A God Who Always Makes a Way
What’s the most dramatic thing someone’s done to prove how much they love you? To show how far they’re willing to go to rescue you?
If you can’t think of anything, don’t worry, I’ll give you one. Because today we’re going to look at something dramatic God did for the people of Israel - and it’s for you, too.
I’ve found myself in Exodus a lot lately, for various reasons, and there are some pieces of the story I’ve never noticed before.
Any Sunday school kid knows the basic story of how God used Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. But even a lifetime of study would never be enough to uncover all the ways this story points to the greater story of God’s deliverance.
You’ve probably heard about how the Passover is a symbol of Jesus. A lamb without blemish is killed, and the judgment of God “passes over” anyone covered by that blood. The Passover meal that Israel was supposed to celebrate every year was not just to remember God’s deliverance in Egypt, but to look forward to the Lamb of God who would be killed at a different Passover.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though - the Exodus story is filled with themes and symbols of God’s faithfulness, ultimately leading to the cross.
One thing I’ve only thought of recently: the actual logistics of the Red Sea crossing. Those cartoons of startled fish peeking through a glassy wall of water as the Israelites meander along a smooth path can’t be super accurate, right?
In fact, the Bible says God caused a great wind to come up, enough to hold back the waters on either side. Can you imagine stumbling across rocks and clumps of stranded seaweed, probably leaning into a nearly hurricane-force wind, trying to keep track of all your people and animals and belongings, wondering what will happen if the Egyptians catch up or if these walls of water start to come down before you get across?
See, just because God makes a way doesn’t mean it will be an easy way.
God keeps his promises. God always saves his people. But he never promises it will be easy.
Sometimes he brings us right to the edge, to a point where we actually have to lose everything we thought he promised and remember that his plans look nothing like ours, before he delivers us in a way that we never would have imagined.
Which brings me to the next observation - they didn’t really need to be at the Red Sea anyway.
Do you know how many times in the Bible people go back and forth between Israel and Egypt? It’s a lot. Trips to Egypt were no big deal. There was a well-traveled road. There was a whole bridge of land between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
And yet when the Israelites march out of Egypt following the pillar of cloud, God takes them on a detour. This whole Red Sea story wouldn’t have been a thing if they had just gone the normal way.
This whole Red Sea story wouldn’t have been a thing.
Can you imagine?
Instead, God took them the wrong way and got them trapped between an angry army and a wide sea. He put them in a position where they had no option but him.
And then he gave them a story for the ages, a story of a God who is willing and able to split a whole sea to deliver his people like he promised.
Over and over again throughout Exodus, God says things are happening “that you may know that I am the Lord. When he starts telling the Israelites how to live in the promised land, he gives them rituals and traditions “to remember how the Lord brought you out of Egypt.”
But it’s no less for them than for us - maybe more so, because all of it points eventually to Jesus. If you’re a Christian, this story is for you. It’s a story of the God who still makes a way for you, even if it’s not an easy way.
(a lot of these thoughts are inspired by trying to catch up on the Knowing Faith podcast, so if you’re interested in learning more about Exodus go check it out!)