Exodus 14- Parting the Red Sea Revisited...

I love reading the Old Testament. The stories in it are amazing evidence of the power of the Lord; His strength and His faithfulness. My favorite old testament story is when Moses leads the Israelites through the Red Sea.

The story starts with the Israelites camping by the Red Sea because God instructed Moses to take them there as part of their exodus out of Egypt. After their exit from Egypt, it is said that Pharaoh's heart was harden

ed and he regrets letting the Israelites  go. He gathers all of his army together and they begin pursuing the Israelites, because they know they're on their own, a great opportunity to attack them and bring them back to Egypt. So the Egyptians begin their pursuit of the Israelites out in the wilderness (Ex. 14:3). From here there are 3 main ideas that jumped out at me.

1. GLORY- I love how God uses His enemies to glorify Himself. As I was reading, I realized that I limit God and put Him in a box that says only Christians truly glorify the Lord, but this is not true. In Exodus 14 when the Egyptians are pursuing the Israelites God is speaking to Moses and He says, "I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord" (Ex. 14:4). When I read this it seemed totally new to me. The concept that the Lord actually does work all things out for His glory

 really hit my heart. I believe it's also significant that the Lord mentions this 3 times within Exodus 14 (Ex. 14:4, 17,18). 

2. FAITHFULNESS- Not only does God use His enemies to bring Himself glory, but his faithfulness is demonstrated in this story numerous times. First, while the Israelites are camped by the sea they see the Egyptians coming toward them. In the midst of their fear, they cry out to the Lord and He sets the angel of the Lord that was before them, behind them. And He also moves the cloud by day/pillar of fire by night behind them, so there's a barrier between the Israelites and the Egyptians (Ex. 14:19-20). They were totally protected. 

In the midst of this, God tells Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea. And the sea begins to part. *Interesting note:  I always thought of this part of the story as Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments where he holds his staff in the air and the Red Sea magically parts instantly. According to Exodus 14:21 an east wind comes and the sea parts throughout the night, while the Israelites are protected by the angel and cloud. 

Once the sea is parted, the Israelites cross on dry land with a wall of water on each side of them (Ex. 14:22). The Egyptians come after them and the Lord causes their chariot wheels to swerve and their driving to become difficult in the midst of the path through the sea. He then commands Moses to hold out his hand to the sea and the waters crash down upon the Egyptians, destroying the entire army and saving the Israelites. He is so faithful to His people!! In the midst of the Israelites' fear, the Lord provides an impossible way out and completely saves them. How often does that happen in our own lives and yet we still struggle to believe He is faithful?

3. POWER- God can do anything He wants. He uses his enemies for His glory. He parts seas and destroys entire armies. Exodus 14:31 says, "When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in  theLord and in His servant Moses." He is a God that is to be feared and trusted. Even when things look ominous, like when the Israelites see the Egyptians coming after them, the Lord provides His faithfulness.