CROSSING THE RED SEA by G.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 18, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 51.

CROSSING THE RED SEA.

By G.

The children of Israel had started out by faith in God, but faith that is not continually exercised soon becomes weak, and will not bear sudden or unusual strain. Faith that stops to regard outward appearances will not endure to the end. It is necessary that faith be often tested, that the individual himself may know where he stands. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” Like many others since their day, the Israelites soon came to an obstacle which past faith could not surmount. Failing to seek a new supply, they fell into a terrible state of discouragement.

The king of Egypt and his counselors soon regretted letting their servants go, and feeling remorse because of their defeat and the defeat of their gods, determined to retrieve their lost honor, and recover their lost property. So Pharaoh headed an army, and followed the departing host. The Lord had led His people by way of the sea, and now they were camped in what appeared to be a most unfavorable location in case of attack. The mountains and sea confronted them and bounded them on either side, and, behold, the Egyptian army approached from the rear!

Sudden terror created a panic, and instead of trusting in God, the most of the people began to chide Moses. “It had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness,” was their selfish plea. But we must not condemn them; they were young in the faith, and had not yet learned that the honor of God is properly the Christian’s first consideration. The Lord had before told Moses that the Egyptians would follow them, and had said, “I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” Now was the Lord’s opportunity, but the poor undisciplined, inexperienced, terrified emigrants were unable to see anything but their own apparent danger.

Moses reassured the people, telling them to fear not, but to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” If all the people of God in our day would heed this counsel, it would save them from many unnecessary worries, and from many futile attempts to fight their own battles, as well as from many an ignominious surrender to their former masters or to newly-discovered enemies.

The calm, faithful counsel of Moses had the effect of quieting their murmurings for the moment, and the Lord gave them another opportunity for exercise of faith. Repeating His promise to Moses, He told him to “speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.” Then, for their further encouragement, as well as for the discomfiture of their enemies, “the Angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them.” Thus the cloud which enshrouded the Angel “came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these.”

Evidently the faith of the people was greatly revived, for they at once prepared to go forward, right into the sea, at the command of the Lord through Moses. Anything but faith would have shrunk from this as being a worse prospect than meeting the Egyptians, who only wanted to make them return. The Word tells us that “by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land.” Heb. 11:29. Of this scene David says: “Thy way was in the sea, and Thy paths in the great waters, and Thy footsteps were not known. Thou leddest Thy people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.” Ps. 77:19, 20, R.V.

In the confusion of darkness and the blindness of their zeal, the Egyptians pursued Israel into the midst of the sea. But the Shepherd who led the flock had also an eye on the enemy, and He continued to discomfit them. David further describes the awful visitation: “The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; Thine arrows also went abroad. The voice of Thy thunder was in the heaven; the lightnings lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook.” The lightning revealed to the Egyptians their true situation, and to add to their perplexity their chariot wheels came off, thus further impeding their progress.

Realizing when too late that the God of Israel was again contending against them, the Egyptians attempted to retreat. Then the Lord told Moses to stretch forth His hand again, and when He did so the sea returned upon the host of Pharaoh and destroyed them all. “There remained not so much as one of them,” and Israel saw the dead bodies of their enemies as they were washed to the shore. The people were now very jubilant over their deliverance from bondage, and Moses led them in that most wonderful tribute of song recorded in Ex. 15:1–19. Then Miriam the prophetess took a timbrel, and led all the women in songs of praise to the Lord.

All this, thrilling as it is to contemplate, is but a type of the great deliverance yet to be experienced by the Lord’s people when the King shall come to take them to Himself; when He comes “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thess. 1:8. The lesson of the Red Sea was written for our learning. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples [margin, ‘types’];” and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor. 10:11.