The parting of the sea: God makes a way
Exod 14:5-31; Rom 6:1-7
In the church where I came to faith, the cross loomed so large in the teaching about redemption through Jesus’ death that the resurrection seemed almost an afterthought. It took me a few years to appreciate why it mattered, indeed, was essential for Jesus to rise from the dead in a physical body. First, it shows God’s vindication of Jesus: He was not abandoned to death, God approved of Him and what He had done (e.g. Acts 5:30-31; 17:3). Second, the power of death comes from sin, so that death could not hold Jesus, the only sinless human being (Acts 2:24; 1 Cor 15:56). Jesus’ resurrection, however, is not simply a signal of His successful mission and God’s approval. He is a trailblazer for a new humanity that returns to God – in other words, for us, Christians. If sinless Jesus could be raised from the dead, then we who have been cleansed from sin will be raised from the dead, too (Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:16-22). In fact, this process has already started in a spiritual sense: we have already ‘died’ to an old way of life and been given new life by the Lord.
Facing slavery or death
Once again, I turn to the exodus story, this time to the parting of the sea, to illustrate this somewhat abstract truth in concrete terms. Pharaoh has let Israel go, but slavery is not that easy to escape. The people’s hard taskmaster comes after them in hot pursuit (Exod 14:5, 9). With the external pressure, Israel’s internal one mounts, too. Their dread of their former master (Exod 14:10) highlights that they still operate with a slave identity. They have seen God defeat Pharaoh, but all this is forgotten in the face of imminent danger and death. Even slavery looks more appealing (Exod 14:11-12)! Moses, however, reminds them of the Lord. Salvation is always God’s work from start to finish and not one of human effort (Exod 14:13-14).[1] God’s overwhelming protection is also evident in the way the pillar of cloud (representing God’s presence and guidance, Exod 13:21) moves between the two camps, stopping the Egyptian attack.
God makes a way
In a place where it seems that the only options are submitting to slavery or death, God makes a way. Throughout the Old Testament, water imagery is connected to distress, even death (e.g. Ps 69:1-2,14-15; 32:6; 42:7) and the sea carried associations for Israel of chaos and disorder. At creation God separated the waters to establish order and make space for His creatures on dry land (Gen 1:6-9). Now, He once again separates the waters to make way for Israel (Exod 14:21-22) through death into new life creating by that experience a people who belong to Him. Just as in the flood, however, when the waters came together in judgment (Gen 7:11, 17-24), the walls of water crash down on the confused and struggling Egyptians (Exod 14:24-28). As Moses had said, the Egyptians Israel saw that day, they will never see again (Exod 14:13, 30). The past is dead; slavery is behind them. As they see God’s amazing power to save them, they fear (i.e. revere) God and believe in Him (Exod 14:31).[2] They are firmly on their way to new life with the Lord.
The hope of resurrection
Many of the principles we see in Israel’s rescue are ones we can recognise from our own lives. Who does not know the desire as a new Christian to turn back to an old way of life when the first elation is gone and the hardships come? Suddenly what was once meaningless slavery seems appealing when faced with the changes that can feel as painful as death. The parting of the sea suggests, however, that there is a definite break with the past, there is no going back. As we see from the exodus account, salvation from slavery (to sin) is God’s work alone and is received by faith. Paul compares this Old Testament experience with baptism (1 Cor 10:1-2) and in turn uses the imagery of baptism to describe the spiritual reality that comes with becoming a Christian (Rom 6:3). Like Moses, who led the people through water (death) into new life, so Jesus is our forerunner who died and was raised, leading us into a life where we are no longer slaves to sin (Rom 6:4-7). Given this monumental change, it makes no sense to continue living as slaves. As we celebrate that our Saviour has been raised to life, may we rejoice in the hope this gives us: our redemption is complete and we can live as new people.
[1] This situation of danger and rescue should not be taken as a general model for how God deals with all our difficulties. There are times when God indeed will do all the heavy lifting with no help from us, at other times, we are required to act as God also works behind the scenes. However, this story illustrates God’s salvation from slavery into a new life of serving Him and therefore His exclusive action is emphasised.
[2] Reading that the Israelites also believed in Moses (v.31) is disconcerting for Christian readers, but it is not a negative here (see Exod 19:9). This is not about idolising people or expecting salvation from Moses. Rather, the people questioned Moses’ God-given leadership before and will do so again (Exod 5:20-21; 14:11; 16:2; 17:2, etc.) and it was important that they follow his lead as he, in turn, followed God’s lead. Perhaps that is why he is given a part to play in dividing and bringing the waters back together again (Exod 14:21, 26-27), even though God did not need a human instrument.
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