Hebrews 11:29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. I. A WAY MADE WHERE NONE SEEMS POSSIBLE. It must be remembered how completely the Israelites were shut in. The land had shut them in; mountains on each side which they could not overpass; the sea in front of them; the Egyptian host behind. Something they must do - either turn upon their pursuers, or march on into the sea, or submit without a struggle. The choice which God gave to them was that of trust in him or destruction. As it were he drove them into the necessity of faith. He did not first of all make the channel through the waters and let the whole of Israel see it, fur in that there would have been no calling forth of faith. They were told to go forward while as yet there was no sign of escape. God never makes interferences with the ordinary course of nature unless for a sufficient reason, and therefore he does not make them before the time. Enough was done if the waters opened to let God's people pass and closed again the moment they were through. Our business is to listen and wait for the Divine command telling us what to do. That is our only safety when difficulty and danger appear in every direction. There are many positions in life when human prudence will do something; there is at least a choice between going on in the lower path of human prudence or changing to the higher one of conformity with the will of God. But there are also positions when acceptance of God's provisions is the only chance of safety. After all, difficulty and danger are relative words. They only indicate our weakness. They are meaningless in relation to the power of God. To him there is neither ease nor difficulty, danger or absence from danger. The greatest difficulty and danger men have to face come from being opposed to God. God can make a way through the deepest waters for his friends, and where his enemies appear to have a smooth and straight way he can suddenly fill it with causes of the worst disaster. II. A WAY CLOSED WHERE ONE SEEMS OPENED. "When two do the same thing, it is not the same thing," says Bengel. The Israelite is one sort of man, the Egyptian quite another. The Israelite is involved in a covenant, a purpose, and a plan. He has not come into this present strait by a kind of chance; he has not drifted there by his own negligence, or rushed there by his own folly. Therefore a way is made for him through the sea. But the Egyptian goes down into this way through the sheerest presumption. The conduct of the Egyptian host is perhaps never sufficiently considered when this narrative is being dealt with. The power of Jehovah, the miracle itself, so fills the mind that the amazing rashness of the Egyptians does not appear. And yet how rash they were! Their recollections of the immediate past should have combined with their present observations to make them pause while yet they were safe. True it is that God destroyed them, but equally true is it that they were self-destroyed. A man cannot be reckoned presumptuous when he acts in accordance with the nature of things, but here were people presuming on the continuance of a miracle. The greatest unbelievers are ever the greatest presumers. - Y. Parallel Verses KJV: By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. |
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