03 Who was also with the Israelites? Describe what was happening.
The end of the story is the protection of Israel through God’s powerful authority over nature itself. God splits the Red Sea in half and creates a passageway of safety for His people to find rescue and deliverance.
As one Old Testament scholar has said, “Israel’s escape route became a classroom for them, a period of testing in time and space that shaped the people Yahweh was making.”1
Read Exodus 14:15–18.
04 Scripture demonstrates that sometimes God allows trials in order to reveal His power. Why would God work this way?
The experience at the Red Sea was a formative experience, helping the people of God better understand and live out trust in their Creator.
When we think about Jesus there are so many connections back to the Red Sea. The Israelites faced the Red Sea which was a sign/symbol of death, chaos, and disorder. Jesus faced the cross, a sign/symbol of death. The Israelites had to go through the Red Sea. Jesus had to go through the cross. On the other side of the Red Sea was the promised land for the Israelites. Jesus victory over sin and death brings the promise of the new heavens and new earth to those of us that put our trust and faith in Christ.
- The more we remember what Jesus has done for us and what it means for us, the more we will be assured of His absolute devotion to protecting us.
Every moment we are with God, we are with His protection whether we realize it or not. And part of that protection, if we will trust Him and stay with Him, is how He will form us and shape us through what we experience.
05 Read 1 Corinthians 15:49. What is the goal of all of this shaping and forming?
The more we are shaped and formed to be like Jesus, the more we will be confident in God’s protection. But even more than being confident, with Jesus we can have unexplainable peace in the process. Philippians 4:7 reminds us of this truth:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
As we conclude today, let’s turn to one more story involving another sea. In this New Testament story, found in Mark 4, Jesus is asleep on a boat in the middle of a storm on the Sea of Galilee. This is the type of storm that would put true fear in even the most seasoned sailors. In a moment of desperation, the disciples cry out to Jesus to provide protection for them. Jesus simply wakes up, rebukes the wind, and tells the sea to be still.
Simply the presence of Jesus and the voice of Jesus in the midst of the storm establishes peace. Where Jesus is present, peace is possible.
This doesn’t mean there won’t be storms, trials, tribulations, and hardships. Certainly the children of Israel and Moses experienced these. The disciples in the New Testament experienced these. And we will, too. But we are never left alone He is with us. With Jesus, even when our circumstances don’t feel peaceful, we can choose to do things His way and, in doing so, have peace that passes all understanding.
And in the end, if we will just remember to reflect on the many ways we’ve seen God move in our past and the peace available to us in the present, we can know we are being protected.
