Crossing the Red Sea

Read Proverbs 12:1-14

Read Exodus 14

And so they passed through the Red Sea. Many skeptics shrug this off as untrue, legendary lore. Some Christians believe what it says here, but will say that God used natural causes to part the waters. I say, what's the point of that? Sure, God could have used some sort of incredible "natural" phenomenon to make the wind blow with enough force in the right spot to separate the waters so they could pass through - I suppose. But when we accept all the other miraculous events in this account, why would we waste time and energy trying to postulate God's methods? Let's rejoice in the miraculous salvation! A miraculous pillar of fire and cloud to lead them, and even to protect them from the Egyptians! Chariot wheels becoming wobbly and falling off! The "wall" of water on the left and on the right, and dry ground underneath! Then, when Israel is safe, the walls come crashing in on the Egyptians! God is a mighty, powerful God. He rescues them from slavery and oppression. He rescues them from death. He leads them safely through peril and disaster. He makes them a new people, a people led and taught by him. He makes them mighty before the nations of the earth. He leads them to the Promised Land, a land of abundance and ample provision. Amazing!

And even more amazing is that this history is ours. This real, true, actual (and miraculous) event is a type that points forward to the greater rescue from spiritual death. Jesus has rescued from sin, from the devil, and from hell. We have an exodus from the kingdom of the devil to the kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. The Lutheran Study Bible comments on Israel's passage through the Red Sea: "Israel is powerless to make this drastic change on its own, but God intervenes to provide the way. We need this kind of drastic change in our own life or we are doomed to slavery in sin and death. God has intervened for us in Baptism (1 Cor. 10:1-2), saving us from our old slavery in sin and bringing us into the new freedom of the Gospel" (TLSB p. 120).

I deserved to be overtaken by this slavery to sin and death. I deserved to be drowned in the Red Sea. And I was powerless to prevent any of that from happening. But my Christ came and fought for me, saved me, died for me. Thanks be to God!

Ask Yourself:

Do I rejoice in God's miraculous salvation?

What sin tries to enslave me still? What does God's miraculous rescue of Israel say to me in my situation?

Who in my life needs rescue from the slavery of sin? What can I do to help them?

Pray:

Pray from your heart today. Thank God for the salvation you have in Christ. Thank him for the freedom from sin and death that he has won for you. Ask him to help you reach out to the people around you (especially anyone you identified as you examined yourself with the questions above). Ask him to make you a bold witness, and a bearer of Good News.

Study with me tomorrow,

Pastor Jon

Soli Deo Gloria!