7TH Day Passover (Exo 14:7-15:2)

EXO 14

7 and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

Arakhin 15a:17

The Holy One, blessed be he, said to the ministering angel of the sea: Spew out the dead Egyptians onto dry land. The ministering angel said before him: Master of the universe, is there a servant whose master gives him a gift and then takes it from him? Since the dead Egyptians were given to me for my fish to eat, how can you retract your gift? God said to the sea: I will give you one and a half times their number. Although I am taking them back now, later I will give you one and a half times as many people. In the case of the Egyptians it is stated: “Six hundred chosen chariots” (Exo 14:7), whereas with regard to Sisera, who was defeated at the Kishon River, it is written: “900 chariots of iron” (Jdg 4:13).

Pesachim 118b:5

The Gemara asks: What is this one and a half times their number? How was God’s promise fulfilled? The Gemara answers: While, with regard to Pharaoh, it is written: “Six hundred chosen chariots” (Exo 14:7), whereas, with regard to Sisera, it is written: “900 chariots of iron” (Jdg 4:13).

Rashi

בָּחוּר means chosen. This is a singular number—the idea is: each and every chariot in that number was a chosen one.

And all the other chariots of Egypt—And with these were all the rest of the chariots. And whence came all these animals required for the chariots? If you say that they were from the cattle of the Egyptians—but you know it is stated, “all the livestock of the Egyptians died” (Exo 9:6). And if you say that they belonged to the Israelites, does it not say: “our livestock also must go with us” (Exo 10:26). Then whose were they? They were of those who feared the word of the Lord and saved their livestock by bringing them into their stables (Exo 9:20). Deriving it from here R. Simeon said: The best amongst the Egyptians—kill him; the best amongst the serpents—crush its brains (Mekhilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 14:7:1).

With officers over all of them—Heb. וְשָׁלִשִׁם, army-captains, as the Targum has it.

EXO 15

2 The Lord is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins, LUK 1:77

John Gill

To give knowledge of salvation—This is still said of John, and belongs to his work and office; though the Syriac and Arabic versions read, “that he may give”; as if it was spoken of the Lord, before whose face John was to go, and whose ways he was to prepare: by “salvation” is meant, not a temporal salvation, or a deliverance from the Roman yoke, the Jews were expecting, for John gave no intimation of any such salvation; but of a spiritual and eternal salvation, and of Christ himself, the author of it; who is often called Salvation, because he was appointed to this business, was fitted for it, and has effected it; and there is salvation in him, and in no other, the “knowledge” of this is not merely, notional and speculative, but experimental, approbative, fiducial, appropriating, sure, and certain; and is more excellent, than any other kind of knowledge whatever: and this is a “gift”; it is not what is attained to, and acquired by application, diligence, and industry, as other sort of knowledge; but is a gift of God, though in the use of means, and through the ministry of the word: and so John is said to give it ministerially, he being an instrument in the hand of God, whereby souls came to the knowledge of salvation by Christ, and believed in him: it was communicated by God through his ministry.

To his people—Meaning not the people of John the Baptist, the Jews, though it was true of God’s elect among them; but the people of Christ, and that not all mankind, who are his by creation; but a special people, whom the Father has given him, and he has purchased by his blood; whom he conquers by his grace, and makes a willing people, in the day of his power: to these, and only these, is the knowledge of salvation by Christ given; for none else are appointed to it, and for no other is it wrought out.

In the forgiveness of their sins—The sense of which is, either that salvation is by the forgiveness of sin, and lies in it, that being a principal part of it; see (Eph 1:7). Sins are debts; forgiving them is a remitting these debts, a loosing them, or the obligation to payment, which is done freely and fully, for Christ’s sake, and through his blood; and herein lies the blessedness and salvation of men; see (Rom 4:7). Or else that the knowledge of salvation was conveyed through the ministry of John, not by preaching the works of the law, but the doctrine of remission of sins, by Christ (Mar 1:4; Joh 1:29); and which is the sum and substance of the gospel, as it was ordered to be preached by Christ, and was preached by his apostles. The Alexandrian copy reads, “our sins.”

for my eyes have seen your salvation LUK 2:30

John Gill

For my eyes have seen your salvation—The Messiah, who is often so called; see (Gen 49:18; Isa 49:6; 52:10). He goes by the name of “salvation,” because the salvation of God’s elect is put into his hands, and he has undertook it; and because he is the author of it, he has fulfilled his engagements, and has accomplished what he promised to do; and because salvation is in him, it is to be had in him; and in him the true Israel of God are saved, with an everlasting salvation: and he is called “God’s salvation” because he is a Saviour of his choosing, calling, and constituting; whom he promised under the Old Testament dispensation and in the fulness of time sent; and who now appeared in human nature, and whom good old Simeon now saw, with his bodily eyes; a sight which many kings and prophets had desired, but were not favoured with; and also with the eyes of his understanding, with the spiritual eye of faith, as his Saviour and Redeemer; for without this, the former would not have been sufficient to have given such peace and tranquillity of mind, in a departure out of this world: for many saw him in the days of his flesh, who never saw his glory, as the Son of God, and Saviour of sinners; but such a sight those have, who have their understandings enlightened, and Christ, as God’s salvation, set before them: they see him in the glory of his person, the fulness of his grace, the suitableness and excellency of his righteousness, the efficacy of his blood, and the perfection of his sacrifice; and as an able, willing, complete, and only Saviour: and such a sight of him, puts them out of conceit with themselves, and their own works of righteousness, as saviours; makes the creature, and all it has and does, look mean and empty; fills the soul with love to Christ, and a high esteem of him, and with joy unspeakable, and full of glory; it transforms a soul, and makes it like to Christ; gives it inexpressible pleasure and satisfaction; and makes it desirous, as it did this good man, to depart and be with Christ, which is far better than to live in this (in some sense) state of absence from him.

