Exodus 14:16. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
We can only imagine the terror the Hebrews must have felt standing on the banks of the Red Sea that day. They had just been rescued from their Egyptian slave masters by the mighty hand of God. They survived the Passover night. And they marched out of Egypt unopposed. But now here comes Pharaoh’s army in deadly pursuit. The enemy is behind them and the Red Sea is in front of them. The people cry out in desperation, “Why did you bring us out here to die, Moses?” “Let us return to our slavery in Egypt.”
Moses’ response to them is not exactly what we might expect:
Exodus 14:13-14. 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.”
Stand still. Shut up. Watch God fight for you.
We probably expected a response closer to “grab a weapon and defend yourself.” Or, “run for your lives!”
But instead they are told to do what is completely counter-intuitive. Stand still and be quiet. Don’t try to fight, and don’t run away, and don’t give in. Trust God.
And then God tells them to do the unthinkable. The one thing that definitely won’t work. Go forward into the sea.
Exodus 14:15. Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
Moving forward into the sea was a far greater act of faith than you may realize. In ancient times the sea was not just a body of water, it was believed to be the source of all evil and chaos. Ancients called it the abyss and equated it with hell. No one could control the sea. The sea is both physical and spiritual death. And that is exactly what God is asking them to walk into.
But why? Why such an insane command?
The Hebrews’ salvation had already come on Passover night. By the blood of the lamb they were saved from death. But then, led by God, the Hebrews still had to walk through the deadly waters of the Red Sea. Why? It’s not so that they would die, the substitute lamb already did that for them. They had to walk into the sea so that their pursuing slave masters might die. Just like with Noah’s ark, the sea wasn’t their destroyer that day, it was their salvation.
Jesus came to conquer the sea. He walked on it, calmed it, and even sent demonic pigs into it. All to show that he alone has power over evil and chaos. In his death and resurrection, Jesus conquered the sea of sin for us once and for all.
Now Christ is asking us to walk through the sea with him. Not to destroy us but to rescue us each day from the salve masters of sin. In Christ we are redeemed by the blood of the Passover Lamb. But now, in full faith, we must move forward into the sea. Into the chaos and evil of life, choosing to suffer so that in suffering we might see the power of Christ’s love for us drown the enemies that would enslave us. Pride. Self-righteousness. Fear. Lust. Selfishness. Jealousy. Each of our pursuing old masters now exposed and overwhelmed through faith in Christ’s love that is greater than anything else.
“To live is Christ” is a life of walking in freedom through the sea but also on the dry ground of Jesus Christ. Following him into the waters of his holiness that would save us by drowning all that would enslave us.
You
What sea of suffering are you walking through right now?
You in Christ
How does knowing that you are safe on the dry ground of Christ allow you to face your suffering as an opportunity to destroy what would enslave you?
Christ in you
How can you seek Christ’s holiness over comfort today in your trial?
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Playlist: Through the Sea.
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To Live is Christ 