#160 Closing Water Exodus 14

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 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. Exodus 14:13-31 NIV

There is much going on here that would apply to both Israel, at the birth of the faith of those enclosed by the sea, and the body of believers, who have by faith in Christ been grafted in. "Do not be afraid, stand....and see." After the wonders they have seen in Egypt, they have much reason to listen, but there is a man, coming with his army, and he has seen all these things as well. In his mind, he is a god, his way is better, and so he defies all logic and reason, and now the pillar of cloud and the angel of the Lord move between Pharaoh's army and Israel. Surely a man will repent at this point, but no, I fear not so, for I have heard too many times the battle cry of those that hate the word of God, that love their slavery. The emotional arguments, the shouldering of those heroes of contradiction and delusion, and they would call good evil and evil good. There are those Christians in other places that suffer for what they believe, but where I live you are just deemed politically incorrect. It is a small cross to bear, barely a prick on the finger, but many succumb to it. We would choose to run away, to fit in, to deny the words of God, instead of standing firm upon them. Which God do you believe in, the one approaching with his army, or the One that says stand and see My deliverance? This is the Creator, the God of the Bible, the One who also claims that there is only one way. He is a stumbling block to my social life, a wall at times to my career, and the more I know of Him, the less good I see in myself. The Lord tells Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea, and for a whole night the wind blows against the sea, and for a whole night the Egyptians may still ponder the sanity of this. Israel passes through the sea on dry ground, and the armies of the god of Egypt pursue. 

2 Peter 3:1-18:1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen

The sea floor is not a place for men, horses or chariots, and there is only one way to enter and pass through. Some tried to follow, but the angel of the Lord could not be found among them. Instead they entered the sea with an Antichrist, the god of their choosing. Maybe today, with what we "know" and all our technology, we could make a stand, united as men, against the God of creation. Maybe we will get to that place, where our knowledge so increases, that we can explain away this God, find our own answer to this problem of evil, possibly legislate it away. Maybe we can evolve, become gods ourselves, the thing made and playing with the ingredients that were already here, right? I don't think I shall join your army, I shall just stand here and wait.