Crossing the Red Sea

The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14: 15 to 18)

After killing all of the Egyptian firstborns in the land of Egypt, God led the Israelites out of Egypt as described below.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. (Exodus 13: 17 to 22)

God first led the Israelites through a safer route. Then He went before them by day in a pillar of cloud and by night in a pillar of fire, so that they knew God was with them all the time. Yet, whenever there was the work of God, there was the work of the evil as described below.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. (Exodus 14: 5 to 8)

After letting the Israelites go, Pharaoh and his servants came to their senses and tried to stop the exodus. To solve the issue completely, God hardened Pharaoh's heart to pursue the Israelites with all his army and chariot. Since God told Moses to encamp the Israelites between Migdol and the sea, when they saw what was happening, they panicked and complained, because there was no way out as described below.

When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14: 10 to 12)

Then, God told Moses to divide the sea as described above. Not only could the Israelites go through the sea on the dry ground, but also returned the sea to its normal course and threw the charging Egyptians into the midst of the sea. That opened the eyes of the people of Israel as described below.

Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

It's amazing that all of the plague miracles God did in Egypt didn't seem to open the eyes of Israel. Yet, the Red Sea crossing miracle convinced them to believe in God and Moses. Maybe that's because the plagues only affected the Egyptians, not the Israelites. So, the Israelites were not moved. Oftentimes, we are just like the Israelites. We only value things that matter to us. The Red Sea crossing was just the beginning. Later on, God would show more great power so that the Israelites would believe in God and know His will to enter the land of milk and honey, Canaan. The same thing happens to us. God sent His own son Christ Jesus leading us to cross the Red Sea and the wildness of the world, so that we could enter the land of milk and honey, the New Jerusalem. Emmanuel.

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