{"id":5398,"date":"2022-11-29T23:00:58","date_gmt":"2022-11-29T23:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/?p=5398"},"modified":"2022-11-29T23:00:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-29T23:00:58","slug":"army-by-the-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/army-by-the-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Army by the Sea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click HERE for sermon audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Then the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Moses,<\/span>\u00a02\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cTell the people of Israel to\u00a0turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between\u00a0Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.<\/span>\u00a03\u00a0<\/sup>For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, \u2018They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.\u2019<\/span>\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will\u00a0get glory over Pharaoh and all his host,\u00a0and the Egyptians shall know that I am the\u00a0Lord<\/span>.\u201d And they did so.<\/span><\/p>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the\u00a0mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, \u201cWhat is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?\u201d<\/span>\u00a06\u00a0<\/sup>So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him,<\/span>\u00a07\u00a0<\/sup>and took\u00a0six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.<\/span>\u00a08\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while\u00a0the people of Israel were going out defiantly.<\/span>\u00a09\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them\u00a0encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.<\/span><\/p>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel\u00a0cried out to the\u00a0Lord<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup>They\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cIs it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?<\/span>\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup>Is not this what\u00a0we said to you in Egypt: \u2018Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians\u2019? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.\u201d<\/span>\u00a013\u00a0<\/sup>And Moses said to the people,\u00a0\u201cFear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, which he will work for you today. For\u00a0the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.<\/span>\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0will fight for you, and you have only\u00a0to be silent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

15\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cWhy do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.<\/span>\u00a016\u00a0<\/sup>Lift up your staff, and\u00a0stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.<\/span>\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and\u00a0I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen.<\/span>\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup>And the Egyptians\u00a0shall know that I am the\u00a0Lord<\/span>,\u00a0when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

19\u00a0<\/sup>Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,<\/span>\u00a020\u00a0<\/sup>coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0without one coming near the other all night.<\/span><\/p>\n

21\u00a0<\/sup>Then Moses\u00a0stretched out his hand over the sea, and the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0drove the sea back by\u00a0a strong east wind all night and\u00a0made the sea dry land, and the waters were\u00a0divided.<\/span>\u00a022\u00a0<\/sup>And\u00a0the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being\u00a0a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.<\/span>\u00a023\u00a0<\/sup>The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.<\/span>\u00a024\u00a0<\/sup>And in the morning watch the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,<\/span>\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup>clogging[b<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, \u201cLet us flee from before Israel, for the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0fights for them against the Egyptians.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

26\u00a0<\/sup>Then the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0said to Moses,\u00a0\u201cStretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.\u201d<\/span>\u00a027\u00a0<\/sup>So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea\u00a0returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0threw[c<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.<\/span>\u00a028\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea,\u00a0not one of them remained.<\/span>\u00a029\u00a0<\/sup>But the\u00a0people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.<\/span><\/p>\n

30\u00a0<\/sup>Thus the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.<\/span>\u00a031\u00a0<\/sup>Israel saw the great power that the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, and they\u00a0believed in the\u00a0Lord<\/span> and in his servant Moses. (Exodus 14)<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/b><\/p>\n

