RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-06-14	Spiritual Significance of Parting the Red Sea
		The parting of the Red Sea is connected with the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. The exodus from Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea is the single greatest act of salvation in the Old Testament. The parting of the Red Sea is that one event and the final act in God’s delivering His people from slavery in Egypt. The parting of the Sea immortalized in the Psalms (Ps.66:6; 78:13; 106:9; 136:13). Psa 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him. Psa 78:13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. Going back in time God prophesied to Abraham that his descendants would become slaves in a foreign nation for 400 years (Ge.15:13-14). This prophecy came to fulfilment years after the death of Joseph, when a Pharaoh came to power in Egypt who enslaved Israel (Ex.1:8-11) After the birth of Moses, we read that God “heard” the cries of His people. God had a plan to deliver them (Ex.2:23-25). Moses, now an adult, was commissioned by God to be the deliverer of His people. Moses went before Pharaoh and requested the people to be let go so they may worship the Lord. Pharaoh refused (“he hardened his heart”) and began to oppress the people of Israel even more. This began the cycle of the ten plagues. Moses requested that Pharaoh release the people, Pharaoh refused, and God sent plagues. Finally, after the final plague (the death of the firstborn), Pharaoh finally agreed to let the children of Israel go. But then Pharaoh had another change of heart and chased after Israel with his army. This is where the great deliverance scene occurred as God parted the Red Sea. Parting the Sea created an opening in the water which allowed Israel to safely pass through on dry land, but Pharaoh and his army were drowned under the sea. We could simply think of this miraculous story as God's power on display. It is that. However, this event provides a bigger picture of redemption. The exodus from Egypt, through a real historical event, prefigures the saving work of Christ for His people. What God did through Moses was to provide physical salvation from physical slavery. What God does through Christ is provide spiritual salvation from a spiritual slavery. Israel were slaves in Egypt. But we are all slaves to sin. Notice what Jesus said. Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Joh 8:36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. The passing through the Red Sea is used as a symbol of the believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Ro.6:3-4). Paul gives the exodus from Egypt a Christological connection (1Co.10:1-4). That is, he connects the exodus from Egypt with salvation in Christ. Just as the Israelites were “baptized into Moses,” so too are Christians baptized into Christ. Thus, the parting of the Red Sea is God's great work of delivering His people from slavery in Egypt. But it also prefigures the spiritual redemption of God's people from slavery to sin through the work of Christ. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

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