herod. i. 75, of the river Halys, , : . : , . Here it is used of a bridge, of crossing, generally, and of a ford. See other examples in Bl.) the red sea (so the LXX always for , the sea of (red) weeds) as through dry land (we should rather expect ; but the unusual expression is apparently borrowed from the narrative in Exodus (ref.), ): of which (viz. of the red sea, not, of the dry land, as Bhme, Kuinoel, and Klee. For as Ln. observes, the idea of the sea is necessarily called up again by , shewing that it, and not the dry land, is the leading idea) the Egyptians making experiment (here, is in an active sense: in Heb 11:36, in a passive. Both are sufficiently common: e. g. for the active, Plato, Protag. p. 342 A, : ib. 348 A: Gorg. 448 A: Polyb. ii. 32. 5, . See many others in Bleek: and for the other sense, on Heb 11:36) were swallowed up (by the sea. The verb is a general one, qualified by the particular mode of . So in reff. Exod. and Num.: Diod. Sic. i. 32, . . And Polyb. ii. 41. 7, using the word of drowning, qualifies it: , . . There is something to be said for the reading , though it is weakly supported by mss.,-as being the Alex. reading of the LXX in Exo 15:4, and found in Chrys. and Thdrt. Bleek inclines to think that our Writer may have had it in his Alexandrine LXX).
Heb 11:29. , they passed through) Moses and Israel.-, red) The Sea of Edom: , red.- , attempting) Rashness is denoted without faith. [By a daring not unlike this many rush into eternity.-V. g.] When two do the same thing, it is not the same thing. So far does the apostle draw his examples out of the writings of Moses, and his Genesis and Exodus: in what follows, examples are derived from the earlier and later prophets.
Having fixed the foundation and beginning of the deliverance of the church on the exercise of faith in the observance of the holy institutions of divine worship, prescribed to be the signs and tokens thereof, the apostle proceeds to give an instance in one of the most remarkable passages of divine providence that befell them in the way of their deliverance.
Heb 11:29. , , .
. The Syrian retains the Hebrew name, y Sea, the sea of reeds or canes, as this sea is called constantly in the Scripture.
. Vulg., experti, a making a trial. Periculo facto, venturing to do; when they durst, as we, assaying. Syr., or emboldened themselves to enter it.
, devorati sunt. Vulg. Lat., absorpti aunt. Syr., properly, were swallowed up, overwhelmed, drowned, suffocated.
Heb 11:29. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry [land:] which the Egyptians assaying, [making a trial of,] were drowned, [or swallowed up.]
A greater instance with respect unto the work of divine Providence, of the power of faith on the one hand, and of unbelief with obdurate presumption on the other, there is not on record in the whole Book of God.
Here we have the end and issue of the long controversy that was between those two people, the Egyptians and the Israelites; a certain type and evidence of what will be the last end of the contest between the world and the church. Their long conflict shall end in the utter destruction of the one, and the complete salvation of the other.
1. The persons whose faith is here commended are included in that word, they passed; that is, the whole congregation of the Israelites, under the conduct of Moses, Exodus 14. And the whole is denominated from the better part; for many of them were not believers in state, unto the sanctification of their persons. For with many of them, as the apostle speaks, God was not well pleased, though they were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 1Co 10:2; 1Co 10:5. But in a professing society, God is pleased to impute the faith and obedience of some unto the whole; as, on the other hand, judgments do oftentimes befall the whole for the provocations of some, as it frequently happened unto that people in the wilderness. It is therefore the duty of every man in church society to endeavor, on the one hand, the good of the whole in his own personal faith and obedience; as also, on the other, to keep them in what lies in him from sin, that he fall not with them under the displeasure of God.
2. Their faith wrought in their passing through the sea: not in dividing of the waters, that was an act of immediate almighty power; but by faith they passed through when they were divided. It is true that God commanded Moses to divide the sea, Exo 14:16; but this was only ministerially, in giving a sign thereof by stretching forth his rod, verse 21. And concerning their passage by faith some things may be observed.
(1.) It was the Red Sea that they passed through; that part of the Ethiopic Ocean which lieth between Egypt and Arabia. In the Hebrew it is constantly called Sea of Sedges, reeds or canes, from the multitude of them growing on its shore; as it is unto this day. The Greeks call it or , the word here used by the apostle. And it was so called, not from the red color of the waters, appearing so from the sand or the sun, as some have fancied, but from a king whom they called Erythrseus; that is, Esau, or Edom, who fixed his habitation and rule towards this sea. For whereas that name signifies red, they gave him a name of the same signification in their language. Thence came the sea among them to be called the Red Sea, which the Hebrews called Yam Suph.
