“But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
What did it take for you to finally believe in God? If you’re not there yet, what would it take? For Israel, it took a pretty impressive display of power. Today, let’s recap this last part of the story, talk about what God was trying to accomplish here, and why believing in God is something worthwhile.
“The Egyptians set out in pursuit – all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen – and went into the sea after them. During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. ‘Let’s get away from Israel,’ the Egyptians said, ‘because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.’ So Mose stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea. The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
I was on the Scholar’s Bowl team when I was in high school. Imagine little jeopardy competitions but without the answers needing to be in the form of a question. It was a ton of fun. (Yes, I know, I was a nerd.) But while I was pretty good at knowing or otherwise coming up with an answer in my areas of specialty (science, culture, and random, useless knowledge), what I struggled with was being fast enough on the buzzer. Knowing the answer was one thing. Knowing the answer and then buzzing in fast enough to beat the other team was another. You didn’t get any points if you buzzed in late. As the Egyptians chased after Israel into the dry seabed of the Red Sea, they realized they had made a mistake. Unfortunately, for them, they realized this too late. Let’s talk about what’s going on here.
“Pray for the well-being of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure; may there be peace within your walls, security within your fortresses.’ Because of my brothers and friends, I will say, ‘May peace be in you.’ Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will pursue your prosperity.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
This past Saturday a new horror was unleashed upon the world. Well, it wasn’t actually a new horror at all. It was an old horror that has been played on repeat for a very long time. But this particular manifestation of it was new. It was started afresh perhaps. Islamic terrorists from the religio-political entity known as Hamas executed a long-planned and vicious attack on a mostly unsuspecting Israel. Reactions around the world to this atrocity have been disgustingly mixed. Additionally, like so many violent confrontations involving Israel, this one has prompted believers to wonder if this is a sign of the approaching end of the world. A Babylon Bee headline satirically noted that the 700 Club’s Rapture Clock was set two minutes closer to the start of the Tribulation. What should we make of this latest attack on Israel by its enemies, and does it actually say anything about the timing of Christ’s return? Let’s spend a few minutes this morning thinking about that.
“Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the Sea. The Lord drove the Sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the Sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
One of the things that can be so hard for someone who has been thoroughly trained in a secular worldview when considering the Scriptures are stories like this one. I remember watching a documentary years ago on the History Channel (which used to be a very consistent source of demythologizing-the-Bible specials, especially around Christmas and Easter) that was offering up all kinds of natural explanations for how this could have happened. It was entertaining, but not terribly informative. It wasn’t very information because its baseline assumption was a naturalistic worldview. In other words, it started from the position that what Moses wrote wasn’t true, and went from there. The trouble with a naturalistic worldview is that sometimes God simply does a miracle. Let’s talk about this one.
“As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (CSB – Read the chapter)
Just when we thought we were finally through with the whole struggling over the idea of God’s hardening Pharaoh’s heart to continue to oppose Him, apparently in order to justify His actions against Egypt on behalf of Israel, we find ourselves facing it yet again. But this time, instead of hardening the heart of just one king and a few of his officials, He’s doing it to an entire army. And the results of this hardening will be their pursuit of the Israelites into the dry seabed of the Red Sea where they are all going to die, and He is going to receive glory because of it. What?!? Let’s talk about how to deal with this.
The Nexus 