Question
By Faith People Passed Through the Red Sea
Hebrews 11:29
(Read Exodus 13:17-14:31)
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?
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?
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)
Read Exodus 13:19 and think about Moses carrying Joseph’s “bones” to the Promised Land. What is the significance of this event?
Read 13:20-22. What does this passage tell us about the Lord?
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?
Read 14:13-31. What do you think the Israelites learned through this training?
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Message
By Faith the People Passed Through the Red Sea Hebrews 11:29
"By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned."
Hebrews 11 has sometimes been called the "Hall of Faith," and in it we find great heros of faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. When we look at a chapter like this, we are intimidated. We think, "Wow! I wish I had that kind of faith!" The truth is that many of us feel like we are babies in the world of faith. If that's how you feel, today's passage is for you. Today's passage is not about a great hero of faith like Moses. Today's passage talks about the faith of the Israelites. When we look into the details of this passage, we see that the Israelites were not heros of faith; they were babies of faith. They were at the lowest level of faith. But today's passage helps us to understand something important by comparing the Israelites, who were babies of faith, with the Egyptians, who were enemies of faith. And what we see is that there is a huge difference between the two. So let's think about these two different groups of people: the people of faith and the people without faith.
I. By Faith the people passed through as on dry land
Look at Hebrews 11a: "By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land;"
To really understand this, we need to look at this story in the book of Exodus. Many movies have been made about this. In "The Ten Commandments," we see Charlton Heston playing Moses and leading the people through the Red Sea with his staff stretched out to part the Red Sea. When you see these movies, you think, "Wow! Moses was so powerful." Last week, we talked about the faith of Moses. An interesting thing we learned last week was that Moses kept the Passover by faith (Hebrews 11:28). That passage is interesting because it does not talk about the faith of the people even though it was the people who had to put the blood of the lamb around their door frames. But the passage only talks about the faith of Moses. I think this is because the people didn't have personal faith; Moses had faith, and he was their leader, and they followed him, but it isn't clear that they had personal faith. But through that event, Pharaoh finally let the people go. Now they were coming out of Egypt and leaving behind their terrible lives as slaves. They were beginning a new existence as the people of God. God's plan was not just for them to not be slaves, but for them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation that would minister God's word to all people on earth. The problem was that the Israelites were in every respect low class. They were so weak that they were not able to face any kind of serious challenge.
Let's read Exodus 13:17-18: "17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.' So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle."
This passage tells us that the Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. But God knew that if they faced a real battle at this moment, they would drop their arms and run back to Egypt. They were not prepared to take care of themselves. It wasn't just because they were untrained that they couldn't fight. The Philistines were not as tough as the Egyptians. The Israelites had 500,000 men who were capable of fighting. That was a pretty big army and they all had weapons. But the biggest problem was that they didn't have faith. So God, being a good shepherd for them, didn't bring them on the short road because they weren't ready for it. Instead, God brought them on a different path. That doesn't mean that they wouldn't have to face any troubles. They wanted to go on the road where there was no trouble to the land where there was no trouble. But God had a different plan. He knew that they needed to grow in faith. Let's take a look at God's plan:
Let's read Exodus 14:1-4: 1Then the LORD said to Moses, 2"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD."
Here we see that God's plan wasn't to take them on a path of no trouble. Quite the opposite, God was bringing them into a strategically bad place where they would be in big trouble. What God wanted was to put them in a place where there was no where to run. God tempted the Egyptians to come after them. So Pharaoh and his army got ready and came after the Israelites. We can imagine how it was for the Israelites. They were camping by the sea and it was nice, but then they looked up and saw the Egyptians coming in their chariots. How did they respond? Let's read Exodus 14:10-12: 10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
They freaked out. Their response wasn't very faithful. They complained. They despaired. They complained against God's servant. When we see their response, it doesn't look like they had faith at all. Moses had faith. Moses encouraged them to be strong; Moses stretched out his hand and his staff as God commanded and the Red Sea was parted. But what about the people? Hebrews 11 tells us that the people went through by faith. What faith did they have? It looked like they had no faith because they despaired. That's true. The did not have faith when they were overcome by fear. But then God did something. He opened up a path for them. This was a scary road. It was a path of salvation, but it was not an easy road to take. On either side of the path was a wall of water. What was holding up the water? There was nothing visible holding those walls up--only God's invisible hand. And this road was not short. It was a long path to get to the other side of the sea. How could they go through? They could only go through by faith, trusting in God's powerful hands that could hold the waters up and God's love that would bring them through safely. Only by faith could they entrust their lives into God's hands. There was no logical, earlthly reason for them to go through; only if they trusted in God could they go through. So we see that they did have faith.
The truth is that God has made a way of salvation for us too. That way of salvation is Jesus. Though we look around this world and see many Christians and it seems that being a Christian is not that big of a deal. But this passage shows us that the only way we can go down the road of salvation God has provided is by completely trusting our lives into God's hand. We may be able to make some sacrifices and devote ourselves to Christian activities without truly entrusting our lives to God, but the only way we can truly follow Jesus is by putting our lives in God's hands.
