As the walls of water began crashing down upon the Egyptian army, a debate erupted among the soldiers trapped in the seabed. The Torah records that "Egypt said: I shall flee from before Israel" (Exodus 14:25). The Mekhilta distinguishes between two groups among the Egyptians — the wicked fools and the clear-eyed realists.
The wicked and foolish among them said, "Shall we flee these toils and tempests?" Even at the brink of annihilation, they refused to acknowledge what was really happening. They treated the collapsing sea as a natural disaster — bad weather, unfortunate timing, something that could be outrun. They saw waves and wind, not the hand of God. Their arrogance blinded them to the obvious supernatural dimension of their destruction.
The sober ones among the Egyptians saw clearly. They said, "I shall flee from before Israel, for the Lord wars for them against the Egyptians." These soldiers recognized the truth. The God of Israel was personally waging war against Egypt. They understood that the same power that had sent ten plagues upon their country was now operating at the sea. As the Mekhilta puts it, "They realized that He who wrought miracles for them in Egypt was doing so at the sea."
The distinction matters. The Mekhilta shows that even among Israel's enemies, some possessed the spiritual clarity to recognize God's hand. The foolish died denying reality. The sober died knowing exactly who had defeated them. Recognition of divine power, the text implies, is available to anyone willing to see — but it does not guarantee survival.