Cross over

DEVOTION

EXODUS

CROSS OVER

Ex 14:21-25

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."

NIV

From the researchers of such things, it has been thought the area in which this event occurred the Red Sea was about twenty-eight yards or eighty-four feet deep and about twelve miles across. The distance was possible to travel in one night’s time, even at the slowest of pace of around two miles an hour. But the depth of the waters could not have separated simply by the natural act of a strong East wind. A wind that strong to create a wall of water eighty-four feet high on both sides would have blown any person of animal to kingdom come. No one or nothing could stand against such a wind as that. The fact remains, the LORD caused the waters to divide by his own divine power over his creation. The mentioned wind was merely used to dry the sea bed so the Israelites could walk across on dry land. Again this wind would have to have been hot enough to dry a soaked sea bottom in a very short time, as the whole of the event happened during one night. God certainly works in the miraculous, far beyond what any person could imagine. It must have been an awesome sight for the Israelites to see the wall of water on both sides of them while walking on dry land across this twelve miles during the night. Although it was obvious this was the hand of God, it still must have taken some amount of faith to actually walk through that space in the sea. What we are not told is how wide that dry area was. Nevertheless it had to take some time to get everyone across, all the while the pillar of smoke kept the Egyptians from chasing them, but then for reasons God only knows, he allowed them to see the Israelites crossing. They must have been almost all the way across before this happened as Pharaoh pursued them. They advanced into the space between the walls of water and then the LORD did what the LORD does best. He took charge of the situation, not that he hasn’t been all along. He threw the entire army of Pharaoh into confusion, the chariot wheels fell off, it must have been a terrifying experience for them. The whole of what God has been saying all along comes true right here. He has always been saying the Egyptians will know I am God. Here they confess the LORD is fighting against Egypt on behalf of Israel. “Let’s get away from the Israelites” is their decision. They know they have no chance of winning. But still by their own self-centeredness they put themselves in a very dangerous position. The main purpose of their pursing the Israelites was to recapture them and bring them back to Egypt to be their labor force, their slaves. Even after all the adversities they had endured, including losing every firstborn male in the land, their regretted allowing the Israelites to leave. Yes, we are told that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, but we already noted his heart was already hard, and God merely strengthened his resolve. God did not make a soft heart hard, but only used that hard hearted man for his own purpose. What do we learn from this crossing of the Red Sea? Who can stand against us, if God be for us? True some believers have met with some pretty horrific deaths. The Apostles for one, but throughout the ages believers have been murdered, slaughtered in the most of brutal ways. So then can we say that God will always save us? Yes we can, for this may be simply another picture of the salvation of his people. There will be another day or night that will bring much the same type of confusion upon the unbelieving world. The time when Jesus appears in the clouds, and the whole of all believers will be taken out of their earth, what we call the rapture. There will be another great exodus, this time we will cross the sky, not the sea. The skies will be parted and we will exit across to the other side. Those behind will be in chaos, confusion, but also will know that God is who he says he is. They will know he is God. The fate of those unbelievers will mimic the fate of the Egyptians. In all reality it matters not what men do to us, for our battle is against the forces of darkness in the spiritual realm. Israel spent many years in misery, but when they cried out to God, he saved them, he brought them out of their misery. We too have cried out to God and he has brought us out of our misery. We will see the other side. We will cross over.