Sometimes, when giving thanks, we must revisit what we’re thankful for. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat™️
Exodus 15:4-5 AFV
[4] Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has thrown into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
[5] The depths have covered them; they sank into the depths like a stone.
Seeing Them No More
Once the Children of Israel got to the other side of the sea, it seemed they would have been safe. And that’s the major miracle we saw: they crossed over the sea into safety. But, let’s pause for a bit. If all it took was crossing a low river or sea for them to escape, there is nothing major about it. Some of them would have escaped long ago.
That says to me that the sea, like the Nile from which Moses was rescued, was not shallow. Nor was it narrow. I underscore this because in retelling, dimensions might have ‘shifted’. Yet, even if the writers exaggerated, we are told that the sea parted to create a wall on either side. Had this all happened in the day, the Children of Israel might have seen fish peering at them in shock. Some might have gone fishing. Lots would have been scared. The nighttime crossing was, therefore, very strategic. God was not accidental.
Can you see that wall of water so high that it towered above them, yet it did not spill over?
Point to Ponder
In our Red Sea moments, did we ever expect God’s intervention the way it happened?
Digging Deeper
Crossing on dry land must have been marvelous. Yet again, like you, I’m asking, ‘Why the sea?’ A sea that deep would normally require boats to get over. Since we’re not given dimensions, it is helpful to find out from other sources. Both Wikipedia and another site about the Holy Land offer what seems to be corroborating evidence. Here’s the dimensions on Wikipedia:
The Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km2 (169,000 sq mi), is about 2,250 km (1,400 mi) long, and 355 km (221 mi) wide at its widest point. It has an average depth of 490 m (1,610 ft), and in the central Suakin Trough, it reaches its maximum depth of 3,040 m (9,970 ft.
While no one knows the exact location, this data suggests that the waters were indeed very deep. This was no casual well.
As we consider the ‘Why’ yet again, it might occur to us that God’s word about the Egyptians had been part of God’s overall strategy. Although the river might have been a good point of escape, we have no evidence that there were swimmers among them. Couldn’t the Children of Israel have traveled by land (which they did sometime after for forty years)? It may have been easier.
But God didn’t just say, ‘I’ll vanquish your enemies.’ Rather, God assured the Children of Israel that those Egyptians in pursuit of them would be never seen again (see Exodus 14:14). Whatever God did with those Egyptians needed to be a final act. It needed to be such that they would never again be seen.
And that’s the potency of the miracle – people walking on dry land at the front; chaos and death at the rear. The pursuers died and were immediately buried. No one would see those Egyptians again. Unless that pharaoh had another son, his lineage might have ended as his firstborn was a casualty of the angel of death. Never again would those enemies be seen.
Siblings, when God fights for us, the battle is a landslide. Victory is guaranteed. And when God promises to eliminate something forever, it is eliminated forever. That’s what that part of their song seeks to remind us – there is nothing impossible for God. Nothing.
Let’s remind ourselves of God’s victories, so we are assured that God keeps God’s promises. Let those praises ring!
Self-Check
What does it take for us to believe God can accomplish the impossible for us?
(For more information about the dimensions, visit – https://www.holylandsite.com/exodus-redsea-sinai#:~:text=The%20maximum%20depth%20of%20the,mighty%20waters%E2%80%9D%20of%20the%20sea )
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May all we seek be found in Christ
