Send to Kindleby Suzanne D. Williams
“Don’t reason away what God can do.” – Marilyn Hickey
I came across a thread of clueless individuals who were trying to explain away the crossing of the Red Sea. It’s not possible because there’s no known narrow crossing point. It’s not possible because there’s no scientific proof. It’s not possible because it wasn’t the Red Sea, but a shallower location known as the Reed Sea, and it’s a mistranslation.
Rev. Karl Strader, an amazing man of God, used to say of this last theory, “What a miracle then, because Pharaoh’s army drowned in shallow water!”
This makes me smile still. We must never turn loose of the truth and integrity of God’s Word. We first establish that if God said it, then it’s truth, then we allow everything else to align with that truth. Including our disbelief. So what, it doesn’t make sense. We trust God.
A closer examination of the story shows it as much more miraculous than simply the parting of the waters. Discounting the plagues themselves, which were each one a testament to the strength of the God of Israel against specific Egyptian gods, we are told the Israelites were deliberately sent to that location along the Sea for two reasons. One, because they weren’t spiritually strong enough to fight the Philistines, who controlled the shorter route, and two, because the Egyptians would think the Israelites were trapped. (Ex 13:17; Ex 14:3)
This seems strange, but God is strategic. (Is 9:6 TPT) He does nothing random or by chance. He never has to cope because He forgot a key factor. His timing is perfect because He has a strategy. What looks like eternity to us is Him working continually to lead us into the place of biggest success.
Not by the easiest route. The Israelites found themselves, from all viewpoints, physically trapped. But God had the whole thing set up for their complete deliverance. He would make a show of the enemy’s defeat in spectacular fashion.
God told Moses that Pharaoh would let His people go when Moses was not even in Egypt. (Ex 6:1) God told Moses what direction to walk when that event happened, and He sent the Israelites out with the wealth of Egypt. (Ex 12:35-36, Ex 13:18, 21) God told Moses He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and caused Pharaoh to pursue the Israelites. (Ex 14:4) He provided His people with light to travel by which cast the Egyptians in total darkness. (Ex 14:20)
God caused a strong east wind to blow which drove back the waters, forming dry land. (Ex 14:21) Of this, an analysis was made which proved that an east wind of 63 mph, blowing for 12 hours, would drive the waters back, where it is estimated the Sea is 6 feet deep, to a width of 2 ½ to 3 miles. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100921143930.htm) This did not account for the land being dry, however, but left it with mud flats.
Nor does it account for the timing. That the wind blew at the exact moment the Israelites needed to escape. That it ceased right when the Egyptians pursued the Israelites into the midst of the Sea. It doesn’t show how, once there, God put them into a commotion and caused all their chariot wheels to pop off. (Ex 15:24-25)
“For the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.” (Ex 15:25)
Jehovah proved He was greater than all the gods of Egypt, than the leader of Egypt and the army of Egypt, in an event that would have far-reaching effects. Forty years later, Rahab told the hidden Israelite spies that the fear of their God’s rescue had paralyzed the people of Jericho. (Jos 2:10) Don’t you think God knew that? He saw the present, the Israelites’ need to escape Egypt, but He also saw their future, how everyone living in the area would hear the story of their salvation.
Faith perceives as reality what is spoken to the listener based on the integrity of the speaker. It asks – Can we fix our hope on that man’s word, knowing he will do as he’s promised?
Do I believe the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry land and all these miraculous things happened because there is definitive proof in scientific journals? Do I need archaeological evidence first with maps and GPS locations? Must I see the holes in Jesus’ hands in order to believe? (Jn 20:25) Or does the God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth, the defender of Israel, the God of abundance and mercy, have enough integrity for my faith?
“Hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
Not one word of God’s command ever fails. Not a single word. (Is 40:25-26) We can rely on that. When we’ve been digging the tunnel for days, weeks, and still can’t find the exit, we can know it’s right on the other side of our next scoop. When a group of unbelieving men and women pooh-pooh what God has done in our life or in our nation, we can know God is true, and He is faithful. (Jn 3:33) When our health, our finances, our family life seems to be in turmoil, we stand firm and continue to trust God. (Eph 6:14 ISV)
Because above everything else, more than anyone else, no matter what the circumstances, God has the plan for our escape in motion, and He will make sure it comes about. (Jer 1:12 ISV; 1Co 10:13) In fact, He has already achieved the victory we need through Jesus Christ.
We must determine, no matter the cost, that we believe it.
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The Passionate Church: Being the Church in an Age of Offense
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3eIlKeQ
Other Retailers – https://books2read.com/u/4XnQq9
To read an excerpt, visit the author’s blog.
https://sdwauthor.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-passionate-church-book-release.html
About the Author:
Best-selling author, Suzanne D. Williams, is a native Floridian, wife, mother, and photographer. She is the author of both nonfiction and fiction books. She writes devotionals and instructional articles for various blogs. She also does graphic design for self-publishing authors. She is co-founder of THE EDGE.
To learn more about what she’s doing and check out her extensive catalog of stories, visit www.feelgoodromance.com or www.suzannedwilliams.com or link with her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/suzannedwilliamsauthor or on Twitter at @SDWAuthor.
