The Red Sea

Turn with me to Exodus 13 now, Exodus chapter 13. Gonna continue our Old Testament stories this evening. We were gonna look at this for our Bible study, but the Bible study became something else, so we were gonna look at this for the morning message, and then we had a part one and a part two, so here we are now, and I honestly, It worked out really well. I'm glad. I enjoyed this today. Less chaos than the morning. I got to really just enter into my notes and study, and I hope it'll be a blessing.

We're going to look at the Red Sea, the story of the Red Sea. And before we get into this, I want to remind us that every story in the scripture is a picture given by God to show how sinners are saved through Christ. Every story. Every story in the scripture pictures Jesus Christ crucified for the deliverance of his people. And that's most definitely what we're going to see in this story. These words are they which testify of him. They speak of him.

So as we read this, let's keep our spiritual eyes on this and we'll see the key to this beautiful story. Give me just a minute here to set some things up. I don't want it to get confusing and too much, but just bear with me for a minute and then we'll really get into it.

Now, the Lord in Exodus 12 passed through the land of Egypt and he killed the firstborn child in every single house. The Lord did that. He said, I kill, I make alive, I wound, I heal, I, the Lord, do all these things. And the Lord is the one who did that. He came through Egypt and he killed the firstborn child in every single house. But he provided a substitute for his people, Israel. Death still had to come. But he gave Israel a firstborn lamb that could die in the place of their firstborn child.

What goodness, what grace. And that innocent lamb is a picture of Christ. God said, when I see the blood of that lamb, I will pass over you and I will not bring death to your house because I will see that death has already been here. Judgment has already come to this house.

And I'll be satisfied. And I'll move on. Well, the next morning, There was a great cry through the land and the next morning when Egypt saw that all of their babies died and Israel's babies did not die, they truly realized that God was with his people. And Egypt finally let Israel go.

The scripture says they thrust them out. You have to go. And if you look at chapter 13, verse 17, it says, And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war and return to Egypt.

But God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up harnessed, and that means by five in a rank, out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he, Joseph, had straightly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones away hence with you. And they took their journey from Succoth and encamped in Etham in the edge of the wilderness.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way. and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people."

Now, spiritually speaking, this is our picture, okay? Let me just set it up. God's people have been called out of bondage. called to go to a promised land. And they are setting out on their journey and God is going with them. Verse 18 says, God led the people. Verse 21 says, and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night. In the scripture, clouds spiritually represent God's glory. That's what they represent. God's glory.

When the Lord met Moses on Mount Sinai, he came down in a cloud. The whole top of that mountain was covered by a cloud. Moses had to go up into the cloud. And it says when Moses came back down to talk with the people, they were afraid because God's glory reflected off of the face of Moses. He had gone up into God's glory. And he in his face, it shine. That's one example of it. Let me show you another one. Turn over to first Kings eight. 1 Kings 8. This is Solomon dedicating the temple.

1 Kings 8, verse 6, it says, And the priest brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place into the oracle of the house to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubim spread forth their wings, their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof. And they drew out the staves that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle. And they were not seen without. And there they are unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt.

And it came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. All those priests were run out by His glory.

The scripture says when He comes back on the last day, it says He's coming back in the clouds. He's coming back in His glory. That's how He's coming back. in His glory. So that cloud that He led the people by represents His glory. He led them by His glory. By day, He led them by a cloud. As long as the sun could be seen, S-U-N. Yes, but spiritually, S-O-N. As long as the sun could be seen, they saw His glory. And at night, in thick darkness, they saw his judgment. That's what fire spiritually represents in the scripture, the judgment of God. So go back to Exodus 13. Now here's how the spiritual picture begins. The time has come for God's people to be delivered. And verse 19 says, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. Moses is a picture of the law. And him taking Joseph's bones is a picture of a covenant being fulfilled. Verse 19 says, Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. For he had straightly sworn the children of Israel, Joseph swore, made the children of Israel swore, he swore this would be, saying, God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones away hence with you.

So God's people are beginning the journey of deliverance and the law and God's covenant promise are going with them. And they're being led by the glory and the judgment of God. And this is how God's people go out. This is how they go. And where are they being led to? Look at verse 17.

It came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war and they return to Egypt. They weren't gonna get there by the warfare of their own hands. They weren't going to war.

Verse 18, but God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. God brought them to a great gulf between them and the promised land. And God did that to show them and to show us spiritually that there's only one possible way of being saved. There's only one possible way of being delivered. And it's not man's way, it's God's way. Now let's start reading in chapter 14 and we'll see what the Red Sea is a picture of. Again, God's people are beginning the journey of their deliverance. God's law and God's covenant promise are going with them. God's glory and God's judgment are leading them, and they're being brought straight to the Red Sea. All right, chapter 14, verse 1.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Piahiroth, between Migdal and the sea over against Bealzephon, before it shall you encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

And I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he shall follow after them, and I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people. And they said, why have we done this that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot and took his people with him and he took 600 chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.

