The Crossing of the Red Sea – Baptized into Deliverance
Behind them, Pharaoh’s army thundered across the desert—six hundred chosen chariots with their warriors, determined to recapture the slaves who had humiliated Egypt. Before them stretched the Red Sea, an impassable barrier of water blocking their escape. Israel stood trapped between certain drowning and certain destruction, with absolutely no human solution to their impossible situation. It was precisely where God wanted them.
The Trap That Wasn’t
God had deliberately led Israel to this place. He directed their route specifically to bring them to Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea—a location that appeared to be a strategic disaster. “For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in” (Exodus 14:3). God wanted Pharaoh to think Israel was trapped.
The pillar of cloud that had led Israel now moved behind them, standing between the camp of Israel and the camp of Egypt. It gave light to Israel but darkness to the Egyptians, preventing any nighttime attack. God was fighting for His people even while preparing their deliverance.
Moses spoke faith to the terrified multitude: “Fear ye not, 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. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13-14). Their job was to trust; God’s job was to deliver.
The Parting of the Waters
At God’s command, Moses stretched his rod over the sea. “And the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:21). The wind blew all night, pushing back the waters and drying the seabed beneath. By morning, a path lay open through the sea—walls of water standing on either side.
This was no natural phenomenon of shallow water and low tide. The waters stood as walls on their right hand and on their left (Exodus 14:22). Israel walked through on dry ground—not mud, not sand, but solid earth beneath their feet. An estimated two million people with their livestock and possessions passed through during the night.
The Egyptians, blinded by overconfidence, followed Israel into the seabed. But God looked down through the pillar of fire and cloud and troubled Pharaoh’s army. Their chariot wheels stuck and came off. The Egyptians cried out, “Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians” (Exodus 14:25). But it was too late.
Salvation and Judgment
At God’s command, Moses stretched his hand over the sea again. The walls of water collapsed. “And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them” (Exodus 14:28). The same waters that made a path for Israel became a grave for Egypt.
This is the pattern of divine redemption throughout Scripture—the same event that saves God’s people judges His enemies. The flood that drowned the world lifted Noah’s ark to safety. The Red Sea that delivered Israel destroyed Pharaoh. The cross that saves believers condemns the unbelieving. God’s salvation always involves judgment on that which opposes Him.
“Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:30-31).
The Baptism of Israel
The New Testament interprets this event in explicitly Christian terms: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).
The crossing of the Red Sea was a baptism—Israel passed through water and emerged on the other side as a new people. Behind them lay slavery, bondage, and the old life in Egypt. Before them lay the wilderness journey to the Promised Land. The waters marked a point of no return, a decisive break with everything that had defined their existence.
Christian baptism pictures the same reality. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). We go down into the waters identified with Christ’s death; we come up identified with His resurrection.
The End of Bondage
Israel had left Egypt at Passover night, but Egypt had not left Israel. As long as Pharaoh’s army pursued them, they were not truly free. The threat of recapture hung over them. The chains might be off their wrists, but the fear of the taskmaster remained in their hearts.
The Red Sea ended that threat permanently. “The Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” When Israel stood on the eastern shore watching Egyptian corpses wash up on the beach, they knew with absolute certainty that their bondage was over. No army would pursue them from Egypt again. They were free—truly, finally, permanently free.
So it is with the believer’s deliverance from sin. At the moment of salvation, we are freed from sin’s penalty. But the Red Sea experience represents that deeper reality where we know that sin’s power is broken. “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6-7).
Walking Through Death
Consider what the crossing required. Israel had to walk between walls of water that could collapse at any moment. They had to trust that the same power holding back the sea would continue to hold it back until they reached the other side. They walked through what could have been their tomb, trusting God’s Word every step of the way.
This is a picture of faith walking through death into life. The waters of judgment stood on either side—waters that would drown the Egyptians were inches away from the Israelites. Yet they walked unharmed because they were walking God’s appointed path in God’s appointed way at God’s appointed time.
Christ passed through the waters of judgment on the cross. He descended into death itself—and emerged victorious on the third day. All who are united to Him by faith pass through judgment into life. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
The Song on the Shore
When Israel reached the eastern shore, they burst into song—the first recorded song in Scripture. “I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him” (Exodus 15:1-2).
Salvation produces singing. Those who have been delivered from bondage cannot remain silent. The same pattern appears throughout Scripture—David sang after deliverance from Saul, the early church sang in prison, and heaven resounds with the song of the redeemed. “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy . . . for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood” (Revelation 5:9).
Notice what they sang about: not their own achievement but God’s triumph. Not their courage in crossing but His power in parting. The song is theocentric—centered on God—from beginning to end. True worship always focuses on the Deliverer, not the delivered.
The Lesson of the Sea
The Red Sea crossing teaches foundational truths about salvation. First, salvation is entirely God’s work. Israel did not part the waters, defeat the Egyptians, or devise the escape plan. They simply walked the path God opened. “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9).
Second, salvation requires faith expressed in action. Israel had to step into the seabed—they had to walk between walls of water that defied all natural law. Faith that does not step out is not saving faith. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).
Third, salvation is decisive and complete. Once through the sea, Israel could never go back to Egypt. The same waters that opened for their passage closed against their return. So conversion is a decisive break with the old life. We die to sin and rise to walk in newness of life.
Still Leading Through Deep Waters
The God who parted the Red Sea still leads His people through impossible situations. Perhaps you face your own Red Sea—circumstances that block every path forward while threats press from behind. Perhaps financial crisis, health disaster, relationship collapse, or spiritual attack has you trapped with no visible escape.
The message of the Red Sea is this: God specializes in impossible situations. He leads us to dead ends precisely so He can demonstrate that no end is dead when He is leading. The sea that looks like your destruction may become the path to your deliverance. The situation that seems designed to recapture you may become the grave of everything that pursued you.
“Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.” These words echo from that ancient shore to wherever you stand today. Your job is to trust and follow. God’s job is to make a way where there is no way. He has never failed to deliver His people through the waters—and He will not fail you.