When I was in high school, I was part of an acapella quartet, and we sang all over the county. Well, one time our group sang at a black church in Perryville, and at the end of the service a baptism was held. Something I remember that had an emotional impact on me was the singing of an old Negro spiritual. Just as a small child was entering the baptistery, the whole church joined together singing “Wade in de Water.” They kept singing, “Wade in de water, wade in de water children, wade in de water, God’s ‘a goin’a trouble de water.”
Well, a few years later I got to hear the rest of the lyrics, and I realized it was about the crossing of the Red Sea. One line of the song says, “See those people dressed in white; they look like the children of the Israelites.” So, in wondering what the crossing of the Red Sea had to do with baptism, I began searching the Scriptures; and now I know how it’s connected to baptism, and right now I want to share it with each of you gathered here this morning.
The Bondage of Sin (vv. 5-9)
5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 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.
The scene we see here occurs soon after the people of Israel were released from their bondage in Egypt; and “it dawned on Pharaoh and his officers that, by allowing their Jewish slaves to escape, they had threatened, if not destroyed, Egypt’s whole economy; so, the logical thing was to go after the Jews and bring them back.”(1) And so, Pharaoh pursued them with all the chariots of Egypt, and with many, if not all, of the captains of his army (v. 7). If you have ever tried to escape bondage of any kind, whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, then you’ve probably noticed that it’s not an easy thing to do. It seems there are always some unforeseen tentacles, or shackles, that keep reaching out to drag you back into slavery.
Imagine, if you will, that someone has just received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; thus, breaking free from the bondage of sin. We could substitute some of the words in verse 5 to read as follows: “Now it was told the [prince of hell] that the people have fled, and the heart of [Satan and his demons were] turned against the people.” Whenever someone accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, don’t think that Satan isn’t angry about it. God has won a great victory in someone’s life and all of heaven rejoices. Jesus said in Luke 15:10, “I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Satan, on the other hand, is not too happy; and while heaven rejoices the devil is scheming.
In verse 9, we read, “So the Egyptians pursued them.” Once a person accepts Jesus Christ into his or her heart, the devil will pursue. He is always going to be looking for an opportunity to bring one of God’s children down through temptation and sin. Egypt, in a sense, represents the sin that antagonizes a believer; and when viewed in this way, there is a spiritual application for Christians, one which will be brought to light in the following verses.
Death of the Former Life (vv. 10-12)
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. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
These verses represent death and burial. Allow me to explain. First of all, I want you to notice how when the Egyptians pursued the Israelites, that the people began looking back on their former life; thinking they could have lived and been buried at a ripe old age in a cemetery somewhere in Egypt. But now, they thought they were going to die quickly at the hands of Pharaoh’s army; and they feared that their bones would be scattered across the wilderness.
This looking back was an attitude, or spiritual hindrance, that greatly displeased the Lord. For example, in Genesis chapter 19, when Lot fled the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s wife looked back and she was turned into a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). The sin of Lot’s wife was that she turned to look back on her past life, a life of living in a sin-filled place, and she failed to look forward to her future in God’s salvation. The people of Israel were acting like Lot’s wife. They looked back on a sinful land and their former life in bondage.
The apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” When someone receives Christ as Savior and Lord, that person is not supposed to look back at their former life of sin with a longing to return. He or she should be looking to the goal and prize ahead, which is the upward call of God to a life of holiness and ultimately heaven.
The former life (and the former self) must be crucified. In Galatians 5:24, Paul said, “Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Crucifixion is a form of capital punishment. It is when someone is put to death; and in Romans 6:11, Paul said, “You also [must] reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin.” The sin in our life must perish; or on the flip side, we must die to sin and be raised into a new life free from sin. So, crucifixion represents death, and we all know that after death comes burial. So, when the people asked Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (v. 11), the answer is yes, Moses had taken them away to die in the wilderness; to die to their former life and rid themselves of the filth of a sinful land.
Now, I said that this passage relates to baptism, so let’s consider the institution of baptism for just a moment. We read in Romans 6:4-5, “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 so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” In baptism, when a person is immersed under the water, it represents a burial of the former sinful self; and when the individual is raised from the water, it symbolizes a rebirth into a new life of righteousness. The Israelites had no idea they were pronouncing their own baptism when they asked the question: “Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (v. 11).
Sin Is No More Forever (vv. 13-14)
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.”
Moses said in verse 13, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” He used the word “salvation.” Baptist commentator Roy Honeycutt says that “salvation in the Old Testament is most often associated with deliverance from an enemy, illness, death, or other calamity. It should be noted, however, that such physical deliverance was never abstracted from spiritual overtones,”(2) and it’s those “spiritual overtones” that I want us to focus on. To the Israelite, God was their salvation from the Egyptians; but for those seeking deliverance from their sins, faith in Christ is the way to spiritual salvation. Paul said in Romans 1:16 that “the gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”
Salvation is one of those “Christianese” words that those outside the faith can find very confusing. For example, if we ask a lost person, “Do you want to be saved?” they will likely respond with, “Saved from what?” The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and in Romans 6:23 we are told that “the wages of sin is death.” There is a penalty for sin; and that punishment is spiritual death, which is spending eternity separated from God in a horrible place called hell. So, when a Christian asks someone if they want to be saved, then he or she is asking that lost person if they want to be forgiven of their sins and escape spending an eternity in the flames of hell.