The people of Israel have finally escaped the land of Egypt. However, the final cutting off and separation does not take place until God draws Pharaoh and his army out to the sea for one final battle. Pharaoh remained obstinate through 9 plagues and then the death of all Egypt\u2019s firstborn. For a moment he let the people go, but his heart was hardened and mind changed once again. His hard heart of stone is one that must be crushed. Pharaoh embraces rebellion unto death.<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the more difficult task than making a final physical separation between Egypt and Israel was cutting out the Egypt that remained in the hearts of Israel. Even here, as they see the army of Pharaoh riding out toward them, only 600 chariots compared to their 600,000 men, they immediately begin to complain and wish they were never brought out of Egypt in the first place, thinking they are going to die. They foolishly profess that it would \u201chave been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.\u201d Indeed, it would take an entire generation to cut out this slave mentality from Israel. It is of course not sinful to be a literal slave, but what made this cry of Israel sinful in verse 12 was that their service to Egypt implied that they would prefer not to serve Yahweh. Serving Yawheh God required faith to trust His Word, while service to Egypt provided them comforts and stability, or so they thought. Even after God destroys the comforts and stability of Egypt, the people still struggle with these sinful desires of their hearts, wishing God would not have destroyed Egypt, because there they had leeks and onions. Thus, in this case, to serve the Egyptians meant a rejection of God\u2019s salvation which would be to die and go to hell. Indeed, it would be better to die in the wilderness with God than to die in Egypt and go to hell.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, as we see throughout the chapter, God is merciful and gracious to save the people despite their very weak faith. Though this seems like a complete lack of faith, they actually had faith, a very small and weak faith, but faith nonetheless as we will see later. Despite all their doubting and complaining, God the Lord remains valiantly determined to save this people. Now why and how could this be? Why is God so determined to save a people that has done nothing but doubt and whine, and will continue to do so? Certainly it is not because there was anything special or worthy about this people in and of themselves. Certainly it was not because salvation was earned or merited by this people. Certainly it was not because this people added anything of value to God that was not already His. So why did God save this people? Which is also to ask, why did God save you and me? The reasons are the same. As we read in verse 4, God desired to get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, that the Egyptians would know that He is the LORD.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Certainly God saves His people out of the abundance of His great love and mercy desiring to show compassion upon sinners, but at the foundation of it all, is that God desires to put His glory on full display for all to see – the glorious riches of His grace, and His glorious justice and power in defeating His evil enemies. This foundation of God desiring to display His glory in our salvation is the immovable and ever-sure foundation that God will without doubt save His people. The numbers and powers of the enemy stand no chance at stopping Him. And the number and grossness of the sins of His elect people do not deter Him or give Him pause for a moment. He has set His love upon His people for the sake of His glory and He will not be moved. God\u2019s will will be done and His glory will be got.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s Interposition<\/b><\/p>\n

So how does God save His people? During the Passover we saw that it was a sacrifice, and that all deserved death, and only those whose doors were covered in the blood of the Lamb were passed over and saved. So in the Passover we get a real good picture of the necessity of the blood of the Lamb to cover our sin and to satisfy the wrath of God that it might pass over us.<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are other aspects of our salvation as well. Not only do we need forgiveness from our sins and the wrath of God to be satisfied against us, but we also need deliverance from our enemies – mainly the spiritual realm of darkness, Satan and demons. Israel needed not only to be passed over by the Destroyer but also to be delivered from Pharaoh, Egypt, and indeed the gods of Egypt, spiritual principalities and powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

J. G. Vos says that in salvation we are \u201csaved from an objective realm of evil.\u201d It is not a theoretical darkness we are delivered from, and it is not merely the subjective experience of our own sin that we are saved from, but from an actual, or an objective realm of evil. Real evil. We see this pictured with Pharaoh and his minions raging out after Israel, angry that they let them go, and viciously determined to bring them back and not let them go. When God saves His people the enemy so desperately wants to destroy them. The Devil does not give up without kicking and screaming.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what does God do to save Israel from Pharaoh and Egypt? He interposes, and He interposes through Christ. Salvation is through Christ alone, and there is no other way that God saves people. Christ is the way and that\u2019s it. Look at verse 19-20.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them,<\/span>\u00a020\u00a0<\/sup>coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0without one coming near the other all night.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Now what does this have to do with Christ? Well, everything. I am arguing that this angel of God that goes before the people in the cloud and then moves to stand behind them, between them and the Egyptians is the pre-incarnate Word. Remember that Moses has already met this angel of the LORD at the burning bush in Exodus 3:2 where it says, \u201cAnd the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.\u201d And here it is the angel of God appearing out of the midst of a pillar of fire in the cloud. And in Exodus 3 at the burning bush, God speaks from the bush and says, \u201cI have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land\u2026\u201d This was Christ in the burning bush, the angel of the LORD, telling Moses \u201cI have come down to deliver my people.\u201d Now in Exodus 14, here is the angel of the LORD in the pillar of fire, delivering His people out of Egypt!<\/span><\/p>\n

