As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
Exodus 14:10-15 NIV
The complaining begins as the journey out of Egypt begins.
The car isn't out of the neighborhood and already the shouts are coming from the back seat, "Are we there yet? How much longer?"
God's patience is displayed again. This time he parts the sea in spectacular fashion. Surely the people will then know that God is with them to protect them!
Can you imagine the celebration as the sea crashed in on the pursuing army? Their captors are now finally defeated and they are truly free.
I think the sea filled back in so that the people would know that there was not a road back to Egypt - a road back to captivity (Remember it won't be long before they are faced with difficulty and begin again to wish for the "good old days").
We are often like that in our relationship with God. We love God when life is good, but send a little difficulty into our lives and we are ready to return to our old ways - the ways we wanted release from. How quickly we too forget.
In your relationship with God, what is calling you back to captivity?
Do you need a reminder that there is no turning back?
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