LIFE SCRIPTS

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. 29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Exodus 14:15‭-‬31 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.14.15-31.NIV.

God intervened on behalf of His people. He’s a God who not only hears their cry but acts on it. At the edge of the Red Sea, the Lord placed Moses at the centre of things. One would think that He nearly ‘withdrew’ for Moses to take full responsibility of the sea crossing. Scripture says that the Angel of the Lord withdrew and stood between the Israelites and the approaching Egyptian army. The cloud that moved ahead of them also created some form of boundary between them creating a night and day separation between the two parties. God beckoned Moses to raise his staff for the sea to part so that the Israelites may walk across. God had delegated His authority to the man Moses. He had given him the power to act on his behalf. During such a crisis packed moment, He used him…a man with a chequered background, a shepherd for half of his life, a loner who roamed in the desert in search of pasture. A simple man whom He sent to challenge Pharaoh. He was now using him to bring about great deliverance for His people. God sometimes uses people we least expect Him to use. People like David, the young shepherd boy forgotten even by his own father… people like the apostle Peter, a bullish and illiterate fisherman who became chief among the apostles… People like Jephthah, a son of a prostitute banished by his brothers and living a wasteful life as a bandit… People like Samson, man chosen of God before birth yet falling prey to sexual lusts… God calls the simple and prepares them for the great work ahead. As Moses raised his staff, God acted and stopped the waters. A wall of H2O formed on both sides allowing God’s people to walk on dry ground to the other side. God was creating a path of salvation for His people the same way He would allow Christ to die on the cross to save us. When the sinfulness of the world overwhelmed us, Christ provided a way for us to walk through and be saved. The way of the cross. But not only was God delivering His people, He was also sending a message to Egypt. That there’s no God other than Jehovah. Not only would this message resonate with the Egyptians who remained but it would stick in the hearts of the Israelites who walked in unbelief. 400 years of slavery must have shaved off faith in God among some of them. Moments before, they were in a catch 22…trapped between the desert and the sea. Now, they were witnessing a rare spectacle. The defeat of the powerhouse that was Egypt by the Almighty God. It sent a message to them. God is all powerful. No human dynasty however revered can contend with Him. He does as He chooses and shares His glory with no one. This is the God we serve. One we can look up to when challenges seem unsurmountable… One we can wait upon for deliverance. He’s a God who never fails. Amen