Wow! Just Wow!

Exodus 14:13-31

Verse 31  And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses his servant.

    This is one of those big things done by God which even the youngest of us probably know about.  The parting of the Red Sea is a story that can cause us awe no matter how many times we hear it because it is so over the top.  The Israelites knew they were in a bad place as they saw the sea in front of them and the pursuing Egyptian army behind them.  They may have been many people strong but they were no match for an army on wheels and steeds.

    They were between the proverbial rock and hard place and though they had just experienced all those big things that God had done, they had no hope at that moment.  They started verbalizing their doubt of God and Moses must have started to second guess what he was doing too.  He may have questioned the path he had taken God’s people on.  Yes, they were being led by God’s pillar of cloud and fire but had he followed them correctly?

    Moses told the people to trust God and let Him fight the battel for them.  Moses had witnessed the same things the people had but maybe 40 years in the wilderness had caused him to let go of more of the things of the world which he had been comfortable with in Egypt.  The people were new to this living without the basic things of civilized life.  While living in Egypt they had been living in homes with doors (remember they smeared blood on the doorposts) and living on the run was nowhere near as fun when there was danger and nowhere to escape to.

    It was into this situation that God told Moses to raise his hand over the sea.  The truth was while God had told Moses to do this it wasn’t to make the sea divide.  This was God seeking Moses’ obedience in the moment of need.  There were too many people for them all to see what Moses was doing but there was no way they could miss what God was doing.

    As they crossed to the other side they must have been in great wonder of what they were seeing.  The ground under them was dry as if it was part of the desert and there were great walls of water on each side of them.  And when they got to the other side they turned to see if the Egyptians were able to follow them through only to see their wheels getting stuck in mud, mud that wasn’t there a short time before, and then the walls crashed over the enemy.  Just like that, God delivered His people from Egypt.

Making It Personal

    Have you ever found yourself in a place where you couldn’t see a way out?  Did you give up or look for God’s leading?  Where are you feeling stuck today?

Making It Personal Kids

    What do you think it was like to walk between those walls of water?  Have you ever had God make a way out of a situation you didn’t think you could get out of?  How can you know where God is leading?

Closing Prayer

    Father, thank You for reminding us that You always have a plan even when we can’t see it.  Give us the humility to follow You and know You can fight for us in ways we can’t fight for ourselves.  In Jesus’ name, amen.