I will recount the steadfast love of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the praises of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>,<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\naccording to all that the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0has granted us,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and the great goodness to the house of Israel<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\nthat he has granted them according to his compassion,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>according to the abundance of his steadfast love.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>For he said, \u201cSurely they are my people,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>children who will not deal falsely.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>And he became their Savior.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>In all their affliction he was afflicted,[c<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and the angel of his presence saved them;<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\nin his love and in his pity he redeemed them;<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:7-9)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

So here it is said that the angel of God\u2019s presence saved Israel, and in the same verses it speaks of the LORD being the savior of his people and loving them and so forth. This angel of the LORD is the preincarnate Christ. And in Exodus 14, here stands the angel of God\u2019s presence, Christ, as a wall of fire between God\u2019s infant and weak people and the fierce and evil charioteers of Egypt with their Pharaoh. See Him there, He is unafraid. His knees are not weak. His heart does not quiver. He stands firm. He stands strong. He stands unmoving. He stands a Pillar about His people. So Christ stands as a wall of fire, a wall of protection, between us and the enemy. He is our protection. He is our pillar. The spiritual powers of darkness cannot have us, possess us, or destroy us. The Spirit of God indwells us, the presence of Christ stands between us and the enemy. This is not mere theoretical imagery, this is genuine spiritual warfare and victory in the spiritual realm. There is so much more going on around us than we can see, and it is all very real. And as Christians protected by Christ and His Spirit there is much that we are defended from without our even knowing it. We need not fear what we cannot see, not because it isn\u2019t real, but because we have a protector. We have God\u2019s Spirit. And we are delivered from the realm of darkness and evil.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but think of the ancient Irish poem called St. Patrick\u2019s Breastplate. It may not have actually been written by St. Patrick, but it so encapsulates his life, theology, and missionary work. Patrick was a missionary throughout pagan Ireland and he had many confrontations with druid priests who would try to harm him with spiritual powers of darkness. Throughout the poem the writer binds himself to all these different virtues of Christ and then the last half of the poem says this:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo have I invoked all these virtues between me, [and these]; against every cruel, merciless power which may come against my body and my soul; against incantation of false prophets; against black laws of heathenry, against false laws of heretics; against craft of idolatry; against spells of women and smiths and druids against every knowledge that defiles men\u2019s souls.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Christ to protect me today; against poison; against burning; against drowning; against death-wound\u2026<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Christ with me; Christ before me; Christ behind me; Christ in me! Christ below me; Christ above me; Christ at my right; Christ at my left! Christ in breadth; Christ in length; Christ in height!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me; Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me; Christ in every eye that sees me; Christ in every ear that hears me!\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I bind myself today to a strong virtue; An invocation of the Trinity. I believe in a Threeness with confession of a Oneness, in the Creator of the Universe. Salvation is the Lord\u2019s; Salvation is Christ\u2019s; May Thy salvation, O Lord, be always with us.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

As Christ, the angel of God\u2019s presence stands between Israel, and stands over Israel, and goes before Israel, is all around Israel, we see the interposition of Christ on behalf of his people against the objective realm of evil. This reality of Christ all around the believer standing between the believer and enemies, is a beautiful reality of what God did for Israel, it was the faith of Patrick of Ireland, and it can be and is ours as well. Christ is our protector, our pillar of salvation and defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Gill says that the cloud between Israel and her enemies \u201cwas an emblem of the gracious interposition of Christ between his spiritual Israel, whom he has redeemed by His blood, and their spiritual enemies\u2026\u201d In this, we see Christ as both Redeemer and Judge. He is a light shining for His people, and a cloud of darkness over the wicked. He is a stumbling rock of offense and the solid rock of our salvation. Christ isn\u2019t the nice guy that saves us from the Father. He is one with the Father, in the Trinity, in mission – He is Redeemer and Avenger – Savior and Destroyer. He lays down His life for His sheep, and drives away the wolves with a strong hand. All men will come before this Christ, the only difference will be on which side of Him you stand. When you come before Christ, will He be standing between you and His people? Or will He be standing behind you, before you, all around you, as you are in Him? You can have this Jesus today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crossing in Faith<\/b><\/p>\n