And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel. And the children of Israel went out with an high hand." But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them in camping by the sea beside Piahiroth, before Bealzaphon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid. And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.

And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.

And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace.

The people came running to Moses, asking him, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? And remember, let's keep our spiritual eyes on this. This is just like men and women running to the law, asking the law, what do I need to do? What do I need to do? My bondage is catching up to me. My sins are catching up to me. Tell me what I need to do.

And what did Moses, representing the law, tell God's people to do? You know, the scripture says that the law is our schoolmaster that points us to something. It proves to us that there's no other way and it points us to something. What did Moses point them to?

Verse 14, he said, the Lord. The Lord, that's the answer. That is your answer. The Lord shall fight for you. They came to Moses crying. What do we need to do? And Moses said, I'm going to give you four things. Four things. There are four things that you need to do.

Your bondage is overtaking you. Death is overtaking you. You're at your wits end and nowhere else to turn. Here's what you do. There are four things you need to do. Fear not. Stand still. See the salvation of the Lord. And hold your peace. That's what you need to do. Fear not. Stand still, see the salvation of the Lord, and hold your peace. That's good news, isn't it?

That goes against man's natural way. The law condemns man's ability. The law shuts down any ability in man to do anything. The law proves and confirms that there is no other way. There's no other way. The law says you are not able to fight. You are not able to fight. You will never win this battle. You'll never win this battle. There is no hope in your efforts at all. There is literally only one hope for you.

Verse 14, the Lord shall fight for you. and you shall hold your peace." The law confirms your deliverance is not going to be by works. It's going to be by grace. It's going to be by grace. Moses said, you're about to see the mercy and the grace of God in that Red Sea. You're about to see it in that Red Sea.

You're hemmed in. You're shut in, but you've been shut in to the mercy and grace of God's deliverance. You can't get out. There's nowhere else for you to go. You've been led here on purpose. He said, stand still and see it. Just stand still and see it. Verse 15, and the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.

But lift thou up thy rod and stretch out thine hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. This Red Sea is a picture of Christ who was rent. severed, torn in two by the law of God. By the justice of God for the safe delivery of his people, the law hemmed all of God's people up to Christ. It shut them in to Christ and then it rent Christ. Severed Christ and made a way for God's people to enter right in.

Verse 16, he said, but lift thou up thy rod and stretch out thine hand over the sea and divide it and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians and they shall follow them. And I will get me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his host, upon his chariots and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

When God's people were made to enter into the deliverance of the cross of Christ, all of their bondage went in with them. All of their sin went in with them. All of their sin followed them in. But by this one transaction, all of that bondage and sin was separated from God's people forever. Destroyed forever.

Verse 19 says, and the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them. And the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them. The glory and the judgment of God stood and witnessed this transaction. They went in.

Stood and witnessed this, verse 20, and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and it was a cloud of darkness to them, but it gave light by night to thee, so that the one came not near the other all night. It was light to one, darkness to another.

Verse 21, and 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 dry land, and the waters were divided. I couldn't help but think of Psalm 22, 15, where our Lord said, from the cross, he said, my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws, and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. Dry, so dry. Verse 22, and the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left. Walls of salvation. Walls of deliverance.

Verse 23, and the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass that in the morning, in the morning watch, the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and troubled the host of the Egyptians and took off their chariot wheels that they draved them heavily so that the Egyptians said, let us flee from the face of Israel for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength. when the morning appeared and the Egyptians fled against it and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea and the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them and there remained not so much as one of them.

Not one sin survived. Not one sin survived. Verse 29, but the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And that's where we see our enemy, that's where we see our sin, dead, right there. Right there in that sea of death that Christ accomplished on the cross.

Verse 31, and Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians and the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. The children of Israel saw that great work that the Lord did. The Lord did it. And that's what all of God's people have seen. And it says they feared the Lord and they believed the Lord and they believed his servant Moses. And that's what God's people do. They fear the Lord. They believe the Lord and they believe his word. They believe his law.

And I couldn't help but think about this. You know those children of Israel spoke about this day for the rest of their lives. Can you imagine going through that? That wall was a wall of water to the right hand to the left. Everything that was in that sea was watching them walk by. They made it through on dry ground. And you know that they told everybody. Can't you imagine generation upon generation? This is what the Lord did for us. And that's what all of God's people are doing right now. That's what we're here doing right now. That's what all of God's people do, and this is what they speak of for the rest of their lives.

This event that severed their sin and their bondage from them and put it away forever. Drown in the depths of the sea. And chapter 15, we're not going to go into it, but chapter 15 is called the Song of Moses. Soon as it was over, as soon as they got to the other side and turned around, they're standing on the seashore and everything else is left in the sea, they all started singing, they started rejoicing. with songs of thankfulness, songs of joy.

And that's what God's people do to this day. We sing the songs of mercy and grace with joyful thanksgiving for the victory of deliverance in the cross of Christ. Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ. Thank God for everything he accomplished. To him be all the glory. Amen.

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