Exodus 14

Exodus 14

“And Moses said to the people, Do not fear. Stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah, which He will prepare for you this day. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall never see them anymore” (Exodus 14:13).

Salvation is the theme of the first 14 chapters of Exodus. As we continue into the rest of this book you may be wondering, “What is left?” We have already covered the story of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt in the first 14 chapters. The rest of this book, the rest of Leviticus, and the rest of Numbers has one theme to it: salvation. As of this point salvation has happened, now we follow the Lord.

The Red Sea is a perfect ending to this exodus. In the beginning of our story we have Moses, set apart to be a deliverer. Jesus came to deliver us. We have the plagues, the mighty wonders of God. We have Jesus performing miracles throughout His life. We then have the Passover, the blood of the lamb cast upon the doors. We see next that Jesus gives of His own life, the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 5, read it!). Finally, we have the baptism. This is no other than the Red Sea parting.

Think about the people of Israel. As they are along the Red Sea they see the Chariots of Egypt. Egypt is a type of the world. Here we see the world come roaring up in all its fury. Before salvation, we would just give in to the world. Now we run to Jesus. So God parted the sea over the course of the night. This differs from the movies. It took the whole night. It was not all at once.

With salvation come, we are called to baptism. What is baptism? This is an outward representation that you are no longer following the way of the world, but trusting in God. Imagine if every baptism involved you having to go through two walls of sea. It would be a little more credibility into the whole event. As Israel passes from one side of the sea to the next, they were saying, “No longer am I a slave to the world but now a follower of Jehovah.”

Jesus has provided Salvation. He has died on the cross. Does baptism complete salvation? No, in that, Jesus has already done all the work and we are not required to ever touch a body of water to be saved. Yes, in that, unless you choose to trust Jesus and let go of this world, you will never have salvation. My exhortation to you is, let go of the world. You do not need a body of water to be baptized and to openly declare, “I am going to follow Jesus.” We are passing from one world of slavery to a world of promise. Trust, and do not look any other direction but His.