Earlier I mentioned that Israel\u2019s faith was not completely absent, but it was a weak faith. The fact is, though they were led to the sea by God, driven out by Egypt, and trapped between the sea and Pharaoh\u2019s army, nevertheless, they indeed walked forward through the midst of the sea, and this was an act of faith. Hebrews 11:29 says, \u201cBy faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.\u201d In this way the people were saved through faith. Back in Exodus, look at verse 13-14.<\/span><\/p>\n

And Moses said to the people,\u00a0\u201cFear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, which he will work for you today. For\u00a0the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.<\/span>\u00a014\u00a0<\/sup>The\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0will fight for you, and you have only\u00a0to be silent.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

What an amazing picture of salvation this is. They were saved through faith, not by their works or their fighting or the labor of their hands, but by keeping their mouth shut, and trusting the LORD to fight for them. And in verse 15 God tells Moses to tell the people to go forward – this was an act of trust. And when it says in verse 13, \u201cFear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD,\u201d I believe it is saying, see the salvation of the LORD with eyes of faith. See it with eyes of faith, that He will fight for you and bring it about. Obviously, they would literally see what happened that day, but someone could look at any works of God, and not see it in faith. So I believe because of their faith in crossing the Red Sea as Hebrews tells us, that the admonition here is to see in faith God\u2019s salvation for you. And I find it amazing that Hebrews tells us they crossed the Red Sea in faith. Because it\u2019s so easy to see their grumbling and doubt and unbelief, yet we have to say, it may have been a weak and small faith, but by faith they crossed the Red Sea, as Christ stood behind them to deliver them. I can\u2019t help but think of the popular puritan quote which says something to the effect that a weak faith receives the same Christ as a strong faith. It is not the strength of your faith that saves you, but it is the object of your faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baptism<\/b><\/p>\n

There is another New Testament passage which references the crossing of the Red Sea and gives us authoritative commentary on it. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4.<\/span><\/p>\n

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0that our fathers were all under\u00a0the cloud, and all\u00a0passed through the sea,<\/span>\u00a02\u00a0<\/sup>and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,<\/span>\u00a03\u00a0<\/sup>and\u00a0all ate the same\u00a0spiritual food,<\/span>\u00a04\u00a0<\/sup>and\u00a0all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Here we are told that the crossing of the Red Sea was a baptism, baptized into Moses, in the cloud. You see they didn\u2019t walk over the top of the water, they passed through it, certainly the walls of the sea would\u2019ve been well over their heads, a wonderful picture of immersion. And it is interesting that two of the New Testament passages on the crossing of the Red Sea talk about it in terms of Faith and Baptism, which shows us that there is a clear connection there. Of course we would argue, baptism upon profession of faith, true baptism including faith. And they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, that was Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, if this is a type of Baptism, what do we see about baptism here? The people passed through the waters in faith, and came out the other side. They were immersed and then brought out. The Egyptians attempted to pass through, they did not have faith, they were immersed, and then died. They were drowned in the sea. But Israel passed through the waters of death. This shows us what the New Testament talks about, that baptism is a symbol of death and resurrection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you not know that all of us\u00a0who have been baptized\u00a0into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?<\/span>\u00a0We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.\u00a0<\/span>For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3-5)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

