Experiencing transition in life can be like riding a roller coaster : either you don ’ t get on , or you choose to and ride it out until the end . I know I ’ ve caught myself reading the parting of the Red Sea like it ’ s a bedtime story . Yet when I really go there , I cannot fathom the perseverance and resilience it took to keep walking forward when all I ’ d want to do is curl up in a ball , crippled with fear , or run back into captivity .
Imagine with me for a moment actually being in that crowd of weary people . You ’ ve just escaped Egypt with all that you own and are able to carry . You ’ ve witnessed back-to-back plagues ravage the Egyptian people while you were protected and set apart . Then you ’ re told to ask the Egyptians for articles of silver , gold , and clothing because “ the Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people , and they gave them what they asked for ” ( Exod . 12:36 ). As you leave Rameses and travel to Sukkoth , you look around to see “ six hundred thousand men on foot , besides women and children ” ( v . 37 ). Livestock are bumping into you , and everyone is carrying dough without yeast in it because there was no time to prepare food for the journey .
I imagine that if I were in their shoes , I ’ d be replaying all that just transpired as I took each step toward a new life . The shocking death of all of the Egyptian firstborn children , the protection of the Israelites ’ own firstborn children , the inaugural Passover feast , and the following consecration of their families ’ firstborn livestock . And then they walk in obedience , step-by-step on a dry , dusty desert path in the midst of a massive deliverance from generations-long captivity , trusting that Moses ’ s word was from God . They come to a halt when they stumble upon the Red Sea . The absolute terror and anger that must ’ ve risen to the surface , especially when they realized that they were being chased by Pharaoh ’ s horses and chariots , horsemen and troops .
As Pharaoh approached , the Israelites looked up , and there were the Egyptians , marching after them . They were terrified and cried out to the Lord . They said to Moses , “ Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die ? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt ? Didn ’ t we say to you in Egypt , ‘ Leave us alone ; let us serve the Egyptians ’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert !”
Moses answered the people , “ Do not be afraid . Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today . The Egyptians you see today you will never see again . The Lord will fight for you ; you need only to be still .” ( 14:10 – 14 )
This sounds like a ridiculous game plan . I can only imagine the outrage : “ Be still ? Stand firm ? Trust God ? He ’ ll fight for us ? We have nowhere to run !” Then Moses raises his staff and stretches out his hand over the Red Sea and everyone holds their breath . “ Then the angel of God , who had been traveling in front of Israel ’ s army , withdrew and went behind them . The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them , coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel ” ( vv .
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