Mountain Movers

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. (Hebrews 11:29)

This verse is powerful example because it refers to the faith of over one million people working at the same time to see the glory of God work in an amazing way. Yet, as could be expected, the Israelites had to continuously face challenges along the way in their quest for victory.

As the Israelites were in the midst of their journey out of Egypt, God hardened Pharaoh's heart as he gathered together an army in pursuit of the Israelites. It was only a matter of time before the army, with all the horses and chariots, was able to catch up to the Israelites. The hope that the Israelites were experiencing suddenly deflated like a pricked balloon, and in hopelessness and terror they cried out to God to be rescued. They also had a message for 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!(Exodus 14:11-12)

The Israelites were clearly faithless at this time. Their eyes were on the winds and the waves. They were willing to trade in their new-found freedom for slavery and their old way of life in Egypt. Moses knew that in their state of weakness, they needed encouragement to fix their eyes on God. In verse 14, Moses responded, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

The Israelites were faced with two choices. They could either surrender to God or surrender to the Egyptians. In a way, surrendering to the Egyptians seemed to be a safer approach. At least if they gave themselves up to Egypt, the consequences would be less severe than if the Egyptians captured them. Surrender to God was more risky but, if successful,offered freedom, hope, and a better life.

In Exodus 14:21ff, God had Moses part the Red Sea and the Israelites started walking on the sea bed's now dry ground. While the Bible does not explicitly mention it, the Israelites must have been persuaded by Moses' plea for them to follow him as he obeyed God.

What a marvelous scene to picture: the Israelites were walking on ground that was bone-dry. To their right and left was the world? largest aquarium minus the glass casing. Yet the act of faith was not that they passed through the Red Sea unscathed. After all, every single Egyptian soldier, in their pursuit of the Israelites, also passed through the Red Sea (at least temporarily) as they followed the Israelites. The act of faith was that the Israelites remained obedient to God, fueling the Egyptians' wrath as they fled from their land of captivity. They were unified in their faith. Over a million of them advanced in their obedience to God. It is a rare yet powerful sight indeed when such a large group is unified in their cause.

While the Egyptians began to pass through the Red Sea, everything started to go wrong. While the Israelites were able to cross a well-lit sea, the Egyptians passed through in darkness. They were thrown into confusion as their chariots failed them. At the same time, they noticed that God was fighting for the Israelites. Then the time came as God swept them away in a crashing torrent of water. The Egyptian army was wiped out as the Israelites were successfully able to cross to the other side. Through faith, the Israelites were able to realize their hope.

That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. (Exodus 14:30-31)

Before the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, they were reluctant and faithless. After all, they had spent their entire lives in bondage to the Egyptians. They had always known the Egyptians to be powerful. Yet they had to work it out in their hearts to change. Finally, from their faith sprung forth many other blessings of character. They had freedom and hope. They were renewed, revived, restored, and rejuvenated. They had front-row seats to the marvelous display of God's wonders. They grew in their healthy fear of God and they once again placed their trust Moses. Certainly they had other challenges that were about to come there way, but for the first time in 430 years, they were breathing the air of freedom.

As Christians, we have been given hope and freedom in Christ. All of us have experienced the slavery of sin that Satan threw our way before we entered into a relationship with Christ. It can be a challenge to live the Christian life. Just as the Israelites contemplated going back to their lives of slavery, Satan tempts us with going back to the slavery of our old selves. Like the Israelites, we have to choose to surrender. For us, the choices are between God and Satan. Yet, by surrendering to God and living a life of faith, God ultimately has in store for us invigorating hope and freedom. We can live lives of renewal, revival, restoration, and rejuvenation that make the Christian life attractive. When we hand our lives over to God, He gives us the victory to overcome. Like the Egyptians, the world will notice that God fights for us. Like the Israelites, we can see our fear of God grow and our trust in godly leaders thrive when we advance in our faith.

In the next chapter, we will look at how God's people under the guidance of Joshua all worked together in unity as they saw God crumble the walls of an entire city.