Transcript

The Channel Tunnel is a 31-mile underwater railway tunnel that connects England with France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It is the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland.

Working from both the English and French sides of the Channel, eleven tunnel boring machines, began cutting and digging in 1988. And the Channel Tunnel opened six years later on May 6, 1994.

Today the 31-mile passage beneath the English Channel allows thousands of people, cars, and trucks to travel by train each day between England and France.

For centuries, people had sailed across the Channel until this surprising new way to go under it was completed.

God created a surprising new route and path through a body of water for the Israelites too, when God miraculously parted the Red Sea and the children of Israel walked through to the other side on dry land.

The parting and crossing of the Red Sea is a major event of the Bible because it is brought up again and again in Scripture as a reminder to Israel of God’s power, provision, and mercy toward His people.

Exodus 14:1-4 reads, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

“For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them…”

Israel had been living in the land of Goshen. When Pharaoh let the people go, the Hebrews gathered and left from the city of Raamses and traveled to Succoth (12:37) and then further to Etham, where they camped on the edge of the wilderness.

At this point, the Lord spoke to Moses and told him to tell the children of Israel to “turn,” or make an about-face and backtrack to a location that would put them up against the Red Sea. And there they were to camp.

The Lord’s intention with this was that by starting first one way and then turning back and camping against the sea, it gave the appearance of confusion and that they were lost and wandering aimlessly.

And camping against the sea also made them vulnerable and easy prey for an attack by the Egyptians. Militarily and strategically, they were sitting ducks, trapped against this large body of water with no possibility of escape.

As it’s been said, “It would be like turning down a dead-end street when you’re being chased by a car full of thieves.”

God did all this so that Pharaoh would hear of it. The Lord told Moses what Pharaoh would begin to think and vocalize to his counselors about them wandering aimlessly in the land. And God stated that he would harden Pharoah’s heart one more time.

Like with Pharaoh, Proverbs 21:1 states, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

This final hardening of Pharaoh’s already stubborn and rebellious heart would result in him pursuing the Israelites with the intention of recapturing and destroying many of them.

God was drawing Pharaoh in for one final judgment against Egypt; He was setting the stage for one final confrontation and to give a spectacular display of His divine power in saving His people and crushing the most powerful army in the world.

Exodus 14 continues: “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

“And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?…

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”

In verses 5, we learn that Pharaoh was told “that the people fled,” or that the children of Israel had determined to escape and leave Egypt altogether.

Moses had repeatedly requested that Pharaoh allow the Israelites to make “a three-day journey” into the wilderness to make a sacrifice unto the Lord. Thus, it seems clear that Pharaoh had thought that the people of Israel had only departed temporarily.

When he and the people realized their departure was permanent, they lamented the decision together to let 2 million free laborers go and lose the economic benefit that stemmed from this.

Thus, verses 6 and 7 tell us that Pharaoh harnessed horses to his war chariot, and he mustered his soldiers and took his army and cavalry with him.

And he further commanded that six hundred “chosen” or choice war chariots from a special royal force be readied. These choice chariots were the best he had, probably the best in the world at that time! These, along with all the other war chariots of Egypt with their officers, were all gathered.

Chariots were the most sophisticated military technology available at that time. They were the seemingly invincible weapon of ancient times and the symbol of Egyptian power.

All these chariots, troops, and horsemen show that Pharaoh was holding nothing back from attacking and punishing the Israelites! His intention was total victory.

This Egyptian power and might is set up for us to contrast God’s power versus man’s.

The armies and chariots all pursued after the Israelites, who, as verse 8 tells us, were leaving with a “high hand,” or leaving Egypt confidently, defiantly, and triumphantly.

Verse 9 says that the Egyptians’ massive military force “pursued” and “overtook” or caught up with the people of Israel as they were encamped by the Red Sea.

Exodus 12:37 tells us that there were “about six hundred thousand” men that left Egypt in the Exodus. This does not count women and children. Adding them means that the people of Israel would have numbered at least 2 million.

As these 2 million people with all their flocks, herds and cattle were camped up against the Red Sea, the sound of thunder is heard in the distance. The sound increases. Then a cloud of dust is seen rising on the horizon.

Finally, as the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, looking and fixing their sights on the distance, they saw the Egyptian army approaching like a tidal wave, thousands upon thousands of soldiers marching, thousands of horsemen, thousands of chariots racing towards them, every chariot in Egypt.

As a result, and understandably, the people of Israel “were sore afraid,” or petrified and scared out of their minds.

Their confident swagger and defiance in leaving Egypt, suddenly changed to fear. They knew the cruelty of the Egyptians of their old taskmasters, and their hearts failed them.

The Red Sea was behind the Israelites, and the hosts of Egypt were before them. From a natural viewpoint, things appeared bleak and grim.

The first thing the Israelites did was good, the second thing was not good. They first, “cried out unto the Lord,” which is good, because “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psa. 46:1). The place of desperation can become for us the place of dependence on God! And God was teaching Israel here to depend on Him by faith.

