Exo1427-28 Destruction of Pharaoh's Army.jpg
Crossing The Red Sea
 
The children of Israel had been in Egypt for 430 years. Now they were on their way back to the land of Canaan, the land of promise, the land of milk and honey, the land they had heard and dreamt about for a very long time.

Instead of God leading His people by the shortest route to Canaan which was through the land of the Philistines who were a very warlike people, He lead them through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. God did not want His people to get into a war with the Philistines which may have scared them into going back to Egypt instead of onto Canaan.

Moses remembered someone else who was once a very important person in Egypt, Joseph. He remembered that Joseph had requested that when the Israelites left Egypt that they take his bones with them. So, that is exactly what Moses did.

The Israelites journeyed from Rameses and camped at Succoth. Then went to Etham which was in the edge of the wilderness, for another night's rest. The Lord went before His people as a pillar of cloud by day which kept them cool, and a pillar of fire by night which kept them warm and gave them light.

So far the children of Israel had been travelling in a southerly direction, but now the Lord told them to turn and camp by the sea. It was the third night after the Israelites has left their homes in Egypt. They were starting to wonder why God was leading them this way. They knew that this was not the way to Canaan, so what could God be up to.

Meanwhile, back in Egypt the Egyptians had buried all of their dead. What a lot of graves they must have had to dig for all the first born of each household which died in the last plague that Moses called down from God. What a terrible price to pay for disobeying God. But even after all the plagues that had fallen upon Egypt, Pharaoh once more changed his mind. He was sorry that he had let all his slaves go.

Quickly he summoned his army general and told him to prepare 600 of their best chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt for they were going to recapture the Israelites so that they would once more be their slaves.

It was nearly night when some of the Israelites saw the swirl of dust from the chariots and the flashing of the sun's light on the Egyptians armor. The Israelites were terrified. What could they do? There were rugged mountains to the south, and the Red Sea lay before them, and the Egyptian army right behind them. Surely there was no way of escaping.

The people cried unto the Lord. They asked Moses why he had brought them out of Egypt only to let them die here. They thought they would have been better staying in Egypt as slaves. But, Moses told them to watch and see what God would do for them.

Suddenly the cloud that had been leading them moved to the rear of the group, making a cloudy wall between the Israelites and the Egyptians. It was a pillar of darkness to the Egyptians, while at the same time a pillar of light to God's people. Next Moses took hold of his rod and stretched his arm out over the sea. The Lord caused a strong east wind to blow all night which made the sea to go back so that there was dry land at the bottom of the sea. The water walled up on both sides, the top of which was white with foam.

Moses commanded the people to cross the sea. As quickly and orderly as they possibly could men, women, children, carts, flocks and herds hurried across the bottom of the sea. They must all have felt a little frightened going through the sea, but they believed that God would care for them. It must have been a very wide path that the Lord made, for there were so many people and animals that had to cross this sea in a very short period of time.

The last of the Israelites were nearly on the far shore, but what did they see coming after them? Could it really be Pharaoh and his army crossing the sea after them? Once more panic filled the Israelites.

At the morning watch, which is about 3 a.m., the Lord looked down on all of Pharaoh's chariots and his army who were chasing the Israelites. He started troubling this army by slowing down their chariots, and pulling the wheels off them. Suddenly, there is thunder and lightning and the dark pillar changes into a pillar of fire. They hear the voice of an angry God and in total terror try to flee back to the shore from which they came.

Moses once more stretched forth his hand which is holding his rod, over the sea. The sea rushes back together with a roar swallowing Pharaoh and his entire army. Not one has escaped. All of them died in the Red Sea.

As morning breaks the Israelites look around them. They see the armor covered bodies of the Egyptian army lying dead along the sea shore. What a wonderful deliverer God is, and this was the theme of the songs they sung right there by the sea shore.

Sometimes in life things just seem to go from bad to worse. It may seem like there is no human way of escape, but if we are following God we have nothing to fear for He will care for us.

(Exodus 12:40, 41; 13:18 - 22; 14:1 - 31.)

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