the Red Sea before the hole was there so that the hole would be there when they got there." That is faith! It does not indicate that they were surprised. They simply went over on dry ground (Exodus 15). The Lord's intention was to bring them out of Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan. All they needed to do was to rest in the knowledge of this and obey His word. Sadly enough this is not what actually took place. The first thing was that they came to Marah (15:23) and found the water too bitter to drink. The people started talking against Moses (16:2). What basic unbelief they revealed. This was just a sam ple of what they would be like for the next 40 years of fruitless wan dering. They found themselves on the right side of the Red Sea but on the wrong side of Canaan. What a sad thing to contemplate. With the heavy burden of such contemptible scorn, Moses went to the Lord and poured out his heart, "God, what shall I do?" To quench the thirst of the people, God's servant was told to strike the rock at Horeb so that refresh ing water would come out. What a beautiful picture of the Lord Je sus Christ (17:6). Later in the jour ney, the people once again com plain for lack of water. This time God tells Moses to simply speak to the rock and it would give forth water (Numbers 20). For some rea son, Moses disobeyed the Lord and struck the rock twice. As a result the Lord declared, "Because ye be lieved me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them" (Numbers
reservedly at your disposal." This is not just an act, it is a daily atti tude. As Israel came to that point of total relinquishment, Cod stepped in and did the impossible. He is waiting to do the same for you today. What a fantastic picture we have of the Christian life as the Israelites came out of Egypt by the shedding of blood. Moses attempted to lead but failed miserably in his own strength. There were some impor tant lessons he had to learn on the back side of the desert. God, in His sovereign grace, spoke to him through the burning bush. All that the Lord's servant needed to do was to live in absolute, total de pendence upon God. In the final analysis, God's plan for Israel's de liverance was by the shedding of blood. The plagues were simply to create a confidence in the heart of the people so that they would listen to the voice of the Lord. If there is anything that is missing in the Christian church today it is that. Why will we not learn to believe God? We ask Him to do things He has already promised to perform. At the night of the passover, each family was to take a lamb without blemish, using the blood to be sprinkled as instructed. This re quired simple but total obedience. The account is recorded in the 12th chapter of Exodus. The stringency of this action upon Egypt caused Pharaoh to let the slaves go free. That must have been a very excit ing day! Read about it again in chapters 13 and 14. The first prob lem they encountered was the Red Sea. But again, God gave the or ders and Moses obeyed. One com mentary points out, "The children of Israel went toward the hole in
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