But then the people complained to Moses, which was not good. So they went from fear, to faith, to fussing. They cried to the Lord for His help, but then they looked for someone to blame, and they blamed Moses, who hadn’t done anything to deserve their disloyalty.

They rebuked Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?” The Israelites knew how the Egyptians were fixated on death and the afterlife and they had innumerable tombs and burial places in Egypt.

They assumed they were about to die, and so they told Moses how they wished they were back in bondage in Egypt, because this would have been preferable to being slaughtered in the wilderness. They preferred to be in safety as slaves than in danger as free men.

Moses, however, recognizes that their fear was arousing their words against him. He then courageously responds in faith, and reassures the people, telling them to “Fear ye not.”

He says these words with a massive army of Egyptians descending upon them with horses, chariots, bows and arrows, and spears. And though their fear might have made them want to panic and run, Moses encouraged them to “stand still [or stop].”

This reminds us of the encouraging verse, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Israel was being told to be still in knowing God and that He is able, and to trust Him.

Moses told the people to not fear and be still and then to watch and see the salvation of the Lord which He would show them that day. The Lord was going to do all that was necessary to bring about their deliverance. He Alone would provide the victory for Israel!

All they needed to do was to stop and let God do the work in saving them, and watch the wonderful way God would rescue them.

The Israelites would “see” God’s salvation. And as far as their foes, those Egyptians that they could “see” at that very moment and who they were understandably focusing on, they would see them again no more forever.

And this was so because the Lord would fight for them, deliver them, and gain complete, utter victory over their enemies. The Lord didn’t give Israel a plan of attack, instead, the Lord told them through Moses that He would act on their behalf. Israel would be saved without having to fight their foes at all.

All Israel is told to do is “and ye shall hold your peace.” This means that Israel only needed to keep silent, remain calm, cease all action or effort on their part to try to save themselves and just watch and see the salvation of the Lord.

There are reminders here of our salvation. The Lord has likewise done everything necessary to bring about our deliverance from the fearful consequences of our sins in the lake of fire. He fought our enemies of sin, death, and Satan and won the victory for us.

We don’t need to do anything but just look to the Cross and Christ’s resurrection and trust the wonderful way God has rescued us from our sins.

Exodus 14 continues: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea…

“And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

“And it 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: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

“And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”

Verse 15 is humorous to me. Moses had been waxing eloquent in reassuring the Israelites and pleading for deliverance from the Lord in desperate prayer, and then the Lord asked him, “Why are you crying out to Me?” In other words, stop praying and get moving! There is a time to pray and a time to act. And it was time to act.

The Lord told Moses to tell the children of Israel to “go forward.” And forward is the direction of faith. The fact that Israel was facing the sea was no problem for God. They were to go forward toward the Red Sea.

And Moses was then to lift up the rod of God that Moses and Aaron had used in bringing many of the plagues against the Egyptians. And Moses was to stretch out his hand over the sea. And then he was to “divide it.”

Of course, we know that while Moses and his rod were used as God’s instruments, it was the living God Who brought about the miracle by His almighty power (Isa. 51:10).

Before this took place, however, the pillar of the cloud moved which had been guiding the Israelites since they left Egypt. This pillar of God’s glory went before them in a pillar of a cloud in the daytime to lead them, and by night it was a pillar of fire to give them light.

Verse 19 equates the pillar with the angel of God, that it was a manifestation of the angel. And this means that this pillar is none other than a Christophany or a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ.

And that pillar moved from before the camp of Israel to behind them, creating a division between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Here the Lord moved from leading to protecting, from guiding to guarding the Israelites.

This awesome pillar performed a rear-guard action, blocking and keeping the Egyptians back so that the people of Israel had the time to make their escape through the sea. The Egyptians could not attack the Israelites because of the protecting pillar of God.

The cloud had different effects on each camp. To the camp of the Egyptians it was a cloud of darkness, but to the camp of the Israelites it was a source of light.

It’s a visual of what Christ does in our salvation. Christ, our Savior and Intercessor, protects and preserves those He delivers from bondage, and in Him, we are children of light. He comes between us and everyone and everything that could be against us.

The pillar reveals the double nature of the glory of God in salvation and in judgment. In salvation, we find light and life. In judgment, there is only darkness and death.

After the pillar removed itself to the back of the camp, then Moses lifted the rod and “stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night.”

It was then that God performed this massive, astounding miracle. When Moses stretched out his hand, the Lord supernaturally sent a powerful wind that drove the waters of the sea back and He opened a path through the sea.

That exceedingly strong wind hit and drove a wedge into that sea. And it parted those waters suddenly and immediately.

Notice the direction of the wind is from the east. The Israelites were on the west side. So unlike the portrayals of it, the miracle began opposite their position in the Red Sea and it came toward them.

The children of Israel saw the waters parting from a distance, and as the sea divided it kept coming closer and closer and closer to them on the west side until it opened it front of them and they saw the path all the way through to the other side.

By the wind, the sea split in two and its waters formed massive, vertical walls on each side. Verse 22: “the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.”

