What is the context?
Israel’s apparent trap is part of the route God commands. He tells Moses to turn back and camp beside the sea, and explains that Pharaoh will take this as a sign that the people are confused and cornered. God will gain honor through what happens to Pharaoh and his army, and the Egyptians will know who the LORD is.
Pharaoh and his officials regret losing Israel’s service. He gathers his chariots and pursues the people, who have been marching out boldly. Their confidence collapses when they see the approaching army. They cry to God, accuse Moses of bringing them out to die and say slavery would have been better.
Moses answers their fear with a promise about this particular rescue: the LORD will fight for them. They are to stand firm and watch what He does. The next part of the account shows how this trust goes together with obedience: when God tells them to move forward, they must go.
The places named in verse 2 have not been definitively identified, as the USCCB study notes acknowledge. The account’s central situation is clear: Israel is beside the sea with an army approaching, and God has brought the people there.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Wesley and Calvin read Moses’ reassurance as a call to trust God’s power when Israel cannot rescue itself. The people’s fear and complaints are met by a deliverance that depends on the LORD.
The explanation of God hardening Pharaoh differs. Calvin understands God to be actively directing the Egyptians toward the judgment that will display His power. Wesley’s earlier note on Exodus 4:21 describes hardening as God finally permitting Satan to harden a ruler who has repeatedly refused the light already given. These are the two teachers’ explanations of God’s action and Pharaoh’s refusal.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Psalm 106:6–13 looks back on this crisis and says Israel rebelled by the sea. God nevertheless saved the people for the sake of His name, to make His power known. Their rescue displays His faithfulness even when they are frightened and ungrateful; it leads them to believe His promises and sing His praise.
This belongs to a wider biblical theme: God’s rescue reveals His mercy and calls forth a changed life. Ephesians 2:4–10 describes salvation in Christ as God’s gift, through faith, so that no one can boast. Those He makes alive are created in Christ for good works. This is a connection between the two accounts of God’s grace, rather than a claim that every detail of the sea crossing describes a stage of Christian conversion.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.