By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. (Hebrews 11:29)

Israel – Faith Overcomes Fear

After four hundred and thirty years, the Hebrews prepared to leave Egypt. The selling of Joseph by his brothers to a band of Ishmaelites set in motion the fulfillment of a promise God made to Abraham years earlier. God had told Abraham his descendants would be strangers in a foreign land and would be slaves under affliction for four hundred years. The promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would come to pass as Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. After a series of terrible plagues ravishing the nation of Egypt, the people prepared to leave. They had witnessed the destruction of the power of God upon the Egyptians. On the night of the Passover, the Lord killed all the firstborns of the Egyptians, including their animals. God’s power was on full display.

The day arrived when the Hebrews left the land of Goshen, urged on by the people of Egypt. God had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians as the Hebrews heaped up treasures, plundering the Egyptians. The route to Canaan was not by the short way but by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. This would be a test of the faith the Hebrews had in God. As the people camped before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, Pharaoh and his army drew up in battle array to bring the people back to Egypt. Seeing the Egyptian army, the people were terrified and cried out to the Lord.

Faith in the power of God is how the heart can see the impossible and not fear. As the Egyptian army pressed against the Hebrews, they could see no way of escape. The Red Sea was a formidable barrier they were unprepared to cross. Their faith was tested as they stood between certain death and the impassible sea. Then God showed His power once again. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind that blew all night. A pathway of dry land appeared in the midst of the sea, so the children of Israel escaped the army of Pharoah.

It took a lot of faith for the people to walk across what had earlier been the Red Sea. Hearing the fury of the strong east wind throughout the night would have brought fear to the people. Moses commanded the people to cross the sea. To the right, a great wall of water stood in a heap. On the left, another great wall of water was held back. Faith gave the people the courage to walk between the walls of water on dry land through the night to safety. More than two million souls walked across the path of God’s grace to safety, never to return to Egypt. Their faith was vibrant in the promises of God.

The Egyptians saw the same escape path as the Hebrews, but they had no faith in God. Their gods of Egyptian mythology had not saved them from the plagues of the Lord, and those gods would not save them in the midst of the Red Sea. The Egyptians pursued the Hebrews into the sea, all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. As dawn appeared, the Lord troubled the army of the Egyptians, taking off their chariot wheels. The Egyptians tried to escape, but Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and the waters came back upon the Egyptians. Everyone died.

Israel was saved by their faith in the power of God. Egypt was destroyed as a nation that forgot God. The Lord delivers those who walk in the middle of the sea by faith. Faith is overcoming the fear that surrounds us. Without faith, fear rules. With faith, fear is destroyed. Have the faith to walk in the midst of the sea with God’s power all around. Believe in the power of God to keep back the waters of doubt, fear, and disbelief. God will deliver you.