(2.) This sea they passed through from the Egyptian unto the Arabic shore. For what some have imagined, that they entered into the sea, and, making a semicircle, came out again on the same side, leaving Pharaoh and his host drowned behind them, is inconsistent with the narrative of Moses, that they passed through the sea. Nor is there any countenance given hereunto from what is affirmed, Num 33:6-8, namely, that before they entered the sea they pitched in Etham, and that after they had passed through the midst of it, they went three daysjourney in the wilderness of Etham. For all that tract of land wherein the Red Sea issues and ends, from which end of it they were not far remote, belonged unto the wilderness of Etham both on the one side of the sea and the other, as is evident in the story.
(3.) It is said that they passed through as on dry land, Exo 14:21-22; Exo 14:29. Some think that the bottom of the sea being sand, was fit and meet to go upon, on the mere separation of the waters; others, that this was the effect of the mighty wind which God also used in the dividing of the waters, though he put forth in it an act of his almighty power. See Isa 63:11-13. For no wind of itself could produce that effect, much less keep the parted waters standing like walls; yet it is said directly that the east wind made the sea dry land, Exo 14:21-22. However it was, the ground was made fit and meet for them to travel on, and pass through the waters without difficulty or impediment.
(4.) The division of the waters was very great, leaving a space for so great a multitude to pass orderly between the divided parts, perhaps unto the distance of some miles. And their passage is judged to have been six leagues from the one shore unto the other; by some much more.
(5.) The Israelites had light to discern this state of things; and no doubt the appearance of it was very dreadful. The waters must of necessity be raised unto a very great height on each side of them; and although they were, and proved, by the power of God, a wall unto them on the right hand and on the left, yet was it in them a high act of faith to put themselves between such walls, as were ready in their own nature to fall on them unto their destruction every moment, abiding only under an almighty restraint. But they had the command and promise of God for their warranty and security, which will enable faith to overcome all fears and dangers.
(6.) I doubt not but that Moses first entered himself at the head of them. Hence it is said that God led them through the sea by the right hand of Isa 63:11-13; he entering before them into the channel of the deep to guide and encourage them. Some of the Jews say that this was done by Amminadib, captain of the host of Judah, who, when all the rest of the people were afraid, first entered, with his tribe; whence mention is made of the chariots of Amminadib, Son 6:12. But, alas! they had neither chariot nor horse with them, but went all on foot.
From all these difficulties and dangers we may observe,
Obs. 1. Where God engageth his word and promise, there is nothing so difficult, nothing so remote from the rational apprehensions of men, but he may righteously require our faith and trust in him therein. Whatever almighty power can extend unto, is a proper object for faith; in reliance whereon it shall never fail.
Obs. 2. Faith will find a way through a sea of difficulties, under the call of God.
Obs. 3. There is no trial, no difficulty, that the church can he called unto, but there are examples on record of the power of faith in working out its deliverance. There can be no greater strait than the Israelites were in, between the host of the Egyptians and the Red Sea.
3. It remains that we consider the other people, with what they did on this occasion, and what end they came unto.
The people were the Egyptians. So they are called here in general. But in the account given us by Moses, it appears that Pharaoh himself, the king, was there present in person, with all the nobility and power of his kingdom. It was he in an especial manner whom God had undertaken to deal withal; yea, he raised him up for this very purpose, that he might show his power in him, and that his name thereby might be declared throughout the earth, Exo 9:16, Rom 9:17. Accordingly, he carried it for a long time with intolerable pride and obstinacy. Hence the contest betwixt God and him, with the issue of it, was so famous in the world that the glory of God was exceedingly exalted thereby; and the terror of it made way for the people in their entrance into Canaan, the hearts of the inhabitants failing because of them. Here the contest came to an issue, in the utter ruin of the proud tyrant. For there is none so great, so proud, so obstinate, but if God undertake to deal with them, he will be victorious in the end. See Exo 15:3-10.
This Pharaoh with his Egyptians (that is, his whole army, horses, and chariots) assayed to do what they saw the children of Israel. do before them; namely, to pass through the sea whilst the waters of it were divided. And this was the greatest height that ever obdurate infidels could rise unto in this world. They had seen all the mighty works which God had wrought in the behalf of his people among them, they and their country were almost consumed with the plagues and judgments that were inflicted on them on their account; and yet now, beholding this wonderful work of God in opening the sea to receive them from their pursuit, they would make a venture, as the word signifies, to follow them into it.
