Rabbi Avshalom the Elder told a parable to explain why God responded to Moses' extended prayer at the Red Sea with what seemed like impatience. The parable captures the tenderness hidden behind God's apparent rebuke.
A man gets angry with his son and drives him from the house. The son is banished, alone, cast out from his father's presence. Then a friend of the father — a close confidant, someone with influence — comes to the house and begins pleading on the son's behalf. "Please," the friend says, "restore your son to your house. Take him back."
The father responds: "Are you beseeching me for my son? I have already come to terms with my son."
The reconciliation has already happened. The friend's intercession, however well-intentioned, is unnecessary — because the father never truly wanted his son gone in the first place. The anger was real but temporary. The love was permanent. By the time the friend arrived to plead, the father had already decided to restore the relationship.
The parable maps perfectly onto the scene at the Red Sea. Moses is the friend, pleading with God on Israel's behalf. But God responds: why are you beseeching Me for My children? I have already decided to save them. The sea will split. The rescue is guaranteed. Moses' prolonged prayer, while noble, was addressing a question that God had already answered.
The beauty of the parable lies in its revelation of God's heart. What looked like impatience — "Why do you cry out to Me?" — was actually reassurance. God was not refusing to listen. He was telling Moses that the answer was already yes.