Hebrews 11:29 Commentary and Bible Study

When Israel turned, under the instruction of God, towards the Red Sea, they seemed to have allowed themselves to become trapped. That was certainly the conclusion of the Egyptians who, having changed their minds about letting them go, pursued them. As God told Moses, ‘Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in’ (Exodus 14:3). What seemed to represent certain death to many of the Israelites became the very means by which they would live and their enemies would be destroyed. ‘The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea’, sang Moses and Miriam. How God catches the wise in their craftiness, and lures the proud into a trap from which they are unable to escape. They go confidently to their own destruction, convinced until the very last moment that they have prevailed over the people of God. But then with horror, they realise they are not fighting against mere men but against the God of the whole earth. Surely, it is a fearful thing for anyone to fall into the hands of the living God and to have God as their enemy.What faith saw at first was the deliverance of God. ‘Fear ye not,’ said Moses, ‘stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever’ (Exodus 14:13). Moses’ faith invigorated the people and gave them strength to proceed between the two walls of water on their right hand and on their left. As faith obeyed and led them into what would normally be death, more and more of the wonder of what God was doing dawned on them, and they marvelled at the forethought of God. They saw that he is a God of skill and wisdom, who does not consult puny human beings about what he is going to do – for, far from being his counsellors, they themselves learn new wonders step by step as they tread the path of faith – but he chooses his way to bring about his own purposes. By that same act of obedience by faith, predominantly the faith of Moses, Israel saw the entire army of Pharoah and possibly Pharoah himself destroyed, so that they would never again trouble God’s people. How deep are lessons God has for us, for in this awesome event God was also setting forth in a figure what takes place in the life of every true believer as they die to the world and to their lusts, and by death escape to a new life in Christ. Ultimately, the crossing of the Red Sea pictures how God will completely deliver his church from the world, and destroy Satan and all his host, and all those unbelievers who persecute his people. ‘Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy’ (Exodus 15:6).