We are baptized into Christ\u2019s death, that we also might rise with him. Or Colossians 2:12 says, \u201chaving been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.\u201d So there is burial and resurrection, and faith. Baptism is a real sign of our true spiritual union with Christ in death and resurrection, it is a reflection of the reality of Ephesians 2:5-6, \u201ceven when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Israel was as good as dead, trapped between the Sea and the Egyptians, and God brought them out through water. God brought Israel out of Egypt, but now Israel would need to put the Egypt to death that was in their hearts. The old man and his desires would have to die. And that\u2019s part of the picture of our baptism, the old man is put to death with the desires of the flesh and God raises us up a new creation. We leave behind the old ways to follow Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dragon Slaying Shepherd<\/b><\/p>\n

Like every good story, the crossing of the Red Sea is a story of death and resurrection. But also, like every good story, the crossing of the Red Sea is also a story about a little dragon-slaying. And it so happens in this story that the one who slays the dragon is a shepherd who is caring for his flock. At first this may not seem to be present in this story. Where\u2019s the dragon and where\u2019s the shepherd? But they are in fact here. The Red Sea crossing is a story that is talked about all throughout Scripture. And those other places show us that there is a shepherd who slays a dragon at the crossing of the Red Sea. I\u2019ve mentioned before how Pharaoh is a serpent or dragon figure in Scripture. Ezekiel refers to Pharaoh as a dragon in the sea. Or Psalm 74:12-14 says, \u201cYet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.\u201d Or the King James Version reads, \u201cThou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.\u201d And we know that in the story, lurking behind Pharaoh is the dragon, that ancient serpent, the devil seeking to destroy the seed of the woman. So the dragon, Pharaoh, his army, and their chariots are broken into pieces in the sea, indeed as it says in Exodus 14:27, \u201cthe LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.\u201d That reminds us of how the Egyptians once threw the Hebrew babies into the Nile, now God throws them into the sea. There in the sea, the dragon was slain, and their bodies were washed up in the seashore, dead for all Israel to see. Almost certainly left there for food for beastly wilderness inhabitants.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christ is a good shepherd, and part of the shepherding of his people is slaying the dragon that would devour them. But where do we see the Shepherd in the story?<\/span><\/p>\n

Your\u00a0way was through the sea,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>your path through the great waters;<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>yet your footprints\u00a0were unseen.[c<\/a>]<\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>You\u00a0led your people like a flock<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:19-20)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He struck down every\u00a0firstborn in Egypt,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of\u00a0Ham.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n52\u00a0<\/sup>Then he led out his people\u00a0like sheep<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.<\/span><\/span><\/em>
\n53\u00a0<\/sup>He led them in safety, so that they\u00a0were not afraid,<\/span><\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. (Psalm 78:51-53)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

This gives us the well-rounded picture of a shepherd that God is to His people. He gently leads and cares for His people, totally aware of their infirmities and weaknesses, and compassionately and patiently helps them, all the while remaining a strong man of war to slay dragons, drive away wolves, and protect His people from harm. This is what a good shepherd does, one voice for calling the sheep and another for driving away the wolves.<\/span><\/p>\n

How graciously yet fiercely does Christ shepherd His flock. Despite all of our weaknesses and failures, God is yet patient, caring, and concerned for His people, such that He is ready and able to inflict great violence upon those who would harm His flock. Even if that means throwing a great dragon into the sea and decimating the greatest empire on earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Application<\/b><\/p>\n

