Moses (Part 3) Series

(Part 3)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 3/11/2018

A while back, I read a story about a seven-year-old boy who attended church for the first time. When he came home, his mother asked him what he learned in Sunday school. He said, “Well, Mom, today we learned about the time when Moses was leading the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and across the Red Sea. They got there at the Red Sea,” he says, “and Moses realized the Israelites couldn’t make their way over. So he asked the Israeli Marine Corp if they would erect a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea, and all the people of Israel walked over that pontoon bridge. But when the Egyptians got there, they had their tanks and their guns and all their heavy artillery, and they got stuck in the mud. So, Moses radioed the Israeli Air Force to come over, and they bombed them and wiped out all the Egyptians.” Well, the mother was shocked. She said, “Is that really what they taught you in Sunday school this morning?” The boy said, “Well, not exactly. But if I told you what our teacher told us, you’d never believe it.”

The exploits and experiences of Moses can seem rather unbelievable. And yet, I’m convinced (and I hope you are, too) that every word of it is true. Today we’re going to find out what really happened at the Red Sea—and I can tell you now, it doesn’t involve the Israeli Air Force!

By the way, if you’re just joining us, we’re three weeks into a quick four-part overview of the life of Moses. Moses’ role in Hebrew history can hardly be overstated. He led hundreds of thousands of Hebrews out of slavery and became a hero to the people—a champion to the downtrodden. Moses’ story has resonated with men and women of faith down through the centuries because it’s so relatable. It’s filled with danger and disappointment, anguish and accomplishment, conflict and courage, and so much more.

Last Sunday, Moses confronted Pharaoh, but immediately encountered a problem—Pharaoh’s hard heart. So, Moses stretched out his hand over Egypt and called down a series of plagues—each one designed to demonstrate God’s superiority over some Egyptian god or goddess. But it wasn’t until the Passover—foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God and Bread of Life—that Pharaoh finally yielded and let God’s people go.

Of course, as we’ll soon discover, we haven’t seen the last of Pharaoh just yet. The next episode in Moses’ story takes place in Exodus 14-16, so if you have a Bible or an app on your phone, you can open it there.

Following the Passover, all of Egypt mourned the death of someone in their family, including Pharaoh. This broke Pharaoh’s will and he ordered Moses, “Get out—leave Egypt and take all the Israelites with you! Take your flocks and your herds and be gone!” The Egyptian people urged the Hebrews to leave as quickly as possible and even gave them supplies, clothing, and gold and silver, just to get them on their way. Over one million Hebrews took part in the Exodus, migrating out of Egypt with all their possessions, their flocks and herds in tow.

As they reached the edge of the wilderness, Yahweh—their God and ours—went ahead of them. The Bible says God guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, like a whirlwind. And, at night, he guided them with a pillar of fire. For three days, God led the Israelites like this. That’s when Pharaoh had second thoughts. “What have we done,” he thought, “letting all those Israelite slaves get away?”

So, the Bible says, “So Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. He took with him 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, each with its commander… The Egyptians chased after them with all the forces in Pharaoh’s army—all his horses and chariots, his charioteers, and his troops” (Exodus 14:6-9 NLT).

Pharaoh’s army catches up to Moses and the Israelites along the shore of the Red Sea and that’s where the story reaches its climax and we get to see an awesome display of God’s power!

• GOD’S POWER

As the hoofbeats of Pharaoh’s army echoed off the mountains, panic washed over the Israelites. They cried out to God and to Moses, shouting, “Did you bring us out here to die!? Were there not enough graves in Egypt!? It would have been better to stay a slave in Egypt than be a corps in the dessert!”

Moses, however, never lost faith. He reassured the people, saying, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm” (Exodus 14:13-14 NLT). He was right.