Read | Exodus 14:5-31
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him; he took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the LORD for help. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the LORD’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them. During the morning watch, the LORD looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the LORD threw them into the sea. The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.
But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. That day the LORD saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. When Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
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Moses’s instruction to the terrified people was simple: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD... The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13–14). Why is silence and stillness often the most difficult action to take in a crisis, and what does this command teach us about the spiritual discipline of waiting for God's action rather than relying on our own strength or anxiety?
Focus
When the term behold is used in Scripture it means to fix the eyes upon, to see with attention, to observe with care, as when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said “Behold.”
View or behold this work of art, titled Law and Gospel III, by Sandra Bowden, connected to Sunday’s sermon passage.
Visio Divina, or “divine seeing”, is a way of praying and reflecting through art. As you look at this week’s piece, take a few quiet moments to go through a three-step process. First, observe what you see in the image, from colors to composition to recognizable elements, without trying to understand what it is supposed to mean. Then read about the work, using these details to help you interpret the work of art. Ask God what he might be saying through the image, and listen for his insight in your thoughts, feelings, or prayers. Finally, take a moment to respond, through prayer or journaling, to what God showed you in this image.
Commentary:
Artist Sandra Bowden has enjoyed a storied career that spans over 60 years. Her work serves as a complex meditation on time, incorporating biblical archaeological references and ancient texts. She invites viewers into the mystery of the word, breaking down each text she handles and making the words themselves into a visual meditation that is rich with many layers of meaning.
In Law and Gospel III, she explores the Hebrew text of the Ten Commandments, created by layering gold leafing on a collagraph print, then adding colored iridescent pastel repeatedly to the raised areas. The two slabs of gold read easily as the iconic two tablets.
But on the right, with a single additional horizontal cut, the tablets of the law become four quadrants, suggesting a cross. Jesus said he came to fulfill the law. Bowden says, “When we have finished an item on our list of items to be done, we put a line through it, marking it done. This is what I was thinking as I took the Law, marked it done, with a horizontal line, only to see a cross appear.”
The word of God consists of both law—which reveals our mortal failures—and gospel, which proclaims the forgiveness of sin through the unfathomable grace of God. The broken tablets of the broken law give way to the cross.
This work can be viewed in the Christ Community permanent art collection at the Downtown Campus.
Art Source: Law and Gospel III, Sandra Bowden, 2019. Used by permission. sandrabowden.com
Pray
O Lord, you see that all hearts are empty unless filled by you, and all desires are frustrated unless they point to you. So give us light and grace to seek and find you, that we may be yours, and you may be ours, forever.
-Christina G. Rossetti, from Prayers Ancient and Modern
Going Deeper
If you are also following the BibleProject’s One Story That Leads to Jesus reading plan, complete today’s reading.