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. JOH 4:22

that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. JOH 5:23

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. ACT 4:12

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the word of reconciliation. 2CO 5:19

John Gill

That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself—This expresses and explains the subject matter of the ministration of the gospel, especially that part of it which concerns our reconciliation with God; and declares the scheme, the author, the subjects, the way, and means, and consequence of it. The phrase, “in Christ,” may be either joined with the word “God,” as in our version, “in Christ God was reconciling”; that is, he was in Christ drawing the scheme, fixing the method of reconciliation; his thoughts were employed about it, which were thoughts of peace; he called a council of peace, and entered into a covenant of peace with Christ, who was appointed and agreed to, to be the peacemaker. Or with the word “reconciling,” thus, God “was reconciling in Christ”; that is, by Christ; and so it denotes, as before, actual reconciliation by Christ. God, in pursuance of his purposes, council, and covenant, sent his Son to make peace; and laid our sins, and the chastisement of our peace upon him; this is the punishment of sin, whereby satisfaction was made for it, and so peace with God: or with the word “world,” thus, “God was reconciling the world in Christ”; by whom are meant, not all the individuals of mankind, for these are not all in Christ, nor all reconciled to God, multitudes dying in enmity to him, nor all interested in the blessing of non-imputation of sin; whereas each of these is said of the world: but the elect of God, who are chosen in Christ, whose peace Christ is, whose sins are not imputed to them, and against whom no charge of any avail can be laid; and particularly the people of God among the Gentiles are here designed, who are frequently called “the world” in Scripture; being the world which God loved, for whose sins Christ is the propitiation, and of the reconciling of which mention is particularly made (Joh 3:16; Rom 11:12, 15; 1Jn 2:2). And this sense well agrees with the context, which signifies, that no man is regarded for his natural descent; it is no matter whether he is a Jew or a Gentile, provided he is but a new creature: for gospel reconciliation, and the ministry of it, concern one as well as another. Moreover, this reconciliation must be considered, either as intentional, or actual, or as a publication of it in the ministry of the word; and taken either way it cannot be thought to extend to every individual person in the world: if it is to be understood intentionally, that God intended the reconciliation of the world to himself by Christ, and drew the scheme of it in him, his intentions cannot be frustrated; his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure; a scheme so wisely laid by him in his Son, cannot come to nothing, or only in part be executed; and yet this must be the case, if it was his design to reconcile every individual of mankind to himself, since a large number of them are not reconciled to him: and if the words are to be understood of an actual reconciliation of the world unto God by Christ, which sense agrees with the preceding verse, then it is out of all question, that the word “world” cannot be taken in so large a sense as to take in every man and woman in the world; since it is certain that there are many who are not reconciled to God, who die in their sins, whose peace is not made with him, nor are they reconciled to the way of salvation by Christ: and should it be admitted that the ministry of reconciliation is here designed, which is not an offer of reconciliation to the world, but a proclamation or declaration of peace and reconciliation made by the death of Christ; this is not sent to all men; multitudes were dead before the word of reconciliation was committed to the apostles; and since, there have been great numbers who have never so much as heard of it; and even in the times of the apostles it did not reach to everyone then living: besides, the text does not speak of what God did by the ministry of his apostles, but of what he himself had been doing in his Son, and which was antecedent, and gave rise unto and was the foundation of their ministry. There was a scheme of reconciliation drawn in the counsels of God before the world began, and an actual reconciliation by the death of Christ, which is published in the gospel, which these words contain the sum and substance of: and this reconciliation, as before, is said to be “to himself”; to his offended justice, and for the glory of his perfections, and the reconciling of them together in the affair of salvation.

Not imputing their trespasses—This was what he resolved upon from all eternity, that inasmuch as Christ was become the surety and substitute of his people, he would not impute their sins to them, or look for satisfaction for them from them; but would reckon and place them to the account of their surety, and expect satisfaction from him; and accordingly he did, and accordingly he had it. And this will, not to impute sin to his people, or not to punish for it, which existed in God from everlasting, is no other than a justification of them; for to whom the Lord does not impute sin, he imputes righteousness, and such are properly justified.

And entrusting to us the word of reconciliation—Or put it in us, as a rich and valuable treasure; for such the doctrine of peace and reconciliation, by the blood of Christ, is; a sacred deposition, committed to the trust of faithful men, to be dispensed and disposed of for the use and purpose for which it is given them.