Exodus 14:10–15, 26–31
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.”27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your everlasting faithfulness to us fickle people. We thank you for Christ and his deliverance, for our Baptism, and for guiding us to the promised land of heaven. In whatever life brings, may we ever cling to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Lord Delivers His Fickle People
I. A Wonderful Miracle and Reason to Trust
II. The Crossing of the Red Sea: A Picture of Baptism
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
Pharoah was a mad and desperate man. He was the most powerful ruler in the world. But his kingdom, power, and economy had been decimated by the ten plagues the Lord sent upon Egypt. Just think—in a matter of several months, Pharoah lost animals, crops, all the firstborn of men and animals in Egypt, and his workforce—the Israelite slaves. Pharoah let Israel go. He had to. But when Pharoah was told that the people had fled, realizing all that he was losing and had lost because of them, he went after them in hot pursuit. Pharoah heard the out-of-the-way route the Israelites were taking. You see, instead of taking a more direct route to the promised land through the land of the Philistines, the Lord took the Israelites through the wilderness. He didn’t want to discourage the Israelites right away in their journey by fighting the Philistines (Exodus 13:17). Yet, by going by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, Israel was a sitting duck. It almost looked like the Lord was leading them into a trap. Pharoah probably realized this too. If he pursued them, they would have nowhere to go. They would be fenced in by Pharoah and his army on the one side and the Red Sea on the other. With all the women, children, and animals, the Israelites would have no way to escape. They would be trapped. Pharoah, seeing his opportunity to payback the Israelites and forgetting the terrible lesson of the ten plagues, pursued Israel with his chariots and army.
When Israel saw Pharoah and his army draw near, our text says, “They feared greatly.” They were in a desperate situation. It wouldn’t take long for Egypt to overtake the slow-moving Israelites who were camped at the shores of the sea. Even though they had followed the guidance of the Lord, now there lay before them a watery grave and behind them the swift chariots of Pharoah ready to destroy them. They had no weapons. If they resisted Pharoah, they would be destroyed. Humanly speaking they were between the devil and the deep blue sea—there was no escape and no hope.
So, the Israelites begin to cry in despair. Bitterly and sarcastically, they attacked Moses, saying, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” The Lord had just performed the most glorious works and signs in Egypt. He had shown Israel his power and love for them, and even on their journey, was with them in the pillar of fire by night to guide them and a cloud by day to protect them from the harsh sun. But in their hour of trial, they forgot all about God and his wonderful works. Only Moses remained calm and fearless. He was a great man of prayer and faith, so he lifted his eyes to the Lord.
When we learn about the Israelites, it is almost humorous. How can they forget about God as soon as hardships come? How can they forget the miraculous and wonderful things the Lord had just done for them? How could they forget that God had promised to be with them and care for them? Didn’t they know that they were his people? It’s almost humorous when we think about how fickle they were, that is, until we realize that we are just as fickle a people. At times, it seems that we are fenced in on every side and that there is no avenue of escape and no hope. We look to the right and there are the impassable mountains of this godless world seeking to lead us into misbelief, despair, and other shameful sin and vice. To our rear there is Satan, that vicious Pharoah, standing as a roaring lion ready to devour us. We look ahead and see nothing but the roaring waves of trials, sorrows, tears, and disappointments caused by financial crisis, family conflicts, sickness, and even the death of our loved ones. Perhaps we feel like this right now and the future seems to promise nothing better. Yet rather than despairing, like Moses we should lift up our eyes to the Lord. When our hearts and souls are troubled, remember the words of the Psalm, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
After Moses prayed, the Lord answered, “Tell the people of Israel to go forward.” Not back to slavery and Egypt, but forward to the promised land. Then the Lord told Moses, “Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea.” When Moses did this a strong wind caused the waters of the sea to divide. Imagine how wonderful this would have been—God made a dry path for the people through the middle of the sea. When everything seemed hopeless, God provided a way out. At the same time the pillar of cloud, the symbol of the Lord’s saving presence, had dropped behind the Israelites to separate and protect them from the attacking Egyptians.
