Exodus 14:19-20

PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA(THE WAY OPENED)

"And the angel of God who went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud removed from before them, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel' and there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night: and the one came not near the other all night."

In these few enigmatical words stands the record of one of the greatest events since the Great Deluge. No words were wasted. There is not a word about how the exodus began, or whether they moved in one massive body of people three miles wide, or if they went by hundreds, fifties, thousands, or tens of thousands. The order to "go forward" had been given. God made it possible, and they did it! Just a few details are recorded. In these verses, we have: (1) the positioning of the Angel of Jehovah between the two encampments; (2) the positioning of the pillar to correspond with that, indicating that the pillar was a visible manifestation of the Angel of Jehovah; and (3) the fact of darkness resting upon the Egyptians and light enabling the Israelites to go forward at night, suggesting that this was to be a night-time deliverance. Regarding the Angel of Jehovah: "The Angel of Jehovah, previously mentioned as the Lord himself, is the pre-incarnated Christ; he moved ahead to deliver his people."[17]