Daily Bible Verse Exodus 14:13 Moses answered the people, Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Ellicotts Commentary for English Readers (13, 14) Fear ye not, stand still.—There are times when all our strength must be “in quietness and confidence” (Isaiah 30:15). So long as we have means of resistance put in our power, with a reasonable prospect of success, it is our duty to use them—to exert ourselves to the uttermost, to make all possible efforts. God, for the most part, “helps those who help themselves.” But there are occasions when we can do nothing—when all must be left to Him. (Comp. 2Chronicles 20:17.) Under these circumstances, our duty and our true wisdom is to wait patiently, quietly, courageously. Moses, probably, did not yet know how God would effect Israel’s deliverance, but he was confident that, in one way or another, it would be effected. The Egyptians whom ye have seen . . . —Heb., As ye have seen the Egyptians to-day, ye shall see them no more for ever: i.e., never again shall ye see them in the pride of power, haughty, menacing, terrible. When next you behold them they will be stiff and lifeless—pale corpses strewing the Red Sea shore (see Exodus 14:30). The reference is to the present time only, not to the future relations of the two peoples. Benson Commentary Exodus 14:13-14. Moses said, Fear ye not, stand still — Hebrew, make yourselves to stand. Let not your hearts fail, or sink, or stagger, through unbelief: but with quiet minds look up to God. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace — Ye shall contribute nothing to the victory, neither by your words nor by your deeds. A remarkable instance this of the composure of Moses’s mind, and the sedateness of his temper, and how well he deserved the character given him Numbers 12:3, of being one of the meekest of men. He did not answer these fools according to their folly: he does not chide, but comforts them; and with an admirable presence of mind, not in the least disconcerted or disheartened, either by the approach of Pharaoh, or the tremblings of Israel, he stills their murmurings, calmly exhorting them to take heart and trust in God. It is our duty when we cannot get out of our troubles, yet to get above our fears, so that they may only serve to quicken our prayers and endeavours, but may not prevail to silence our faith and hope. Matthew Henrys Concise Commentary 14:10-14 There was no way open to Israel but upward, and thence their deliverance came. We may be in the way of duty, following God, and hastening toward heaven, yet may be troubled on every side. Some cried out unto the Lord; their fear led them to pray, and that was well. God brings us into straits, that he may bring us to our knees. Others cried out against Moses; fear set them murmuring as if God were not still able to work miracles. They quarrel with Moses for bringing them out of Egypt; and so were angry with God for the greatest kindness ever done them; thus gross are the absurdities of unbelief. Moses says, Fear ye not. It is always our duty and interest, when we cannot get out of troubles, yet to get above our fears; let them quicken our prayers and endeavours, but not silence our faith and hope. Stand still, think not to save yourselves either by fighting or flying; wait Gods orders, and observe them. Compose yourselves, by confidence in God, into peaceful thoughts of the great salvation God is about to work for you. If God brings his people into straits, he will find a way to bring them out. Barnes Notes on the Bible For the Egyptians whom ... - The true sense is, ye shall never see the Egyptians in the same way, under the same circumstances. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary 13, 14. Moses said, … Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord—Never, perhaps, was the fortitude of a man so severely tried as that of the Hebrew leader in this crisis, exposed as he was to various and inevitable dangers, the most formidable of which was the vengeance of a seditious and desperate multitude; but his meek, unruffled, magnanimous composure presents one of the sublimest examples of moral courage to be found in history. And whence did his courage arise? He saw the miraculous cloud still accompanying them, and his confidence arose solely from the hope of a divine interposition, although, perhaps, he might have looked for the expected deliverance in every quarter, rather than in the direction of the sea. Matthew Pooles Commentary Stand still; Heb. make yourselves to stand; let not and your hearts fail and sink, or stagger through unbelief, but with quiet minds look up to God. It notes the frame of their minds, not the posture of their bodies. Whom ye have seen; or, as ye have seen them, to wit, alive and armed, ready to devour you; for otherwise they did see them dead, and disarmed, Exodus 14:30. Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible And Moses said unto the people,.... Not in wrath and anger, but very coolly and sedately, agreeably to his character of the meekest man on earth; though what they had said to him was very insulting and provoking: fear ye not; Pharaoh and his numerous host, do not be dismayed at them or possess yourselves with a dread of them, and of destruction by them: stand still; do not stir from the place where you are, do not offer to run away, or to make your escape by flight (and which indeed seemed impossible), keep your place and station, and put yourselves in such a situation as to wait and observe the issue of things: and see the salvation of the Lord which he will shew to you today; which is expressive of great faith in Moses in the midst of this extremity, who firmly believed that God would save them from this numerous and enraged army, and that very quickly, even that day; at least within twenty four hours, within the compass of a day; for it was the night following that salvation was wrought for them, and their eyes beheld it: and it may be called the salvation of the Lord, for it was his own hand that only effected it, the Israelites not contributing anything in the least unto it, and was typical of the great salvation which Christ with his own arm, and without the help of his people, has wrought out for them: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever; that is, in such a posture or manner, no more armed, nor alive, and the objects of their fear and dread; for otherwise they did see them again, but then they were on the sea shore dead; for it should be rendered, not whom, but how, or in what manner (w). (w) , Sept. quemadmodum, Piscator; quomod o, Noldius, p. 107. No. 544.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 13:45:15 +0000
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