A good story to illustrate this point is that of Henry Martyn, an English man who lived about 200 years ago. Mr. Martyn had a problem: his face was ugly; he had a lot of warts. But he was also very smart and a nice guy. Somehow, he met this girl, and she saw past his outward appearance and fell in love with him. They were happy and they planned to get married. But one day Mr. Martyn heard a message, and the message moved his heart so much that he felt God calling him to be a missionary to India. In those days, to be a missionary in India was even more difficult than it is today. He went to his fiance and told her that God was calling him to be a missionary to India, and he asked her to come with him after they got married. But she told him that there was one place in the world that she didn't want to go: India. His heart was torn, and he struggled for a while until he realized that he had to choose between either God or his fiance. He chose God and went to India as a missionary. As a missionary to India, he translated the New Testament into Urdu, Persian, and Judaeo-Persic, and after six years as a missionary he died at the age of 31 from sickness while traveling. Just a few days before his death, he wrote the following in his last journal entry: "Oh! when shall time give place to eternity? When shall appear that new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness?" Henry Martyn is a perfect example of a man who walked through the Red Sea by faith, entrusting his life completely into God's hands. He believed that the path of following Jesus was the way of salvation, so he walked down that path.
It may be hard for us to believe this and to entrust our lives into God's hands. There are two stories from the gospels that illustrates this point further. One story is that of a rich young man who came to Jesus and asked, "What must I do to be saved." Jesus told him to obey the commandments. The man replied that he had done this since childhood. Then Jesus told him, "One thing you lack: Go, sell all you have, give it to the poor, and then come and follow me and you will have treasure in heaven." When the man heard this, his face became sad and he walked away because he couldn't believe that what Jesus said was true; he couldn't trust that investing his life in God's hands completely would pay off. He came up to the Red Sea, looked down the path God opened up, but he couldn't bring himself to put his foot into the Red Sea and walk down that path.
Another example is that of Levi. He was considered a "sinner" because he was a tax collector for the Romans. But the truth is that that though he had a lot of money he was spiritually poor. When Jesus saw him, he said, "Follow me." Levi immediately got up, left his money table behind, and followed Jesus. He saw that path opened up for him, and he stepped into it, trusting his life into God's hands by following Jesus.
This is the faith God wants us to have. We can talk about great faith to do great things, and this is good. But the fact is that the hardest step of faith is that first one, stepping into the Red Sea, leaving the world behind and entrusting your life into God's hands. We need to trust that we will not end up as losers or end up wasting our youth by following Jesus. Even if you die at the age of 31, you will not be a loser. But you can try and hold onto your life, pursuing success and security in this world, but in the end you will find that you put your trust in the wrong thing. That's what faith is about. If we really understand that, we can understand that it was here, at the Red Sea, that the Israelites were really saved. It's only when we make that decision that we are saved. You can come to church and give a lot to God; you can be a moral person and do good things; but until you, by faith, entrust your life into God's hands, you are probably not crossing through the Red Sea.
Now let's think about the example of the Egyptians.
II. The Egyptians Tried and Were Drowned
Let's read Hebrews 11:29b: "but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned."
In this passage, it looked like the Egyptians did the same thing that the Israelites did. Doesn't that mean that they had faith, too? But if we think about it more, we quickly realize that the Egyptians would not have tried to go through if they had faith. If they believed that it was God who was opening the sea to let his people escape from Egyptians, they would also have understood that God wasn't going to let them cross through that same path so that they could kill the Israelites. It was only by unbelief that the Egyptians could try to go through. If they had faith, they would have gone back home.
If we compare the Egyptian army to the Israelites, we see big differences. The Egyptians were a disciplined, well equipped, well-trained, handsome fighting force. Their muscles were in good shape. They probably were even a little more ethical than the Israelites. They had a soldier's standard of conduct; they obeyed their leaders absolutely and didn't complain. They even had chariots, which were like tanks. They were brave, and they had lion hearts. What about the Israelites? They were untrained, undisciplined; they knew how to make bricks. I don't know how handsome they were; they definitely didn't have nice uniforms. They also had a lo of low class, slave habits. They were rebellious and ungrateful. Humanly speaking, in every way the Egyptians were superior to the Israelites. That might have been the problem for the Egyptians. When they saw the Israelites passing through the Red Sea, they thought that they could do it because the Israelites did it. They figured they could catch up with the Israelites with their chariots and kill them before the Israelites go to the other side. So, by faith in themselves, they went into the Red Sea. But what happened? As they were going through, God caused the wheels of the chariots to fall off; God immobilized them, taking away the thing they put their confidence in most. Then, once the Israelites got through, God just let his hands go, and the water covered the Egyptians. The Egyptians were destroyed because of their unbelief, pride, and reliance on themselves. A lot of times, it is the people who are in humanly best position who have the most difficult time being saved. When you have a lot going for you, you can put confidence in yourself. When we put our confidence in ourselves, we walk down the path of our lives without putting our trust in God. But the Israelites had nothing to put their confidence in except God. They could have tried swimming or surrendering, but they put their trust in God. Does that mean that people who have a lot going for them have no hope? No. From a spiritual point of view, the only difference between the Israelites and Egyptians was recognizing their condition. The fact is that they were all sinners in need of God's salvation. As soon as Egyptians realize that their training, abilities, and success in this world mean nothing; once they learn that they are hemmed in by the Red Sea and need salvation, too, then they are transported from the camp of the Egyptians to the camp of the Israelites. That's how you find yourself in that camp, and you can also pass through by faith.
So we learn that faith is different from trying. You can try to live a good life; you can try to be saved by being a good person; you can try to make it through life by relying on yourself; but it isn't going to bring you through the Red Sea. It's only by faith, by trusting your life into God's hands that you can be saved. This is the only road we can take--the road not made by human hands--the road made by God that can only be crossed through by faith. God loves us and guides us to this place where there is no where to run to. Sometimes we despair. But God brings us there so that we can put our trust in him.
In this passage we learn the difference between the people who have faith and the people who have no faith. The people of faith are those who trust their lives into God's hands; the people of no faith are those who trust their lives into their own hands.
One word: By Faith the People Passed Through.
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Biblenote
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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