By Faith People Passed through the Red Sea

Hebrews 11:29

(Read Exodus 13:17-14:31)

This passage describes the Lord’s training program for his children. The point of the program is for his children to overcome the challenges of life and rise as more than conquerors, as Genesis 1:26-28 teaches us. 

Read Exodus 13:17-18 and think about the expressions “face war” or “armed for battle.” What is the difference between “war” and “battle”? What do these words indicate about the reality the Israelites faced after the Exodus? 

** War is a bigger concept, whereas battle refers to an individual conflict here and there. War consists of a series of battles. War determines the destiny of a nation (either rising to prosperity as a dominant power, or falling to extinction or slavery to the winner of the war). Results of individual battles may or may not determine the ultimate destiny, but it is important to win each battle, for each victory will add up to winning the war. In the Israelites’ case, the war was really a war between the rule of God and the rule of the heathen gods, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of evil, between the people of God and the people of the evil one. 

** The Israelites were set free from slavery, so they were now faced with the need to fight the battles for freedom, fighting to advance the rule of God amongst the idol worshiping nations. The point is that they were not about to go through green meadows easily and comfortably. They were no longer to live to loser; they were to rise and live as soldiers fighting for God’s glory and for their ultimate security. 

Verse 17 reads, “If they face war they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” What does this passage tell us about the Israelites (who just got out of Egypt)? Yet, why should they “face” it [i.e., war]? Why is it a problem to change one’s mind and go back to Egypt? 

** They did not have a fighting spirit. They were adapted to the life of passivity, living as slaves, complaining, looking for quick pleasure, with no lasting vision for the glorious future. 

** It is because God created the world in such a way that by allowing challenges to come our ways, God created the possibility for us to struggle to overcome them by faith in the Lord, grow up in faith in Him, and thereby claim credits for the good fight of faith. 

** It is a problem because there is no future for them in Egypt; they would only live as a slave nation again. God called them to come out of Egypt and into the presence of God, so that as they freely worshiped the Lord God, they could learn of the Lord, do his will, and rise to His greatness; then they could be a source of blessing to all peoples on earth. But if they went back to Egypt, they would forfeit this opportunity to rise to God’s glory.

Read verse 18 again and compare what the Lord chose to do in the remainder of the passage (that is, Exodus 13:19-14:31, especially 14:4,8,17). Why do you think the Lord set up the situation this way? (Cf. 13:17)

** The Lord wanted to plant faith in God inside them, so that by faith in the Lord, they could meet and overcome all the challenges of life, and thereby live as powerful eagles, soaring into the sky, becoming dominant, rather than being dominated by circumstances. 

Read Exodus 13:19 and think about Moses carrying Joseph’s “bones” to the Promised Land. What is the significance of this event? 

** It is significant, for it teaches us that we are not to take root in this mundane world but to put our hope in the kingdom of God. Moses and Joseph’s histories stand in strong contrast; Moses was born in Egypt, yet left Egypt to meet God in the Promised Land.  Conversely, Joseph, who was born in Canaan (which was to later to be called the Promised Land), went deep into Egypt, and there lived as a slave. Yet, Joseph too saw the vision to leave Egypt, and be buried in the Promised Land. So although both Moses and Joseph were different in many ways, they have one common root, which is found in the bones of Joseph. At the heart of Joseph’s bones is the hope for God’s kingdom, rather than for this world. Neither of them compromised with the sinning world. They overcame the world and rose to God’s level, all because of their faith in the Lord the God of promises. 

 

Read 13:20-22. What does this passage tell us about the Lord?

** This passage tells us that the Lord God is like a good shepherd who takes care of sheep or a parent who takes care of a toddler with tender care. 

Read Exodus 14:1-12 and think about the way the Israelites responded to the sight of Pharaoh approaching. What does their response (10-12) show us about them? 

** They were still spiritually young; their eyes remained spiritually blind in that to them Pharaoh looked big, looming over them, but the Lord God looked invisible, and even irrelevant to them. In short, they were very young in terms of their faith in the Lord.

Read 14:13-31. What do you think the Israelites learned through this training? 

** Moses learned how to lead the flock of God by faith in the Lord alone. The Israelites learned to put trust in the Lord, and overcome. The event of the Red Sea only occurred once, so that through this one training program the Israelites would learn what it is to live by faith in the Lord, for that is the way to operate as children of God, becoming benefactors for God’s creation.

The end

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