Picture the scene…upwards of three million people, including thousands of young children and all their worldly possessions and livestock cluttering a small space… a noisy, restless, frightened, unruly mob of slaves, trapped on a piece of beach jutting into a very deep and very wide stretch of sea.
Behind them, a vast army of well-trained soldiers, drumming war-horse’s hooves raising clouds of dust, rolling chariot wheels closing the gap with frightening speed. Sights and sounds so terrifying that the Israelites are almost insane with anguish! No escape! What could they do?
Exodus 14:9 NLT
[9] “The Egyptians chased after them with all the forces in Pharaoh’s army—all his horses and chariots, his charioteers, and his troops. The Egyptians caught up with the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon.”
In a panic, they turn on their leader. All the promises of freedom and a new life! Will they end up as fodder for the Egyptians or food for the fish?
Moses has no one to consult but the God he hardly knew. After all, they were there, the whole motley crowd, because of Him. Moses had followed God’s instructions to the letter. Now this!
God warned him, before they left Egypt, that this would happen. Now it’s for real. With the growing confidence he didn’t feel, Moses reassures the people.
Exodus 14:13-14 NLT
[13] But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. [14] The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
He calls out into the wind, “God, help!”
God responds with seemingly stupid instructions! This is no Dunkirk! He doesn’t miraculously send rescue craft to ferry the people across the gap. He doesn’t send a squadron of angels to fly them over the sea. He instructs Moses to stretch out his staff over the water. What staff? His walking stick, of all things? Of what use is that!
Somehow, the Egyptian horses and chariots, threateningly and frighteningly close, slow down as dusk falls. The soldiers peer into the dark but they can’t see their prey. A fire, small at first but rising ever higher and growing ever brighter, blocks their view. They can’t advance on their quarry. They will have to wait until daylight.
The wind beguns to blow, a breeze slowly gathering strength until a howling gale frightens the people into clumps of trembling flesh, families huddled together for comfort and warmth.
The night passes slowly, both parties anxiously awaiting the dawn. The Egyptians are restless, eager to finish their mission. The Israelites are frightened and uncertain. What will happen when morning comes?
Dawn finally breaks over the scene. Viewed from above, millions of tiny figures milling around, preparing for action. The soldiers….rearing to go, hindered only by the fire that still blocks their way. The slaves, astonished and hopefulas daylight reveals a wide path through the sea, walls of shimmering water miraculously carved out by the raging wind. Can they trust the water to stand up on either side as they hurry through the gap towards safety? Surprisingly, the path is dry under their feet.
Moses urges them on. “Move along there! Hurry up! Time’s running out!”
As the hours pass, the mob empties from one shore to the other like sand passing through an hour glass. The soldiers peer through the fiery curtain only to watch their prey disappearing from sight. Finally, the last groups leave the beach and take to the path through the sea…the fire slowly dies down and the restless horses are free to pursue. Dust rises under chariot wheels… the army chases down the stragglers hurrying along between watery walls.
Suddenly, war cries turn to cries of terror. The walls of water begin to collapse. Instead of dry ground, waves crash down on Pharaoh’s helpless army, slowly swallowing chariots, horses, and soldiers as though they had never been. Now an arm, a leg, a chariot wheel, rises up and sinks beneath the water.
The Israelite mob watches in amazement as the sea returns to calm. The beach they have vacated is empty. The army? Vanished! They are now safe, on the other side, Egypt only a distant memory. Just as God had said, they are free.
“The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again.”
Really? A seemingly impossible promise… but God pulled it off.
However, despite all the mighty miracles God did to rescue His people from Egypt and to settle them in the Promised Land, they never really believed in Him. Every time God tested their faith, they forgot and failed. Why? Was it because their hearts were unchanged?
When we believed in Jesus, He gave us new hearts and put His Spirit in us. He did a miracle in us that outstrips anything He ever did for Israel. Paul discovered a truth so glorious that what God has done for us through Jesus should overshadow every test we encounter in our lives.
Romans 8:31-32 NLT
[31] “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? [32] Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?”
We have what Israel didn’t have, the cross of Jesus! The cross stands as a guarantee and a beacon of hope in every trial. Look at the cross! It speaks of God’s love and grace so vast that it outshines even the biggest of life’s adversities.
No matter what comes our way, we can sing Don Moen’s song with unshakeable confidence in our God to make a way through our “Red Sea”.
“God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way….
By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me
Rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade but His Word will still remain
And He will do something new today…
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Don Moen
God Will Make a Way lyrics © Integrity’s Hosanna! Music, Ninth Avenue Music
If God could do that for the Israelites, imagine what He can do for us when we trust Him.