The Red Sea and The Cross

Exodus 14:21-22

"Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left."

Isaiah 50:2

"Is My hand shortened at all that I cannot redeem?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Indeed with my rebuke I dry up the sea"


I had an AHA! moment when I read the verse in Isaiah. This might be an idea that everyone and their brother is already familiar with, but it was a new idea to me.

I think that the parting of the Red Sea serves to point us toward the work that Christ did when He died on the cross. The AHA came specifically because the verse in Isaiah is speaking of redemption along with the drying up of the sea. Let me see if I can explain.

Israel needed to get from point A to point B to escape from slavery and enter into the promised land (or, to be more exact, the path that would lead to the promised land.) But between point A and point B a great obstacle existed. This obstacle was impossible for them to overcome in their own efforts. They didn't have any boats. Not to mention, Pharaoh and a bunch of his henchman were hot on their tails, bent on leading them right back into slavery.

So God intervened and provided a path from point A to point B for Israel. He parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites crossed through on dry land. Talk about an awesome sight! If God had not provided the way, not a single Israelite would have made it to the promised land.

Christ did the same thing for us when He died on the cross. Between us and God an impossible obstacle lay. Our sin. And not one of us could get from point A to point B without a path created by God Himself. All of our best efforts would be miserable failures.

Romans 3:10-12

"As it is written:

There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;"

In order for us to be redeemed, God had to once again part the sea between Himself and His children. Christ's sacrifice on the cross was the way He chose to stretch out His mighty arm and redeem and deliver us.

I had never seen the connection before last week. I shared it with my evening Bible Study group. They had never made the connection either. I even ran the idea past my former pastor, just to make sure it passed the smell test. He thought it was a fair comparison. I'm certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that I an NOT the first person to make that connection. But I love that it was a discovery I made myself, through the study of God's word, and the inspiration of the Spirit.

I feel like I found the golden Easter Egg!