John Calvin Commentary Exodus 14:15

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." — Exodus 14:15 (ASV)

And the Lord¹⁵⁶said I have used the past perfect tense to avoid ambiguity. The reason is given here why Moses so confidently rebuked the people's hesitation and promised they would be safe with God's immediate help: namely, because he had already been assured by divine revelation that God was willing to help His people and had a new means ready for their preservation. He could not have been the proclaimer and witness of their safety if he had not received the promise. Therefore, his confidence is cleared from the charge of rashness, since he proposed nothing that he had not already heard from God's own mouth.

Some interpreters apply these words, “Wherefore criest thou unto me?” (Exodus 14:15), to all the people, for whom Moses was a representative. However, this interpretation is too far-fetched, and I recently observed that the people's prayers were not at all directed to God.

I do not doubt, therefore, that the holy man had prayed separately during the people's insurrection. Nor is this devout act disapproved of in the passage; rather, it shows that he had not labored in vain or spoken uselessly.

The meaning, then, is, “Do not weary yourself by crying any more; the event will prove that you are heard. Lift up your rod, then, by which you may divide the sea, so that the children of Israel may go dry-shod through the midst of it.”

This passage shows that those who promise anything, either to themselves or to others, regarding particular blessings without God's special testimony are guilty of rashness.

¹⁵⁶ Had said. — Lat..