Sin is what leads to bondage. We read in Galatians 5:1, in reference to freedom from sin, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” The sinful nation of Egypt represented the sin that was oppressing the Israelites, and the sin which put up a resistance against the Lord. It seemed like God’s people just couldn’t break free of their bondage; but Moses assured the people that they would behold the Lord’s salvation. He also told them, “The Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever” (v. 13). No more forever. This reminds me of the statement made by Native American, Chief Joseph, when he said, “I will fight no more forever.”
Forever is a long time, but “no more forever” must have been even longer! Egypt represented the sin oppressing Israel. Moses was telling the Israelites, “The [sin] you see today, you shall see again no more forever.” “The [oppression] you see today, you shall see again no more forever.” If someone is living apart from God in sin, never having received Jesus as Savior and Lord, then that person is living in bondage and ultimately condemnation. He or she needs to receive God’s forgiveness and grace found in Jesus Christ; and if that individual receives Christ, then he or she will receive salvation from sin. And the spiritual death that comes as a result of sin; that judgement will be seen no more forever!
Israel’s Sin Washed Away (vv. 21-23, 26-30)
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen . . . 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
We see here that the Lord instructed Moses to hold up his staff, and when he did, the sea parted and the Israelites walked across on dry ground. The Egyptians were foolish, however, and they pursued them, and the walls of the sea came crashing down and washed them all away.
Keep in mind that Egypt represents sin. The Israelites walked on dry ground, or rather, solid ground; and symbolically, this represents how they escaped sin. In Matthew 7:24-25, Jesus said, “Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” Anyone who accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord is walking on the solid ground of faith in Christ; they have built their life on the rock. However, anyone who is living in sin has built their life on the shifting sand that will sooner or later be washed away.
The sea washed away the Egyptians; and thus, it symbolically washed away the sin that was antagonizing Israel. Now, something else that symbolically washes away the oppression of sin is baptism; as baptism is an emblem of dying and being buried to one’s former life of sin.
We read in verse 30 that “the Lord saved Israel that day,” and I want point out that if a person will trust in Jesus Christ, then the Lord will save them too. Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea was a real occurrence, but at the same time it was symbolic of the salvation of the Lord. We also read in verse thirty that Israel “saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.” The Israelites saw the antagonizing sin of Egypt abolished and destroyed. The crossing of the Red Sea was an event in Israel’s history that would be remembered for generations to come; and whenever it was recalled and retold, it always represented the salvation of the Lord.
Now, just as the crossing of the Red Sea represented the salvation of the Lord to the Israelites, baptism represents the salvation of the Lord to Christians, for baptism is symbolic of the salvation that God has extended through His Son, Jesus Christ. Listen, as I read what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, which speaks about the baptism at the Red Sea. He said, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”
Paul said that all the fathers, or all the Israelites, were under the cloud. The cloud, or pillar, that followed the Israelites represented the presence of the Lord. Paul was basically saying that “all the fathers were under God.” Now, if Paul’s statement were rewritten, it would read, “Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under [God], all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses [in God] and in the sea.”
The apostle Paul was telling believers that the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites was, in a sense, a baptism. The Israelites washed away the sin of Egypt and were baptized into Moses and into God. People today aren’t baptized into Moses; they are instead baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Being baptized into Moses (symbolically speaking) was like being baptized into the Son today; because Moses was the intercessor for the children of Israel, just as Jesus is the intercessor for believers (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
Commentator Warren Wiersbe tells us about 1 Corinthians 10:1-2, that “Paul saw Israel’s march through the sea as a baptism, for the water was on either side like a wall and the cloud of God’s presence was behind them and over them. As it were, Israel was ‘immersed’ as they quickly crossed the dry bed of the sea . . . Through this ‘baptism,’ the people of Israel were identified with Moses, just as in water baptism God’s people today are identified with Jesus Christ.”(3)
Time of Reflection
From the apostle Paul’s statement about the Israelites being under the cloud and being baptized into Moses, we can see how the crossing of the Red Sea can be understood as symbolic of leaving our sins behind. The Egyptians were the cause of the Israelite’s oppression. Egypt was a sinful nation that did not obey God. When Israel crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptians were washed away and drowned; and thus, the sin that was enslaving Israel was washed away as well. This episode in the history of Israel was, in a sense, a baptism.
Let me ask you, “Are you living under bondage today because of sin? Do feel as though you’re under a heavy weight?” Moses declared, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today” (v. 13). If you do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, salvation can be yours today by confessing His name, and you can be free from your heavy burden. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
I want to invite you to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord by walking the aisle, praying to receive Him into your heart, and by publicly confessing Him before all who are gathered here today. And after receiving Christ, then the next step is baptism. Keep in mind that baptism does not save a person. Baptism is a symbolic act that represents the death and burial of the former life of sin, and a rebirth into a new life of holiness in Christ, being set apart for the Lord’s work.
NOTES
(1) Warren Wiersbe, “The Complete Old Testament in One Volume,” The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 167.
(2) Roy L. Honeycutt, Jr., “Exodus,” The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1969), p. 1367.
(3) Wiersbe, p. 168
