New Testament Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 23–29

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation… [verse 23] By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.” (Hebrews 11:1-2, 23–29, ESV)

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 14:15-31 

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.’ Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.’ Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.” (Exodus 14:15–31, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Before we jump into the details of our text for today, can we take a moment to, first of all, acknowledge that it must have been terrifying for Israel to leave Egypt? You know, as we consider this story it can be easy to forget that these were real people with real fears and anxieties. The Hebrews were a very weak and vulnerable people. The only life they knew was life in Egyptian bondage. As awful as that life must have been, it was what they were familiar with. On the other side of the border of Egypt was the unknown. Who would the Hebrews encounter there? How strong would their foes be? Which way would they go? What would they eat and drink in that desert region? And what if Pharaoh decided to pursue them with his army? What would they do then? The Hebrews knew that life was bad in Egypt, but at least it was familiar and relatively predictable. Things could be even worse for them if they left! So we should acknowledge that it took great faith for the hebrews to follow the LORD into the wilderness as they did, to break with Egypt, and to establish Israel.  

Clearly, the LORD had proved himself to Israel to move them to do such an extreme thing. It was through the signs and wonders that he worked through Moses and Aaron that the LORD proved himself to be present with them, powerful, and worthy of trust. And this is one of the purposes of signs and wonders. Through them the LORD proves himself to be present with his people, powerful, and worthy of trust. Israel followed the LORD into the wilderness despite all of the dangers and despite the unknowns, because the LORD had proved himself to them through signs and wonders.

Secondly, by way of introduction, it is important for us to again recognize the similarities between what God did through Moses and what God has done through Christ. In the days of Moses and in the days of Christ, God accomplished a great act of deliverance. Through Moses, God delivered Israel from Egyptian slavery, and through Christ, God has delivered his elect from the domain of darkness, from the power of sin, and the sting of death. 

And please make this connection too: both Moses and Christ call God’s people to an exodus. Moses called Israel to make a physical exit from Pharaoh’s kingdom, and Christ calls his elect in every age to make a spiritual exit from Satan’s kingdom. Israel would physically leave Egypt to sojourn towards a physical promised land. There they would establish a new nation. There they would build a physical temple. And all who are in Christ – all who are united to him by faith – have been called to leave Satan’s kingdom, spiritually speaking. We’ve made an exit. By God’s power and grace we’ve been released from bondage to Satan’s domain, ushered into Christ’s spiritual kingdom, and we are now sojourning towards the heavenly promised land. All who are in Christ have made an exodus. Just as the Hebrews could not follow the LORD without walking out of Egypt, so too one cannot follow Christ without making a clean break from Satan’s domain. 

To state the matter differently, no one can serve two masters. Either Christ is Lord, or the Evil One is. Or we might say that no one can live in these two spiritual kingdoms simultaneously. We either belong to the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. By nature, we belong to the kingdom of darkness, and I am saying that to be a citizen of the kingdom of light there must be a break, an exodus from the kingdom of darkness. To put it yet another way, for there to be faith in Christ there must also be repentance. Faith in Christ involves a turning from sin, an exodus, a break from one kingdom and an entrance into another. This is what Paul says that God has done for those in Christ. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son…” (Colossians 1:13, ESV). Those who have faith in Christ must learn to think of their faith in these kingdom terms. Following after Christ in this world involves an exodus from one kingdom and an entrance into another. 

And with that said, I pray that it is easier for you to identify with the experience of the Hebrews. What they experienced physically, those in Christ have experienced spiritually. If you are in Christ, you know what it is to be set free from spiritual bondage. You know what it is to transfer your allegiance from one master to another. You know what it is to be set apart in this world as holy and to have the world look in upon you as strange. In fact, you know that the world does not sit idly by, but does often disapprove of, mock, and even attack those who have broken away from them to be citizens of another kingdom and to have another king. 

This is what Christ spoke about when he said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” (John 15:18–21, ESV)

Brothers and sisters, Christ has accomplished our redemption. This he did when he died on the cross, rose on the third day, and ascended to the Father. The benefits of this redemption that he has earned come to us when we turn from our sins and to Christ by faith. It is then that, having been set free from the domain of darkness, we are transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. In Christ we have a new King, a new citizenship, a new calling, a new hope, and new way of life. But do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, when the ruler and citizens of your old kingdom disapprove of your departure. Do not be surprised when they pressure you to return, oppose you, and even pursue you to do you harm. 

In our passage for today, we find Israel in the wilderness. Can you picture them there? They have begun their exodus from Egypt. But instead of heading northeast towards the Promised Land, the LORD led them to the southeast into a vast desert wilderness and towards Mount Sinai. There he would enter into covenant with them and give them his law. 

