Crossing the Red Sea

God opened the Red Sea to save Israel. This was one of the greatest miracles in history, and it has important meaning for our life story today—and forever!

Can you imagine your nation reeling from disaster after disaster—and not being able to do a thing to stop it? Can you imagine your whole way of life being changed—and your belief system shaken to its core?

If so, then you might understand how the ancient Egyptians felt when God intervened to free Israel from slavery.

God used 10 plagues to attack Egypt, and these plagues attacked not only the Egyptians and their livestock but the heart and core of their religious system.

Yet this story is not simply a story about the people of Israel being miraculously freed from their slave masters. It is also a spiritual story about the lives that we live as Christians. From the time that God intervened on Israel’s behalf until they settled in the Promised Land, there is a story—and it’s not just Israel’s story, but our story. My story. Your story.

Faith in the leadership of God

As Israel left Egypt, God led them using two pillars—a pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud in the day (Exodus 13:21-22).

There were several routes that they could have taken to leave Egypt—but the one they took seemed to make the least sense. The path was dangerous, tiresome and hard for that many people to travel. And they ended up at the Red Sea. Yet they did it because God led them there—and they were willing to follow.

As Israel left Egypt, God ordered Moses to camp by the Red Sea, and He explained to Moses that Egypt was going to send its military might after them. However, God also said that He would deal with the military.

In this account (Exodus 14:1-4) is the first lesson from the crossing of the Red Sea. God leads us throughout our lives, and we must faithfully follow Him wherever He leads us.

The Bible reveals that faith is a very important matter to God. In Hebrews 11:6 we see that faith is an essential quality for a Christian. Without faith, God will not be pleased with us.

Today God doesn’t lead us with a pillar of cloud or fire. He gives us the Holy Bible, the Church and our parents to guide us. And we can ask Him to lead us by His Holy Spirit that is with us as young people in the Church (1 Corinthians 7:14; John 14:17). God leads us to do what’s right and take the good path instead of the way of death (Matthew 7:13-14). Therefore, we should faithfully follow where God leads.

The chase

Mankind has an enemy. Our enemy hates us with such passion and power that we could not possibly begin to understand it. This enemy is very real, despite the fact that we cannot see him. But we can see his handiwork—the wreckage and carnage that is known as human history, starting with Adam and Eve and going on to the pain and suffering in the world today.

Our enemy is very dangerous and not to be underestimated. His name is Satan.

Satan rules the world through deception (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 12:9). However, once we are called by God and choose to be a servant of His rather than a slave of Satan’s, then we are no longer under his full control (even though we still remain open to his influence). Enraged by this, he pursues us and tries to destroy us like a lion would a poor, defenseless lamb (1 Peter 5:8).

In the story of the Exodus, Pharaoh is a type of Satan. When Pharaoh heard that his slaves were actually leaving, he became enraged and decided to chase them (Exodus 14:5-9). This is what Satan does with us. This is precisely the time when we must trust in God to deliver us and save us from our enemy.

Under the water

Israel started to panic as the Egyptians drew nearer, and the Red Sea stayed as impassable as it was before. However, God soon revealed His purpose for bringing them to this particular point. In one of the greatest physical miracles of the Bible, He divided the Red Sea, allowing Israel to pass through the waters and cross to the other side (Exodus 14:10-30).

In 1 Corinthians 10:2 the apostle Paul says that Israel was baptized, symbolically, during the crossing of the Red Sea.

Today baptism is a very important step in the life of a Christian. No other ceremony is more important than baptism. When we are baptized, we are definitely God’s. We no longer belong to Satan, but to God; and we have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in us. This is one of the high points of a Christian’s life.

Our story

We know how Israel’s story ended. They gave in to the temptations of Satan and went back to the ways of Egypt. They never developed faith in God.

Yet our story doesn’t need to have the same unpleasant ending. Our story can have a happy ending if we prepare for and remember the commitment we make at baptism and keep our faith in the leadership of God.

Learn more about faith and baptism in the following articles: What Is Faith? and What Is Baptism?

Joshua Travers is a baptized member of the Athens, Ohio, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, and a freshman at Ohio University.