And they said to Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt, thou hast taken us away to die in the wilderness? why hast thou done this to us, that thou hast led us out of Egypt?
Israel is only days out of Egypt. Pharaoh's army appears behind them, and the sea blocks the way ahead. Their first instinct is not prayer but a bitter question flung at Moses. Their words raise a question every rescued person faces: what happens to faith when God's road leads into a trap?
Egypt was famous for its tombs, so the taunt about graves was pointed. One writer ties that sarcasm to what happened to that generation later.
Modern discoveries of the many graves of Egypt and their treasures help us feel the sarcastic sting in their words: "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?" A few days earlier, "the people bowed their heads and worshiped" (Exodus 12:27). How different now! The moment danger appears, they betray their lack of faith. They claim they had asked to be left alone to serve the Egyptians. Here we already see the seed of that unbelief. It later led to their bodies falling in the wilderness. They did die in the wilderness, not because Moses or God failed them, but "because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19).
Their eyes shaped every word of the complaint. The mistake was in what they left out of the sum.
Unbelief marked every word they spoke, because they were judging by the sight of their eyes. They were terrified. They would die in the wilderness. They had known it would be so, and slavery in Egypt was far better than the death now awaiting them. Their mistake was leaving the Lord out of their calculations, as unbelief always does. That made it a question between themselves and the Egyptians.
They decided God had rescued them only to bury them in the desert. One writer calls that the standard logic of unbelief, and sets the logic of faith against it.
They really thought the Lord had gone to such trouble to bring them out of Egypt only to let them die in the wilderness. They imagined the blood of the passover lamb had spared them only so that they could be buried in the wilderness. This is how unbelief always reasons. It leads us to interpret God in the presence of the difficulty, instead of interpreting the difficulty in the presence of God. Faith gets behind the difficulty, and there finds God, in all His faithfulness, love, and power.
Nights earlier the blood of the lamb had kept them safe. Now they had no idea what God meant to do with them.
Their poor hearts seem to swing between "graves in Egypt" and death in the wilderness. There is no sense of deliverance; no real knowledge either of God's purposes or of God's salvation. Everything seems utter darkness, almost bordering on hopeless despair. They are thoroughly hemmed in and shut up.
One writer sees value in that hopeless corner.
The case seemed completely hopeless; and hopeless it was, so far as they were concerned. They were utterly powerless, and they were being made to realize it. This is a very painful process to go through. But it is healthy and valuable, and truly necessary for everyone. We must all, in one way or another, learn the force, meaning, and depth of that phrase, "without strength"!
Their words were complaint, not prayer. Yet God's goodness read them another way.
See how the immense goodness of the Lord regards Israel's conduct. Israel had murmured and complained bitterly (Exodus 14:11), but they had never cried to the Lord. Yet through Moses' intercession it all became their cry. Their sorrow was a cry. How wonderful this goodness!
One writer reads the scene as a picture of the believer's own experience.
In this terror, Israel gives a vivid picture of a soul truly saved by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. A sight of Satan's power suddenly brings that soul to despair, and it learns man's utter helplessness in the great question of salvation. God then teaches the trembling believer to trust in Himself, as He did Israel. And He will teach this lesson: "The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
- Sarcasm — Their jab about graves was aimed at a land full of tombs. The irony: this generation did die in the wilderness, through unbelief.
- Sight — Unbelief judged by what the eyes could see. Leaving God out turned the crisis into a contest between Israel and Egypt alone.
- Reversal — Faith reads the difficulty in God's presence. Unbelief reads God in the difficulty's presence, and decides He saved them only to bury them.
- Emptiness — Sheltered by the blood, they still felt no deliverance. First they had to learn what it is to be "without strength."
- Grace — God met murmuring with mercy. He counted their sorrow as a cry, and He fought for them Himself.
Is not this what we told thee in Egypt, when we said, Let us alone, and we will serve the Egyptians? For [it had been] better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.
Pharaoh's chariots close in behind Israel, and the sea blocks the way ahead. Their first words are not prayer but regret, which raises a hard question: why does a rescued people talk like this?
Their protest carries a bitter edge, and it also puts words in their own mouths from their days in Egypt. One writer notes how the complaint runs — and how, in a terrible way, it came true.
Modern discoveries of Egypt's many graves and their treasures help us feel the sarcastic sting in their words: "Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?" A few days before, "the people bowed their heads and worshiped" (Exodus 12:27). How different now! As soon as danger appears, they betray their lack of faith. They claim they had asked to be left alone to serve the Egyptians. Here we already see the seed of that unbelief. It led in the end to their bodies falling in the wilderness. They did die in the wilderness, not because Moses or God failed them, but "because of unbelief" (Heb. 3:19).
Their mistake was not bad information. It was leaving God out of the sum, and letting the crisis define His character.
They really thought the Lord had taken such trouble to bring them out of Egypt just to let them die in the wilderness. In their minds, the blood of the Passover lamb had spared them only to end in a grave in the wilderness. This is how unbelief always reasons. It leads us to interpret God in the presence of the difficulty, instead of interpreting the difficulty in the presence of God. Faith gets behind the difficulty, and there finds God, in all His faithfulness, love, and power.
They had seen the lamb's blood shelter them from judgment. Knowing they were beyond Pharaoh's reach is another matter.
They were on the road, but they were not out of Egypt. They were still in Pharaoh's territory. They knew they had been delivered from the judgment of God that fell on the firstborn. The blood of the lamb had met that judgment and sheltered them from it. Yet they were still in conflict with Pharaoh. … Until we know that the death of Christ has set us free from Satan's country, we never know full rest of soul. … They had been slaves to the power of Pharaoh, and they dreaded Pharaoh — no wonder. So they did not have the faith that says, "If God is for us." Pharaoh was stronger than Israel, but God was stronger than Pharaoh.
It is easy to read this verse as ancient ingratitude. Writers press it closer than that.
The condition of Israel is much like the doubts and fears that have gone through our souls. Their next words show that their hearts and ours are exactly alike. Do you know that you have a heart that could take you back into the world, even if you are converted? … When they were on the road to Canaan, what unbelieving language! Could we speak like that? Did your heart never say in hours of pressure and temptation, "After all, it is a pity I professed Christ"?
God chose the route that boxed them in. The corner was not a mistake in the itinerary.
God gives His people the finest displays of His character and His actions when they are in the tightest corners and the greatest difficulties. For this reason He often leads them into a trying position, so that He may show Himself all the more clearly. He could have led Israel through the Red Sea and far beyond the reach of Pharaoh's army before the Egyptians even set out. But that would not have glorified His own name so fully.
Their despair exposed something they needed to learn.
The case seemed completely hopeless; and hopeless it was, as far as they were concerned. They were utterly powerless, and they were being made to realise it. This is a very painful process to go through, but it is wholesome and valuable — indeed most necessary for all. We must all, in one way or another, learn the force, meaning, and depth of that phrase, "without strength." The more we find out what it is to be without strength, the more ready we are to value God's "due time."
- Shut in — God led them into a place with no way out. The tightest corner is where He shows Himself most clearly.
- Shrinking back — trapped, they preferred slavery to trust. They said they had wanted to stay and serve Egypt all along.
- Seeing wrongly — unbelief judges God by the trouble in front of it. Faith gets behind the trouble and finds God there.
- Sheltered but unsettled — they knew the blood had saved them from judgment. They did not yet know God was for them against Pharaoh.
- Stripped of strength — feeling powerless was the painful lesson that prepared them for God's due time.