And it was not long into their journey that they found themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s army and a large body of water, which the text refers to as the Red Sea. It is hard to know where exactly this happened. Theories abound. But the storyline is clear. Israel was trapped with the water of the sea on one side and the armies of Pharaoh on the other.  

We should not forget that it was the Lord that led them into this seemingly dire situation. Wrap your heads around that for a moment. More than this, we are told that it was the Lord who hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he would pursue Israel with the intent to subdue them again. But we also know that it was the will of the Lord to have the victory over the armies of Pharaoh so that he might show himself to the Hebrews and to nations as God Almighty once again. In this way, God would get the glory. 

We can see all of that clearly as we look back upon this story with 20/20 hindsight, but the Hebrews who lived through it were terrified. We learn of their reaction in 14:10: “they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:10–12, ESV). Moses responded to them with these marvelous words of faith: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13–14, ESV).

“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” That is what Moses said to Israel regarding the threat of the Egyptian army. But is this not also what is said to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ?  Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which Christ has worked for you… The LORD has fought for you, and you have only to be silent.

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Go Forward

In verse 15, we find the LORD’s words to Moses. “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.’” 

 “Why do you cry to me?”, the Lord said. Certainly, the Lord is not here rebuking Moses for offering up prayers to him. That was the right thing for him to do – to cry out to the Lord in prayer in the face of this threat. Taken in context, this must mean the time has come to cease from praying and to get up and move. “Tell the people of Israel to go forward”, the Lord said. This means that they were to pack their things to leave.

You know, it is possible to become so fixated on the problems of life and on the threats we face that we grow paralyzed. When the LORD spoke to Israel saying, I “will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13–14, ESV), he did not mean that they would have nothing to do. No, there is always something to do! The people of Israel were called to walk by faith while the LORD fought for them. “Go forward”, the LORD said. 

I think this is a good word for us today. “Go forward”, brothers and sisters. Cry out to the LORD, yes. Trust that the LORD will fight for you. But also go forward. Do not be paralyzed by fear. Do not be inactive. Walk by faith. Walk, knowing that the LORD will fight for you. 

These are perplexing times that we are living in. We are experiencing very rapid cultural changes. Not only has our culture forgotten God, the culture seems to be at war with God. Being a Christian – a true Christian – in this culture is getting more and more difficult with each passing year. The pressures are very great. The enemy seems to be so strong. It is vital that we trust the LORD. And it is also vital that we go forward. We must walk by faith. 

As I see it there is a ditch on both sides of the road. On the left, there are those who are paralyzed by fear. But on the right, there are those who assume that some new and extraordinary thing must be done by the people of God. No, in fact, the Christian is called to do what the Christian has always been called to do. We are to go forward, walking by faith and not by sight. We are to go forward trusting that the LORD will fight for us. We are to go forward living in obedience to the commands of God. We are to go forward in the worship of God. We are to go forward in the raising of our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We are to work to God’s glory and eat and drink to God’s glory. We are to live lives of faith, hope, and love. We are to give thanks in every circumstance as we entrust ourselves to the care of our gracious Lord. On the one hand, never are we to forget that it is the LORD who fights for us – we must rest in him. On the other hand, never are we to cease from walking. The people of God must always go forward in faith. 

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The LORD Will Provide A Way

And as we go forward we must trust that the LORD will provide a way. 

The Lord provided a way for the people of Israel, and he did so in a most miraculous way. 

The Israelites were boxed in. As they looked upon their situation with their natural eyes they couldn’t see a way out. But God made a way for them where there was no way. He divided the sea so that Israel could pass through on dry land. Not only that, “the angel of God [who we know to be the LORD himself] who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel.” So the LORD opened up a way where there was no way, and he positioned himself to protect Israel. He was a pillar of light to them, but a pillar of darkness to the Egyptians. This kept the Egyptians from overrunning the Hebrews as they went on their way.

Not only was this way miraculously opened up, it was also filled with symbolism. 

Please do not lose sight of the fact that the LORD could have delivered the Hebrews in any way that he chose, but he determined to do it this way – through the outpouring of ten plagues, by means of the Passover, and by leading Israel through the sea. Why did he take them through the sea? Why didn’t he take them in another direction so they would not be entrapped? Why did he move Pharoah to pursue? Why this way? The answer is that he was demonstrating something. He was demonstrating his power. And he was also signifying something, namely, salvation from his wrath, and the creation of something new. 

Do not forget the symbolism of water found in Genesis. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light”, etc (Genesis 1:1–3, ESV). The earth was at first a watery expanse not suitable for human habitation and the Lord formed and fashioned the earth by the power of his word to make a home where man could dwell. 