After all Israel passed through the sea the clouds lifted, and the chariots and army of Egypt entered the dry bed of the Red Sea. Here we see the obstinacy of unbelief—Pharoah was so determined to attack Israel, that he failed to see that they were being protected by the almighty God. But as they rode along, God caused the Egyptians to have difficulty driving. It was only then, as they are driving on dry ground in the midst of the sea, that they become terrified and say, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then Moses raised his staff over the sea and the waters returned to where they were previously, destroying all the armies of Egypt. The Lord indeed fought for his people.
When Moses parted the Red Sea, it certainly took trust on the part of the Israelites to plunge between these two walls of water. Imagine going through when at any moment it looked like one could be drowned. In our journey here on earth, we sometimes can become weak-hearted and fearful to travel the way the Lord would have us go. Yet, you and I have an even greater reason to trust than the Israelites. The One we are following has already given his life for us on the cross to save us from hell’s destruction. If our Lord Jesus would give us the greatest gift, eternal salvation, then we can be confident that he will help us in all our other needs and cares of life, working all for our good. He gives us the strength we need to face each trial and conflict through his Word and Sacrament.
Despite being a fearful and fickle people, the Lord delivered Israel through the crossing of the Red Sea. This alone is a great lesson about our God and his faithfulness to a faithless people. Yet, another lesson we can learn is from the Apostle Paul who gives us New Testament lenses for how we should understand the crossing of the Red Sea. Paul compares the crossing of the Red Sea with Baptism. He says, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (I Corinthians 10:1–2).
In the crossing of the Red Sea, the Lord delivered Israel from Pharoah and his armies, from evil and destruction, from slavery and bondage. He saved them from evil and brought them to safety through water by Moses—their deliverer. What God did for Israel he is doing for us today in Baptism. Your enemies are sin, death, and the devil. Your sin condemned you and brought death, and Satan was your harsh taskmaster who was leading you straight to hell. But in Baptism, the Lord saved you through water by your deliverer, Jesus Christ. In baptism, he drowned your old sinful flesh, freed you from spiritual death, and delivered you from the power of Satan, that cruel Pharoah. He saved you from our enemies so that he might make us his own people and bring us to the promised land of heaven.
Just as God had pity on the Israelites who were up against insurmountable odds, he had pity on us. Our sins deserved death and hell, the devil had us in his grasp. God didn’t save us because we earned it. No way. Even as his people we are weak. It takes so much for us to learn to trust God, but so little for us to doubt him. We are a fickle people. That’s why our Gospel lesson for today is such a comfort. In the wilderness, Jesus was in a battle with Satan for our souls. He was tempted by the devil but remained faithful for us. Yet, this was just the beginning, the great battle for our souls was fought and won on the cross where Jesus laid down his life for our sins so that he might crush the head of Satan, and free us from his tyranny. He allowed himself to be swallowed by death, tearing it to pieces, so that now death for the Christian is not the end. Rather, it is the passageway to the promised land of heaven. Baptism saves us because it connects us to Jesus. It makes his death our death and his life our life, as Paul writes, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
Jesus has delivered from sin and death. Yet, while we journey in the wilderness of this life, we still struggle against our old sinful flesh. In Baptism our old Adam was drowned but not destroyed. He still tries to overpower us. And we are often fickle and fall. We doubt God and fall back to the slavery of sin. But that is why our Baptism is such a blessing. Each day we can and need to return to the Red Sea of our Baptism in true repentance and faith, throwing our sins in the baptismal font and receive in the forgiveness that freely flows to us. Jesus gives us the forgiveness and strength to start each day anew so that we can press on toward our heavenly goal.
When you are made a child of God in Baptism, it doesn’t mean all your problems, your doubts, or your struggle against sin will go away. But it does mean that you are one of God’s people. You are one of the baptized, who have Christ. And this is important to remember.
There was no greater event in Israel’s history than the crossing of the Red Sea. It was their new identity—they were the one’s delivered by the Lord through the waters. The Bible is full of references and hymns about their deliverance in the Red Sea. It was a constant reminder to them that they were God’s people, that he would be with them and care for them even when everything appeared to be against them.
That’s how you should think of your Baptism. God has delivered you. He will be with you. Our confidence, strength, and hope is in Jesus who has delivered us. By his grace, strengthened through his word and sacraments, he will lead us to the promised land of heaven. So may we sing,
Jesus, still lead on
Till our rest be won;
And although the way be cheerless,
We will follow, calm and fearless;
Guide us by Your hand
To our promised land.
ELH 587:1