Now, although this presumptuous attempt of the Egyptians be to be resolved into that judiciary hardness which was upon them from God, that they might be destroyed, yet no doubt but some things did occur to their minds that might lead them unto the hardening of themselves; as,
(1.)That they might not know for a while that they were entered into the channel of the sea, the waters being removed far from them; but they might go on perhaps in the night, without once thinking that the people whom they pursued were gone into the midst of the sea.
(2.) When they discovered any thing extraordinary therein, they might suppose it was only by some extraordinary natural cause or occasion; of which sort many things fall out in the ebbing and flowing of the sea. But,
(3.) That which principally animated them was, that they were continually near or close upon the Israelites, ready to seize on them; as is evident in the story. And they did perfectly believe that they should fare as well as they. And for this reason it was that God began to disturb them in their passage, that they should not overtake the people, but abide in the sea unto their ruin.
But however these and the like considerations might serve to blind their minds in some measure, that they should forget all former instances of divine severity against them in the same cause, and not discern the imminent destruction that was prepared for them, the principal cause from whence they precipitated themselves into the punishment which they had deserved was the efficacy of that blindness and hardness of heart wherewith they were plagued of God. And herein, as was said, we have the most signal example and instance of the power of unbelief, confirmed by judiciary hardness of heart, that is upon record in the whole book of God; nor doth any monument of an equal folly and blindness remain among other memorials of things done in this world. And we may observe, that,
Obs. 4. God knows how to secure impenitent sinners unto their appointed destruction, by giving them up unto hardness of heart, and an obstinate continuance in their sins, against all warnings and means of repentance. The devils are reserved for judgment under the chains of their own darkness. See Rom 1:24; Rom 1:28-29.
Obs. 5. God doth not give up any in a judiciary way unto sin, but it is a punishment for preceding sins, and as a means to bring on them total ruin and destruction.
Obs. 6. Let us not wonder that we see men in the world obstinate in foolish counsels and undertakings, tending unto their own inevitable ruin, seeing probably they are under judiciary hardness from God, Isa 6:9-10; Isa 19:11-14.
Obs. 7. There is no such blinding, hardening lust in the minds or hearts of men, as hatred of the people of God and desire of their ruin. Where this prevails, as it did in these persecuting Egyptians, it deprives men of all wisdom and understanding, that they shall do things against all rules of reason and policy, (which commonly they pretend unto,) brutishly and obstinately, though apparently tending unto their own ruin and destruction. So it was with these Egyptians; for although they designed the utter extirpation of the people, that they should be no more in the world, which they attempted in the law for the destruction of all the male children, which in one age would have totally exterminated them out of Egypt, yet now they will run themselves on imminent, universal destruction, to bring them back again into Egypt.
Obs. 8. When the oppressors of the church are nearest unto their ruin they commonly rage most, and are most obstinate in their bloody persecutions. So is it at this day among the anti-christian enemies of the church; for notwithstanding all their pride and fury, they seem to be entering into the Red Sea.
Lastly; The event of this essay or undertaking of the Egyptians, was, that they were drowned, they were swallowed up. The account hereof is given us so gloriously in the triumphant song of Moses, Exodus 15, that nothing needs to be added in its further illustration. And this destruction of the Egyptians, with the deliverance of Israel thereby, was a type and pledge of the victory and triumph which the church shall have over its antichristian adversaries, Rev 15:2-4.
Blessed Salvation
By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. Heb 11:29
The event here stated in one sentence is described fully in Exodus 14. That which Israel experienced in deliverance from Egyptian bondage and the crossing of the Red Sea was a picture of our salvation by Christ. When the children of Israel were hemmed in on every side, when they were brought into a position of utter helplessness, hopelessness, and despair, they murmured against God and against his servant, Moses, in unbelief.
Moses was undeterred by the murmuring of the people. He did not respond to their gripes. Instead, he turned their minds away from their outward danger and directed their hearts to their God.They had lifted up their eyes and beheld the Egyptians (Heb 11:10), and were sore afraid. They should have been looking to Christ, to the throne of God and the promise of God. If they had been steadfastly occupied with Gods salvation, they would never have known fear.
Instead of responding to Israels accusations, Moses continued doing what God had sent him to do. He proclaimed Gods salvation. Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever (Exo 14:13).
Gods Work
Salvation is altogether Gods work. It is not something we do. It is something done for us by our God which we see, receive, and experience when the Lord God graciously forces us to stop doing, stand still, and look to Christ.
Yes, the children of Israel fled across the Red Sea from the armies of Pharaoh, but how? The Lord God brought them to the place that they had to look to him. There was no human strength to which they could turn. Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt terrified them. They were as helpless as they were afraid.
