40 – Red Sea
Exodus 13:17 – 15:21
God led the Israelites out of Egypt by what appeared to be a pillar of fire. The fire became a pillar of cloud during the day. God didn’t lead them straight to Canaan along the most direct route, but took them out into the wilderness toward the Red Sea.
He told Moses to have the people camp at a certain location next to the Sea. He said, “I’m going to make Pharaoh stubborn one more time, and he’ll chase after you. After that, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
Pharaoh saw that the Hebrews had gone to the Red Sea, and were hemmed in and vulnerable. He said to his servants, “Why did we let our slaves go? They should be here, serving us.” So he took his army and chased after them.
The people of Israel saw this and yelled at Moses. “Why have you brought us here to die? If we were still serving the Egyptians, they would let us live. But now, because of you, we’re about to die.”
Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid! Watch and see what God is about to do. He’ll fight your battle for you. Look at the Egyptians! You’ll never see them again after today.”
God said to Moses, “Lift your shepherd’s staff into the air, and point your hand out over the sea. The people of Israel are going to the other side – on dry ground.”
Then the pillar of cloud that was in front of the Israelites moved behind them—between them and the Egyptians. It stayed there the rest of the day and into the night.
Moses pointed his hand toward the sea. And when he did, God caused a strong wind to sweep back the waters, so they formed a wall on the right side and on the left. And then the wind blew on the path between the two walls for the rest of that day and into the night—until the ground became dry.
That night, God told Moses and the Israelites to cross over to the other side, using the path between the walls of water. The people moved across the sea throughout the night.
Once they were across, God allowed the Egyptians to chase after them, using the same path. When they were in the middle of the sea, God caused them to be totally confused, and their chariot wheels started to break.
Suddenly, the Egyptian army saw the seriousness of their situation. They shouted, “Run! The Lord is fighting for the Israelites!” They turned and tried to run for safety.
God said to Moses, “Point your hand out over the water.” So Moses pointed his hand toward the sea just as the sun was about to come up. Suddenly the walls of water crashed together, covering the entire Egyptian army. Not one of them survived!
The Israelites watched the power of God from the other side of the sea. And as the sun rose that morning, they saw the dead bodies washed up on the shore. Then the people worshiped the Lord with singing. They had seen the power of God and believed in Him, and they believed in His servant Moses.
