A HIGHWAY THROUGH THE SEA

PSALMS 106:9

A. "HE REBUKED THE RED SEA ALSO, AND IT WAS DRIED UP; SO HE LED THEM THROUGH THE DEPTHS AS THROUGH THE WILDERNESS"
  1. Ancient Israel could look back upon two great moments of national salvation:
    1. Their miraculous deliverance from Egyptian bondage - Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:15; Ez. 20:5-6
    2. Their return from the Babylonian captivity. The later was not as spectacular as was their deliverance form the bondage of Egypt
  2. Between Israel - just coming out of Egypt was the Red Sea:
    1. It was at a time when the swelling of its water was at its height
    2. For which Israel was totally unprepared to cross - they had no means to ferry themselves across B. A HIGHWAY THROUGH THE SEA
  3. Never before in the history of the world was there a scene more dramatic than this of Israel's deliverance:
    1. A huge caravan of ignorant, timid, helpless folk with wives and children and cattle struggle out of Egypt by night towards the frontier
    2. By the time they got to the Red Sea, Pharaoh and his army were hard on their heels
    3. What a scene of consternation in the camp of Israel - Ex. 14:5-15
    4. Humanly speaking, the seeming events made a nightmare of the movement
  4. God, who knows the end from the beginning planned it that way:
    1. To teach them to trust Him even when there seems no solution to their problem as was the case at the edge of the Red Sea
    2. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of host" - Zech. 4:6
    3. He allows man to come into impossible situations to learn to trust in God and not in his own powers; Examples: Peter walking on the water - Matt. 14:30; the disciples catching fish John 21:3-5; Christ feeding the multitude - John 6:5-12 C. A HIGHWAY THROUGH THE SEA
  5. The dividing of the sea and the passage of Israel through the sea as on dry land became the theme of Hebrew poets:
    1. "He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the floods on foot; there did we rejoice" - Ps. 66:6
    2. "But the sea overwhelmed their enemies" - Ps. 78:53
    3. "What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?" - Ps. 114:5
    4. Even that great gospel Evangelist, Isaiah takes inspiration form Israel's experience at the Red sea - Is. 23:11; Ex. 14:21
  6. Israel's experience at the Red Sea served a threefold purpose in the redemption of Israel out of the Egyptian bondage:
    1. That nothing is too hard for God - Job 42:2; this is the lesson God teaches his children by leading them through many difficulties in life
    2. There are no problems with God; Examples: Jonah learned that the hard way - Jonah 1:4-17; the disciples learned that too - Luke 8:22-25; Mary and Martha learned this truth also - John 11:26-44
  7. A mighty lesson for God's people today:
    1. We hear, repeatedly, "Why do we go through these seemingly impossible situations?"
    2. We may not understand now, but God has a saving purpose in leading us through deep waters - Ps. 69:1; 124:4; Is. 28:17
    3. God's way is in the deep sea - Nah. 1:3-4
  8. The grand and glorious lesson for God's people:
    1. Man's utter impossibility is God's opportunity; Examples: Ancient Israel was absolutely helpless at the edge of the Red Sea; the disciples were helpless at the foot of the mountain - Matt. 17:19
    2. Experience is the best teacher; it makes the deepest impression upon men; that is why God led His people through the Red Sea, through the wilderness, over the Jordan


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