Is That Pasta Floating in the Red Sea....?

Ah, the scene by the Red Sea. Charlton Heston... faky special effects... gotta love it.

But what a scene it must have been. When we read about things like this in the scripture we often just kind of fly by and read the story and move on. We have read it before and its not really new, and its really cool and all that, but, let's face it- nothing new. But when we think about the whole event on a little deeper level, we find that it must have been quite a scene. Can you imagine? Standing there on the edge of the sea- walls of water on either side- and your leader says, "Wagons Ho!!!" I have to admit, I would have been hesitant to walk out there in the middle of that sea basin. But what a show. I hope we get to see the replay when we get to heaven.

We also see the concept of a hard heart play out in this scene. Here are Pharaoh and his whole army standing at the edge of the sea, seeing their economic well being walk away. And now you are faced with a choice. Do you go after that economic security or do you come to the point of saying, "enough- let it go." Remember that God had already made it painfully clear that He was fighting for Israel. Many of the Egyptians even said so. But even with all that had gone before, Pharaoh chose to pursue. And here we see how a hard heart dulls perception. It seems pretty clear to us that the old "Rope a Dope" is in play here. God is drawing them in just to spring His trap. But, that is the insanity of sin. When we are buried deep in our sin and our obsessions, we do not think clearly or logically. And such was the case for Pharaoh.

I do like the part that tells of how God caused the Egyptian army to fall into confusion- in part by making the wheels come off of their chariots. The HAS to be where we get the term, "the wheels came off". How may times have we heard it on SportsCenter- "And then we come to the third quarter and that is where the wheels came off for the Pacers" Well, OK, the Pacers don't have their wheels on this year period.

The other aspect of this passage, (Ex. 13-14), that is so meaningful to me is that idea we find in Ex 14:13 when we read,

¹³ Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Wow. It says so much.

When God saves, He saves completely. The Egyptian army embodied everything that had worked against Israel for the last 430 years. Slavery, oppression, hardship, pain, loss of identity.. it is all tied up in the nation of Egypt. But God says in this passage, (paraphrasing), "Once I am done with what I am about to do, you will NEVER be bothered by this adversary again." That is not to say that the nation of Israel was problem free or sin free for the rest of their existence, because they were not. But, any other difficulty that came their way came by the choices they made. They brought on their own trouble, as do we.

I think that what we see by the sea is still true today. We find ourselves slaves to our routines and habits and customs and societies and choices and sins. If we are willing to allow God to perform His rescue by his design, and not interfere, and trust, and be still, then we can leave our adversaries behind, never to be seen again.

That sounds pretty cool.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon

Passover Pasta...

I have put down the camera long enough to try to write a bit of a blog post. Nothing like a new baby to rejuvenate your photography habit.

Really not a whole lot to add tonight- the interruptions to the sleep routine are having their effects on the thinking processes. On Sunday we had a bit of a discussion about the tenth and final plague- the plague of the first born. The lasting symbolism is not lost on us- this is another prototype of the messiah, the sacrificial lamb. But, as we discussed on Sunday, there are some other good tidbits that come from the account.

This plague is the final blow to Pharaoh's resistance, and a final judgment upon the gods of Egypt. Here, once again, we see God saying, "I am the one true God." Not only did this display of power show the Egyptians that their man-made gods were impotent, but the it also showed the people of Israel that the God of Abraham is the all powerful God. There need not be any doubt about God's sovereignty. And the same it true now. Can you imagine the day that is coming when God shows His power in ways that will make the plagues look mild? There are a lot of folks walking around thinking that God has moved on to other things because they don't see Him in action. But there is a day coming. A day on which everyone will see the power of God. Like those days in Egypt.

Another interesting aspect of the first born plague, at least to me, is that God made the provision for others, (gentiles), to be saved from the avenger and to partake in the Passover that was established. We know from the book of Exodus that some Egyptians went with the Israelites when they left. Any "outsider" had to be circumcised to take part in the Passover, but there was a means by which the grace of God could come to all who were willing to respond. It is no longer about circumcision, but there has been provision made for all to experience the grace of God. Jesus Christ, the passover lamb, has "opened the life gate that all may go in." Grace was offered through the blood of the lamb on that night in Egypt. Grace is offered through the blood of the lamb now.

Through all of the plagues and especially in this last plague we see the character of God. He shows grace to those who obey. He punishes those who continue in their defiance. He provides for those He chooses. He is above all man-made gods. And He can part the sea. Which, by the way, will be our next stop.

Just Keep Swimming...

Jon