Which movie does the best job portraying the panic of seeing Pharaoh’s chariots closing in before God parted the Red Sea? Let’s do a multiple choice:
- The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses
- Prince of Egypt, starring Val Kilmer as Moses
- Exodus: Gods and Kings, starring Christian Bale as Moses
Good question. But if we’re zeroing in on that one, specific moment—the Hebrews with the chariots closing in before the parting of the Red Sea—I’m going to suggest that the best movie portrayal goes to the caterpillar Heimlich in A Bug’s Life.
You remember that scene where the caterpillar Heimlich is used as bait to draw a bird’s attention away from the ant princess? There the caterpillar is, perched on a stick bug and posing seductively, calling out to the bird, “You-hoo! Mr. Early Bird! How about a nice, tasty worm on a stick? Nice and juicy! Succulent!” And then, when the bird turns its attention toward Heimlich, the stick bug tries to pull the chubby caterpillar down into the crevice—but he gets stuck.
Here’s why that’s the best portrayal I’ve seen of the event in Exodus. The Hebrews found themselves being used as live bait to draw out the enemy, and when the enemy took the bait, the Hebrews found themselves stuck as a result.
After leaving Egypt for the promised land, the Hebrews apparently journeyed south/southeast until God told them through Moses to “turn back,” apparently north, and camp against the Red Sea (Exodus 14:2).[1] This change of direction looked erratic and confusing, which was the effect God wanted. God knew that Pharaoh would think, “The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert” (Exodus 14:3, NIV). God knew Pharaoh would take the bait.
“God knew Pharaoh would take the bait.”
The Hebrews were technically still in Pharaoh’s land, and for all Pharaoh knew, their God had turned his attention to other matters and wouldn’t be as focused on them. When the Hebrews saw Pharaoh’s army of hundreds of chariots appear on the horizon, they knew it was too late for them. They were encamped and unprepared, with their backs to the sea. They were stuck.
What About Us?
We too find ourselves stuck a lot of the time. Stuck in money troubles. Stuck in cycles of addictive behavior. Stuck in persistent health difficulties. Stuck in generational hangups. Stuck in relational weirdness. Stuck in loops of anxiety and depression doldrums. Stuck at the airport gate when our goals keep getting delayed. Stuck in mediocrity while everybody else seems to be living their dreams. Stuck waiting for the next “breakthrough.”
Back then, God parted the Red Sea for them. Wouldn’t that mean that he wants to “part the sea” for me too? Financially, physiologically, generationally, relationally, mentally, vocationally? That’s the impression I got when watching a sermon online called “Green Light at the Red Sea.” Does the Red Sea parting mean God wants to give me energy for my draining relationships, guidance for navigating complicated places, and strength to win personal battles?
But this is where it gets tricky. If it’s true that God wants to “part the sea” between where I’m at and a high score in the metrics of success—and it’s just my own lack of faith that gets in the way—how is this not the same old, unbiblical health-and-wealth gospel diluted down and dressed up into a gospel of personal empowerment?
But then again, doesn’t the Bible give all sorts of principles that do, in fact, lead to success? Don’t many of the Bible’s teachings, if followed, empower relational cohesion, debt prevention, mental peace, purposeful work, and so on? Aren’t those who delight in God’s Word the ones who are “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (Psalm 1:3, NIV)?
“How is this not the same old, unbiblical health-and-wealth gospel diluted down and dressed up into a gospel of personal empowerment?”
So, which is it? Can church leaders preach in good conscience (and can our hearts believe in good faith) that God intends to “part the sea” in these areas of life? Where do biblical principles that help me succeed cross the line and become promises we name-and-claim—but which were never actually promised?
Two Distinctions
This is where I find it helpful to draw a couple distinctions. First, we need to keep clear a distinction between principles and promises. Yes, the Bible contains many principles that, if followed, can lead to things going better in our lives, whether relationships, finances, goals, mental well-being, or even physical health. And we can regularly ask God for help in these areas of life.
But does the New Testament promise that life is going to be personal victory after personal victory for faithful Christians? No. It promises things like the Holy Spirit, forgiveness of sins, Jesus’ presence, the peace of God, our increasing sanctification, and—best of all—the future reign of Jesus over a restored creation. But then again, it also promises us trouble (John 16:33) and persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). And it never promises we’ll achieve our personal goals.
Which brings us to a second crucial distinction. Second, we need to get clear on the difference between His agenda and ours. If we’re truly learning from the exodus narrative, then we’ll have to acknowledge that His agenda can oppose our natural agenda basically every step of the way.
The Hebrews wouldn’t have wanted to turn back north after going south—wouldn’t that just embolden Pharaoh to come after them? They didn’t want to camp at Mount Sinai for months, getting law after law they wouldn’t naturally feel like keeping. When food got scarce, they wanted to turn back to Egypt instead of continuing on. When God led them to the promised land but they saw the intimidating inhabitants, they didn’t want to enter. When God honored their choice not to enter, the tradeoff was decades of something they also didn’t want, as they rounded out forty years circling the desert. Literally every step of the journey went against what they wanted.
“Literally every step of the journey went against what they wanted.”
His agenda hit them as either bad ideas (e.g., turn back north and look like you’re lost) or impossible ideas (e.g., start walking the direction of the sea). And yet somehow many contemporary Christians assume—probably because we’re accustomed to getting our way—that God’s agenda will naturally mirror our own personal pursuits.
If We Don’t Draw These Distinctions . . .
So, let’s say we don’t get clear on what biblical principles can lead to VS what the Bible actually promises us. And let’s say we don’t get clear on our agenda VS His agenda. What is the result when we muddle these distinctions together?
We likely get something akin to the “children’s crusade” of the 1200s. According to one version of the story, a group of mainly children, led by a twelve-year-old, were convinced God was leading them from Europe to peaceably take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. They marched to the coast expecting God to part the sea that separated them from the Holy Land, as he had for the ancient Hebrews. When they got there and it didn’t part, some lost hope and went home, while others took ships which transported many of them into the clutches of slave traders.
“They marched to the coast expecting God to part the sea that separated them from the Holy Land, as he had for the ancient Hebrews.”
God parted the Red Sea. So, what does that mean for me? After recounting this event, the psalmist in Psalm 106:12 (NIV) says the newly rescued Hebrews “believed his promises and sang his praise.” I suppose that’s exactly what the Red Sea parting means for us too. But that requires wisdom on our part to distinguish the personal successes we’d like to see from his actual promises. Placing my faith in what I want but God never promised sets me up to sink.
[1] Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, ed. E. Ray Clendenen and Kenneth A. Mathews, vol. 2 of The New American Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006), 328.