Is that not the experience of every chosen sinner? Legal fear and terror never saved anyone. The fear of eternal damnation and a sense of utter helplessness and despair is not Holy Spirit conviction (Joh 16:8-11). But I never knew anyone to fall into the arms of mercy who was not driven there by the terror of the law. I never knew anyone to flee away to Christ who was not driven to him by Moses. When Israel stood trembling, as it were upon the very brink of hell, Moses commanded them to stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
Our Trials
That which is true of our salvation, our deliverance from the terror of the law and the guilt of sin is also our experience in times of great trial. Believers are sometimes called upon to face great trials. A Red Sea of difficulty and trouble confronts us. It was not Pharaoh who put the sea in Israels way, but God. And it is the Lord our God, our heavenly Father, who tries the faith of his children. He uses Satan to do it; but the trial is his work. The deliverance is his as well!
How often a new born believer emerges from Egypt, thinking that now it will be easy to surrender everything to God, but after a while there is a Red Sea of testing before him, which seems impossible to cross. We are often terrified by powerful enemies. How often the Egyptians (our sins) come upon us and we discover another law warring in our members, bringing us into captivity of the law of sin and death. Our sins are more bitter than ever. In Egypt Israels task masters only had whips. Now they are mounted on chariots! Satan hurls all the power of hell at us.
We are often troubled with fainting hearts, too. A faint, unbelieving heart is the worst foe a believer has in this world. While faith is anchored upon Christ, the Rock of our salvation, all is well. But when the eye of faith is dim and we look at the storms without and our weakness within, we are tossed upon the sea.
Divine Revelation
Faith comes by and acts upon the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Moses had a revelation from God, which he communicated to the people. It was a revelation to the heart of what God would do (Rom 8:26). If he had not had the revelation of Gods salvation, he would have drowned as he presumed to cross the sea.
Faith acted upon Gods revelation. By faith Moses stretched out his rod and stepped into the sea. The Red Sea was parted by the rod of Moses. Even so, the way of salvation, our way of access to God, was opened for us by the law of God, by the satisfaction of justice by the blood of Christ (Heb 10:19-22). As the waters parted before them, the hosts of Israel walked through the sea with confident, full assurance; and their enemies were as still as a stone (Exo 14:22; Exo 15:16).
Believers Baptism
The Scriptures (1Co 10:1-2) tell us plainly that the passage of Israel through the Red Sea was a baptism unto Moses. It signified the same thing as believers baptism does today. It signified the distinction which God put between Israel and Egypt. So does believers baptism. It was an act of obedience to Gods command. So does believers baptism. Both Israels baptism unto Moses and the believers baptism with reference to the finished work of Christ are acts of obedience performed to the command of God (Exo 14:13-16, Mat 28:19, Mar 16:16). As Israel followed Moses through the Red Sea, so believers follow Christ through the waters of baptism, symbolically declaring salvation to be the work of God alone by Christs fulfilling all righteousness as our Representative and Substitute.
Exo 14:13-31, Exo 15:1-21, Jos 2:10, Neh 9:11, Psa 66:6, Psa 78:13, Psa 106:9-11, Psa 114:1-5, Psa 136:13-15, Isa 11:15, Isa 11:16, Isa 51:9, Isa 51:10, Isa 63:11-16, Hab 3:8-10
Reciprocal: Exo 10:19 – the Red sea Exo 14:22 – the children Exo 14:28 – the waters Exo 15:19 – brought Deu 11:4 – how he made Jos 3:17 – all the Israelites Jos 24:6 – Egyptians Jdg 10:11 – Egyptians 2Ki 2:8 – were Psa 78:53 – so that Isa 43:2 – passest Hab 3:10 – the overflowing 1Co 10:1 – and all
Heb 11:29. There was no natural cause for the Red Sea to open up and stand as walls, hence the Israelites marched down between them because they believed God would hold them up until His people were passed over. Egyptians assaying (trying) to go through the same passage were drowned because God was not with them.
Heb 11:29. That awful night is followed by a glorious deliverance. By faith they passed through (the verb is used of crossing in any way) the Red Sea. God by a strong east wind made a passage through the water, and in faith the Israelites entered as by dry land, assured of their safety. The Egyptians tried (either the sea or the seemingly dry land) as an uncertain experiment, and were swallowed up.
Verse 29
Hebrews 11:29; Exodus 14:13-31:
11:29 {12} By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry [land]: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
(12) The Red Sea.
The people of Israel experienced victory over their enemies as they trusted God, and we can, too. At the Red Sea the Israelites willingly went forward at God’s word rather than turning back. Trust and obedience resulted in the Israelites’ preservation and eventual entrance into their inheritance. The believing community that originally received this homily could identify with a group of people who persevered, not just individuals who did.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)