In the days of Noah, God judged the world that then was with water, but Noah and his family were brought safely through the judgment in the ark. They disembarked into a new world to establish a new humanity. 

Here in the Exodus, we see that the Israelites were brought through the waters of judgment being led by Moses, who was himself drawn out of the waters as an infant. The Lord brought him, and through him, the Hebrews, through the waters of judgment to enter into a covenant with them and to make them into a new nation in a holy land which God had promised to them. 

The theme is unmistakably clear. God has determined to provide a way of salvation for his elect. He would make a way for them to enter into the new creation by shielding them from his just wrath. Noah and his family on the ark, and Israel walking on dry land between the divided waters, were pictures of this. Ultimately, these things were pictures of the Christ who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV).

When I say, “the LORD will provide a way”, I think it is right to apply that to our life as sojourners in this world. The LORD does provide a way for his people. He is ever-present with us. He does give us this day our daily bread. He is faithful to guide us and direct us. He opens up paths for his people where no path was seen before. You have probably experienced this at some point in your walk with Christ. And if you have not, I trust that you will. The LORD leads his people, and he is with them to protect them.  

But the saying, “the LORD will provide a way”, must mean more than this, for the greatest threats to man are not the trials and tribulations of this life, but death and judgment. As the scriptures say,  “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV). This is the ordeal that Christ came to save us from – death and judgment. He has divided the waters of God’s wrath so that those who have faith in him may pass through on dry ground into the heavenly promised land.

Friends, this is the purpose for which Christ came into the world. He came, not to shield us from every trial and tribulation, but to make a way for us into the new heavens and earth. “[H]e has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:26–28, ESV).

The LORD provided a way for the Hebrews, he provides a way for us as we sojourn in this world, and most importantly, he has provided a way for man to pass safely through the waters of death and judgment. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16–18, ESV).

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The LORD Will Get The Glory

Thirdly and lastly, let us recognize that as the LORD provides a way for his people he will get the glory, both in judgment and in grace. 

In verse 17 we hear the LORD say, And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen” (Exodus 14:17–18, ESV).

As the story unfolds we are told that the Egyptians did follow Israel into the sea. It seems to me that the way of the Hebrews was illuminated by the glory of God, whereas the way of the Egyptians was shrouded in darkness. The LORD was light to his people, and darkness to his enemies.  Verse 24: “And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces [I take this to mean that the LORD revealed the splendor of his glory to them] and [this] threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:24–25, ESV).

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.’ So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:26–31, ESV).

The LORD, the God of Israel, was glorified as he graciously provided a way for his people, and as he justly judged the wicked and oppressive Egyptians. These were the Egyptians who decreed that newborn sons of the Hebrews be cast into the waters of the Nile. Now the LORD has cast them into the waters of the sea. 

Just as the salvation that the LORD accomplished for Israel was an earthly picture of the eternal salvation that is our in Christ Jesus, so too the judgment poured out on the Egyptians was an earthly picture of the final and eternal judgment that Christ will administer at the end of time. All who are not united to him by faith will be judged. God will be glorified both for his abundant grace and for his just judgments.  

In Revelation 19:1ff we find a description of the celebration that will take place in heaven when the judgments of God are poured out at the end of time. John writes, “After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ Once more they cried out, ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’ And from the throne came a voice saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great” (Revelation 19:1–5, ESV).

As I have said, our God will be glorified at the end of time both for his marvelous grace and his just judgments. As it was at the time of the Exodus, so will it be at the end of time. The one way a small picture and foretaste of the other.  

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Conclusion

I think it would be good to conclude by drawing your attention to what follows this story in Exodus. In chapter 15 we find a song. It is called The Song of Moses, but it was a song that all Israel sang after witnessing the great act of salvation that the LORD had worked for them and the just judgments that the LORD poured out on the Egyptians. After passing through the sea, the people sang! This reminds me very much of the songs of the book of Revelation. After witnessing the salvation of the Lord and the judgments of the Lord, angels in men and heaven burst forth in praise. 

In fact, in Revelation 15 the song of Moses is mentioned so that we might make the connection between the Exodus event, our current experience, and what God will do at the end of time. After the introduction of the seven plagues of Revelation 15, we read, “And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:2–4, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, as we consider the Exodus event, we must not forget that we too have experienced an exodus in Christ Jesus. We’ve been transferred from one kingdom into another, and this has required us to make a clean break with the former. The Evil One pursues us as we sojourn. The world is not pleased when we refuse to align with them in their evil way, so they revile us and even persecute us.  But we must go forward, trusting that the LORD will provide a way, and that he will get the glory. At the end of time, we will praise him for his salvation. We will sing to him, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!” (Revelation 15:3, ESV)