He rode on a cherub. When Pharaoh went out to chase after Israel, he said, "Give me a male horse to ride on, as it is light." What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He presented an image of one before him.
Just as Pharaoh had brought a male horse, so did the Holy One, blessed be He, bring a male horse and rode on it, as it is said, "When you ride on your horses, your chariots will come to life" (Habakkuk 3:8). Pharaoh then said, "Give me a female horse that can stand in battle, as when a male horse needs to urinate, it stops and delays, but a female horse walks and changes direction and is good in battle."
The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I too will liken Myself to you," as it is said, "To my mare among Pharaoh's chariots, I compare you, my love" (Song of Songs 1:9). Pharaoh then took arrows and threw them at Israel. The Holy One, blessed be He, brought fiery arrows and threw them at him, as it is said, "He shot his arrows and scattered them" (Psalm 18:15). Pharaoh then brought iron spits, and the Holy One, blessed be He, also brought lightning bolts that were sharp, as it is said, "And with great lightning and thunder" (Exodus 9:23).
They confused each other and did not know what to do. The cloud pillar descended and made them mud and various kinds of refuse. The pillar of fire boiled, and their horses' hooves fell off. Pharaoh then brought metal spears, and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought hail and fiery coals, as it is said, "With hailstones and flaming coals" (Psalm 18:13).
Pharaoh then brought sulfur, and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought fiery coals, and His voice was in the midst of it, as it is said, "The Lord thundered from heaven" (Psalm 18:14). Once Pharaoh had exhausted everything he had and had nothing left in his hand, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "You wicked one, you have been fighting against Me." Rabbi Berachiah said in the name of Rabbi Elazar that the Holy One, blessed be He, began to fly, as it is said, "He rode on a cherub and flew" (Psalm 18:11).
Pharaoh said to Him, "Perhaps You can fly." The Holy One, blessed be He, began to measure from wing to wing, as it is said, "And He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him" (Psalm 18:12).