AT THE EDGE OF THE SEA
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It had been quite a time for the people of Israel.
After generations of slavery, they had received the hope of liberation. Then, their situation became worse as a series of plagues progressively devastated the Egyptian nation. Seeing the Israelites as the source of their problems, the Egyptians ordered them to leave, as God had predicted they would, and they began their journey into the wilderness. They would have had mixed emotions. While slavery was harsh, Egypt was the only home any of them had known, and their destination seemed vague and likely to involve conflict with other peoples along the way. Then, there was the rapid departure and the challenge of crossing the desert. But this was also an opportunity for freedom and the land that God had promised to their ancestors. When they arrived at the shore of the Red Sea, someone raised the alarm that what was left of the Egyptian army was coming after them. It seemed that all the disturbance, hopes, and fears of the past weeks, months, years, and generations had led to this final showdown. It was partly a “liberty or death” moment, but once again, it was also a time of recriminations against Moses, who had dared to raise their hopes of freedom, only for their hopes to die with them in the wilderness. Or so it seemed. Instead, this was to be the last stand of Egyptian oppression. Moses urged the people not to give in to their fears. This was a time to stand up, to march again as they had left Egypt “with fists raised in defiance” (Exodus 14:8, NLT).
And again, it was God who would make a way for them through the sea and who would see them celebrating victory and freedom (see Exodus 15:1–21).
