Exodus 3 and Exodus 14
The Story of Moses and the Red Sea
Moses is called by God at the burning bush and later leads Israel through the Red Sea by the Lord's deliverance.
Setting and Context
The Exodus begins with Israel enslaved in Egypt. God hears their cry and calls Moses to confront Pharaoh. The burning bush and the Red Sea crossing belong together because both reveal the Lord as the God who sees, sends, judges, and delivers.
The Story
At the burning bush, Moses encounters holy ground. God reveals that He has seen the affliction of His people and sends Moses back to Egypt. Moses is reluctant, but the call does not rest on Moses' confidence. It rests on God's presence and promise.
After the plagues and the Passover, Israel leaves Egypt, but Pharaoh pursues them. With the sea before them and Egypt behind them, the people appear trapped. God commands Moses to stretch out his hand, and the waters divide.
Israel passes through on dry ground while the Egyptian army is overthrown. Exodus presents the crossing as the Lord's victory and Israel's deliverance. The people are saved not because they are stronger than Egypt, but because God acts for them.
Meaning and Importance
God appears to Moses in the burning bush and sends him to lead Israel out of Egypt. When Pharaoh pursues Israel, the Lord parts the Red Sea, brings His people through on dry ground, and delivers them from Egypt.
The story of Moses and the Red Sea is one of the Bible's central deliverance stories. It shapes later Scripture's language for salvation, worship, and redemption. God does not merely advise oppressed people; He rescues them and makes a way where there was none.
Biblical Art Connected to This Story
Jacob Matham, after Michelangelo, 16th-17th century
Moses after the sculpture by Michelangelo
The tablets and commanding posture present Moses as the visible bearer of the law.
Unidentified artist, 19th century
The Children of Israel Crossing the Red Sea
The image turns Exodus 14 into a vast passage from fear into deliverance.
Unknown artist, 19th century
Moses before the Burning Bush
The image places Moses in a posture of reverence before a call that will reshape Israel's story.
Key KJV Verses
Exodus 3:2
“And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
Read Exodus 3Exodus 3:5
“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
Read Exodus 3Exodus 3:10
“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
Read Exodus 3Exodus 14:21
“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.”
Read Exodus 14Exodus 14:22
“And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”
Read Exodus 14Exodus 14:30
“Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.”
Read Exodus 14What This Story Teaches
- God calls reluctant people into His purposes.
- Deliverance belongs to the Lord, not human strength.
- The Exodus becomes one of Scripture's great pictures of salvation.
Questions about Moses and the Red Sea
Where is the burning bush story?
The burning bush story is found in Exodus 3.
Where is the Red Sea crossing?
The crossing of the Red Sea is recorded in Exodus 14.