Crossing the Red Sea – A Picture of Salvation
ne of the ways my wife and I used to help our four small children pass the time during a long road trip was by singing songs. We would ask each of them to select a song for the family to sing starting with our oldest child and ending with the youngest, then we would repeat the cycle. Judith and I would also take our turn choosing a song. From time to time I would select a Scripture song from the book of Exodus. The lyrics, taken from 14:13-14, are: “Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. (Repeat) The Lord will fight for you; the Lord will fight for you. Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” As I recall, I would usually tap my hand on the dashboard to help give a good rhythm to this robust song of praise. The verses of this Scripture song were spoken by Moses to the people of Israel right in the middle of their dramatic exodus from Egypt. They and their ancestors had been in Egypt for more than 400 years, living in bondage as slaves for a good portion of the time. When the Lord delivered His people from the Egyptians, instead of leading His people around the Red Sea, He brought them right up to the edge of it. To make this even more of a crisis, the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he came after them with a large army. When the people cried out in fear, Moses told them, “Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord will fight for you …” The Lord did fight for them in an amazing way. He instructed Moses to stretch out his staff all night, and the waters parted. All of the people of Israel walked through the sea on dry land. Moses stretched out his staff once again over the sea and it returned to its normal course. As a result, Pharaoh’s entire army, having pursued them into the sea, was drowned.
12 THE LUTHERAN AMBASSADOR
