The Egyptians regret letting Israel leave. Their labor force was gone and they faced a possible period of economic recession. Pharaoh mounts his chariots-six hundred select military chariots and all his transport chariots-in order to retrieve his slaves. The people of Israel worry they will die in the wilderness as they see Egypt overtaking them.

Here, God takes credit for hardening Pharaoh’s heart again. He hardens Pharaoh’s heart so that He will be honored and Egypt will know that He is Yahweh. The Israelite nation obviously has no faith. God will miraculously feed and guide them. He will also be honored in their deliverance. Israel will know that He is Yahweh.

I am inclined to believe that, across the board, God’s motivation in everything He does is His own glory and that the whole earth will know Him. He created everything. It is right that He should be honored. All of human history, then, serves one end–the glory of God and that people may know who He is. From Genesis 8, when God promised never again to curse the ground or destroy the earth on account of people, to the modern day, higher and higher percentages of the world’s population have progressively come to know about God. He truly is contending with humanity and keeping His promise. The unsearchable God continues to reveal Himself.