The crossing of the Red Sea is highly important throughout the Bible such that A. W. Pink says, \u201cThe miracle of the Red Sea occupies a similar place in the O.T. Scriptures as the resurrection of the Lord Jesus does in the New; it is appealed to as a standard of measurements, as the supreme demonstration of God\u2019s power.\u201d But the modern sentiment is to read Old Testament stories like this and ask, \u201cbut what does this have to do with me?\u201d There are a number of things we could say, but I would like to say one thing, and that is that this is your story. This is our salvation. This is our pre-incarnate Christ who saved us by slaying the ancient dragon, who stands interposing for us against evil, who leads us as our Shepherd, and in whom we are baptized, in the same faith. This is our same Redeemer. This is our story of redemption. OR, it is your story of destruction if you are not a Christian. If you are a spiritual Egyptian who is an enemy of God, you too will be drowned in eternal judgment, which is the lake of fire. Hell being a lake of fire gives us the imagery of drowning in judgment, drowning in something worse than water. So one way or the other this is your story.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Christians there is even more significance for us. Not only is this story mentioned throughout the Bible, but also it is referenced many times throughout the Psalter, such as Psalm 106, 66, 74, 78, 77, 136, 105, 114, and probably others as well. God\u2019s book of praise is filled with references to the Red Sea event, because it is about Christ, it is our redemption, it is a particular objective realm of evil we have been delivered from, it is a reminder of God\u2019s power and justice which by which He can save us from other enemies. It is a historical victory over the kingdom of darkness. It is part of God\u2019s story of redemptive history, which is the story of how we got saved. Our subjective experience of salvation is based upon objective history and reality. Christ did not pop out of nowhere to save us, but God\u2019s eternal plan unfolded in time and history throughout many historical events and developments and victories that led up to the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, ascension of Christ, and now Holy Spirit-filled, Word-centered Church. This moment of historical redemption was essential in leading up to our experience of salvation today. So we should see ourselves in this story. We should see ourselves in this story as those who are saved by Jesus in this same type of way. We are weak and sinful but Jesus fights for us. We are baptized in His death, so we are raised with Him. We walk forward in faith, seeing His salvation with eyes of faith that He gives to us. He is all around us, protecting us from the evil one. And as verse 31 says, we too are to see this great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians and so fear the LORD, and believe in Him, AND in His servant Moses, because as Jesus said in John 5, if you believed Moses, \u201cyou would believe in me, for Moses wrote about me.\u201d Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us here the story of Jesus in this baptismal dragon-slaying real historical event. That is what we are to believe. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Click HERE for sermon audio Then the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses,\u00a02\u00a0\u201cTell the people of Israel to\u00a0turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between\u00a0Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.\u00a03\u00a0For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, \u2018They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":685,"featured_media":5399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1582],"tags":[153,172,274,1791,400,424,461,483,500,557,1535,615,664,678,699,836,1793,929,934,1792,1002,1536,1107,1114,1127,1161,1172],"class_list":{"0":"post-5398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sermon","8":"tag-army","9":"tag-baptism","10":"tag-christ","11":"tag-cloud","12":"tag-dragon","13":"tag-egypt","14":"tag-exodus","15":"tag-father","16":"tag-fire","17":"tag-god","18":"tag-hebrew","19":"tag-holy","20":"tag-israel","21":"tag-jenkins","22":"tag-joshua","23":"tag-moses","24":"tag-parting","25":"tag-people","26":"tag-pharaoh","27":"tag-pillar","28":"tag-psalms","29":"tag-red","30":"tag-sea","31":"tag-sermon","32":"tag-shepherd","33":"tag-son","34":"tag-spirit","35":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/11\/220124-Parting-of-the-Red-Sea-Illustration.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5122,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/with-a-strong-hand\/","url_meta":{"origin":5398,"position":0},"title":"With a Strong Hand","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"But the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cNow you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with\u00a0a strong hand he will\u00a0drive them out of his land.\u201d 2\u00a0God spoke to Moses and said to him,\u00a0\u201cI am the\u00a0Lord.\u00a03\u00a0I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-8-15-2-5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-8-15-2-5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-8-15-2-5.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5137,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/staff-wars\/","url_meta":{"origin":5398,"position":1},"title":"Staff Wars","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"August 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"And the\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cSee, I have made you like\u00a0God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your\u00a0prophet.\u00a02\u00a0You shall speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.\u00a03\u00a0But\u00a0I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-15-10-2-57.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-15-10-2-57.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022\/08\/MOSHED-2022-8-15-10-2-57.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5243,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/joshuajenkins\/the-final-warning\/","url_meta":{"origin":5398,"position":2},"title":"The Final Warning","author":"Joshua Jenkins","date":"September 26, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Click HERE for sermon audio The\u00a0Lord\u00a0said to Moses, \u201cYet\u00a0one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. 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