Good Morning.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (Exodus 14:21-22)
Moses stretched his hand out over the sea but it was divided by a strong east wind that blew all night. It was likely to have been something akin to hurricane force winds and may have been the same prevailing wind that had brought the locusts into Egypt back in Exodus 10 and similar to the one that scorched Egypt’s grain in the days of Joseph (Genesis 41). If so, this wind was blowing directly toward the Israelites and the Egyptians, meaning that the waters probably started to part east of where the Israelites had camped.
We do know that the strong winds, blowing all night and acting with the tide, caused the waters to pile up and form walls on either side of the path that developed in the midst of the sea. Not only did the wind hold the waters in place but, according to other verses, the wind caused the waters to become congealed (Exodus 15:8). Some commentators say the waters became gelatinous while others say they became as ice. Whether gelatin or ice, the point is, God caused the waters to form walls on their right and left, compelling them to go forward.
By parting the sea and creating a path forward, God essentially extended the straight and narrow passage they had already been traveling when they were instructed to turn into the gorge. In other words, it had always been His intention to take them down this path, knowing what would be required for them to continue. It mattered not to Him that water was sitting upon the path; the depths of sea was no obstacle for Him. It was merely an opportunity to show His might and power to both His people and His enemy.
There is a path that He has chosen for us all, individually and collectively. From our point of view, the path is oftentimes complicated if not blocked entirely by impediments — at least that is the way we see it. But our Father has always known what the obstacles would be and yet chose this particular path for us to walk, knowing what would be required for us to continue. For our part, we must truly believe that, “the steps of a good man are ordered of God.” Knowing that, we must be content to continue along that path even when faced with, what seems to be, a dead end. No obstacle is too large or too complicated for our God; it is but another opportunity to show His sovereignty and power over all. That is worthy of our praise.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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