Gtcotr/ss101120
Out of all of the Old Testament Bible stories, the crossing of the Red Sea is one of my very favorites. God led His children through so many situations to establish His Word and reveal spiritual principles for us to follow on our road of life.
When we overlay our spiritual lives on top of the story of the Children of Israel being delivered from Egypt, both our pathway, and our next step become obvious. The accounts from God’s Word shine a light on the way we should take and also on the very next thing we should do please Him.
The
Book of Exodus records the history of God delivering the Children of Israel
from slavery to Pharaoh and from the land of Egypt. If we overlay our lives on
the story of the Exodus, we can plainly see that:
·
Moses = Jesus
·
Pharaoh = Satan
·
Egypt = The World
·
Slavery = Bondage to Sin
·
The Israelites = Us
(Not Replacement but Addition)
·
Passover = Salvation by the
Blood
·
The Pillar of Fire = The Holy Spirit
·
The Red Sea = Water Baptism
·
The Egyptian Army = Haunting Demons of the past
·
The Rod of Moses = Our authority in the name of Jesus
We could go on and on and on … and we should. We should continue to use the accounts God gave us in the Bible to reveal and remind us that God works in the lives of people according to the principles He established in His Word. The Bible is the most marvelous and foretelling roadmap you will ever find. It has the answers and provides direction for all of the questions and concerns we face in life.
The Word of God is truly a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
With this in mind, go with me to the 14th chapter of the book of Exodus where we will begin to read our message from God today.
Exodus 14 NKJV
1 Now the LORD spoke to
Moses, saying:
2 “Speak to the children of
Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea,
opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the
children of Israel, ‘they are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed
them in.’
4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.
This was a masterful plan God came up with. He is so smart. Pharaoh and the Egyptians thought Moses and the children of Israel were confused but really it was the Egyptians who were confused. Reminds me of a British sitcom. This was not the first nor the last time God used this ploy. Believe me when I tell you that God knows what He is doing.
God had the children of Israel turn instead of going straight to the Promised Land. God was not satisfied with only delivering His children from sin … He did not want to see their enemies recapture and re-enslave them later. They just had to trust God and that meant trusting Moses.
Exodus 14
9 So the Egyptians pursued
them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and
overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
13 And Moses said to the
people. “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD,
which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today,
you shall see again no more forever.
14 The LORD will fight for you and you shall hold your peace.”
Now
here they are with their backs to the sea and their enemies closing in on them
and nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
15 And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
16 But lift up your rod, and stretch your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
The Holy Spirit who was leading them went from before them to behind them. The Cloud of God’s presence was a light to the children of God but darkness to their enemies.
·
Moses
stretched his hand over the sea and the LORD parted it.
·
The
children of Israel began to cross on dry ground.
·
Pharaoh’s
armies pursued them as close as the cloud would allow.
·
The
Lord was watching from heaven and He troubled the Egyptian army.
o He took off their
chariot wheels
o The Egyptians were
afraid because they knew it was the LORD.
o They wanted to run but
it was too late …
· When all of the children of Israel were safely across the Red Sea the Lord spoke to Moses to stretch his hand out over the waters once more and the LORD released the waters to return to their normal depth. (The waters are 250 meters deep at the point where I showed you the picture. There is a natural land bridge across from side to side that is about 800 meters wide, 250 meters below sea level. It is about 10 miles across the Red Sea at this point.)
28 The waters returned and covered … all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.
The Apostle Paul used this account to overlay our salvation and to show the plan of God for all of His Old and New Testament children.
1 Corinthians 10
1 Moreover, brethren, I do
not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all
passed through the sea.
2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
Remember:
Moses = Jesus
The Red Sea = Water
Baptism
The Egyptian Army = The past enemies of our soul
1 Peter 3:20 reveals another Old Testament water baptism overlay in the story of Noah. Peter tells us that it is not the washing away of the filth of the flesh but rather of the filth of the mind. Water Baptism in Christ cleanses the conscious towards God.
·
The
earth was water baptized in creation.
·
Noah
and his family were water baptized in the flood.
·
The
children of Israel were water baptized in the Red Sea.
·
Naaman
the leper was water baptized in the Jordan River.
·
John
the Baptist water baptized with a Baptism of Repentance.
·
Jesus
was water baptized.
· Paul water baptized converts to Christ in the name of Jesus.
Each baptism is an example of what we can expect and experience in the spiritual application of eternal truth.
Out of all the pictures and stories God gave us concerning the power of water baptism, the account of the Red Sea is my favorite. One of the reasons is because of the perfect plan God had to confuse the devil and bury him and his haunting hordes of demons through my baptism into Christ. I’m dead, buried, resurrected, and seated with Christ.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even we should also walk in the newness of
life.
When it looked like all was lost and even when the children of God did not understand what was going on … When it looked like they were surrounded by their enemies and that their enemies would win … God had a plan! God confused the enemies and made them think they could win.
Let me assure you, God has a plan just like that today.
1.
Do not be afraid.
a. 2 Timothy
1:7 God has not given us the spirit of fear but
of power, and of love, and a sound mind.
b. Let the enemies of
your soul and the enemies of our nation be confused, consumed with pride, and
surprised when they run smack into the Holy Spirit who is guarding the day.
2.
Lift up the name of Jesus over your life.
a. God will make a way
where there was no way.
b. The name of Jesus is
the rod of God in your hand.
c. God has a plan to bury
your enemies in your watery grave.
d. The enemies you see
today, you will see them no more again forever!
3.
Walk in the newness of life.
a. You have been
separated unto Christ …
b. You conscience has
been cleansed before God …
c. Immerse yourself in
His Word and let the washing of the water of the Word be light to you while it
is darkness to your enemies.