“Wall” is an architectural term in Hebrew employed for the fortifications surrounding a city: walls which were high and strong for protection and security. These walls of water were high and strong in the Sea.

After their crossing, the Israelites described the parting in their praise, “And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.”

That east wind blew all night, as the Lord used that wind to keep the waters as a heap and as walls while the children of Israel crossed the sea all that night.

Two miracles took place by God in that He split the sea in half, AND He dried the ground of the path that was created by the parting of the waters.

That east wind was also used by the Lord to supernaturally make the sea dry land. It instantly dried the sea bottom, drying it to dust. It wasn’t muddy or soggy at all!

The Hebrew term translated as “dry ground” is used in the Bible to describe land that is exceedingly dry, with no moisture. It appears in Genesis 1:9 as the “dry ground” which becomes visible at creation.

The earth’s surface was also called “dry ground” after the flood in Noah’s day. In all three events, God causes water to be removed so that dry land would appear.

And for at least 2 million people and their animals to cross the Red Sea in one night, it is likely that the dry path created for them in the Sea was very wide as well.

So what we see in the account is how God took that dead-end at the Red Sea and He turned it into a superhighway!

After all the Israelites crossed over, it was time for God’s judgment of the Egyptians. God desired not only to deliver His people, but also to give them a final, complete freedom from fear of their enemy, the Egyptians.

Moses told them “The Lord shall fight for you,” and then you see Him doing just that. Just as the Israelites passed through safely to the other side and cleared the seabed, in the early morning, the Egyptians pursued them into the sea. While it is not stated, their pursuit could not have begun until the pillar of cloud permitted it.

After they came into the Sea after them, Exodus 15:9 explains that “The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.” Their intent was to kill and plunder.

The Lord in the cloud looked upon the Egyptian host as they went to pursue the Israelites and He “troubled” them, which literally means He put them in a state of confusion.

Now in the midst of the sea, in total disarray, the Lord further made their chariot wheels hard to turn, and the chariots difficult to drive. In some manner, God locked up the wheels of the chariots in order that they could not easily move.

This was possibly due to God sending a thunderstorm and rain based on Psalms 77:16-20.

All this together led the Egyptian army to panic and admit, “Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.”

And then the Lord was ready to deliver the final blow, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.”

The Pharaoh at the time of Moses’s birth had sought to kill the Hebrew baby boys by ordering them to be cast into the Nile River and drowned. But now God ordered Moses to stretch out his hand so that the Egyptian soldiers would be drowned in the Red Sea!

Moses did as God commanded. In chapter 15, we learn that God did this by a sudden change in the direction of the wind which brought back the masses of water that were heaped up as walls: “Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters” (v. 10).

The Egyptians raced from the midst of the sea attempting to outrun the returning waters, but it was no use; those waters returned and plunged back to their normal state with crushing force.

And the same waters which formed up as a wall of protection for God’s redeemed to pass through and live, then collapsed and formed a grave for Pharaoh’s army.

And all the chariots, horsemen, and soldiers that pursued the Israelites into the sea were covered, drowned, and destroyed, and not one of them remained.

Pharaoh’s army, with its thousands of chariots, the most powerful war machine of its day, was no match against the power of almighty God.

And verse 30 says, “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.” Thus, the people no longer needed to fear Pharaoh, and verse 31 says, they rightly “feared the Lord.”

The Passover is followed by the Red Sea. The Passover was a type of the Cross and redemption through the shed blood of the lamb. The Red Sea crossing which follows it, is a picture of the resurrection.

Christ shed His blood and died on the Cross on the Passover and then three days later, He parted the deep waters of the grave and brought new life through His resurrection.

The way to deliverance for Israel was through the sea. That sea symbolizes death as we observe the death it brought to all those Egyptians. But Christ parted that sea which pictures His resurrection. So the way to deliverance and new life is through death and resurrection.

The waters of judgment never touch us, because they were fully poured out on Christ. The Lord’s resurrection and victory over sin and death has parted and walled up the waters of death and made a path of dry ground for us to safely reach the other side.

Like in the exodus, believers have been delivered from the place of bondage, oppression, and darkness by the shed blood, and now the barrier of death opens and the people of God march through death into life, drawing near to God, set free into our new life in Christ.

The parting of the sea resulted in Israel’s salvation, life, and deliverance, but the same sea of death brought destruction to God’s enemies.

Pharaoh is a picture of Satan in Exodus. And as you apply the Red Sea type to Hebrews 2:14, you learn that “Through death” (or the Red Sea) the Lord has destroyed “him that had the power of death, that is the devil” (or Pharaoh).

In the wake of it all on the other side of the Sea is the utter destruction of all enemies. Likewise, Christ has saved us and destroyed all our spiritual foes.

Christ saved us from all our sins and drowned them in the depths of the sea by His death. And by His finished work, the waters returned and with crushing force He defeated Satan and his minions.

And with the last barrier, the Red Sea, which pictures the last enemy of death, Christ tore it open with great power by His resurrection life, giving us life and victory through Him. And to that we say, “But thanks be to God!”