Day 35: Crossing the Red Sea

 Today's readings: Exodus 13-14, Leviticus 10, and Psalm 53.

I. Moses told the Israelites that on this day they were leaving Egypt, they would keep remembrance of it in the Feast of the Unleavened Bread afterward (13:3-10). Also, the final plague that the Egyptians suffered would be remembered by the consecration of all firstborn males, both human and animal (13:11-16). God led the Israelites out of Egypt, not by the direct route to Canaan but further south into Sinai to avoid the Philistines. He did this by means of a miraculous pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night (13:17-22).

That must have been an extraordinary and frightening sight.

You'd think at this point, Pharaoh would just let them leave. He and his people had suffered 10 plagues for his stubbornness, the final one particularly painful.

No. Of course not.

Pharaoh's heart hardened again, and he missed having the Israelites do the dirty work in Egypt. So "all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army" went off after them, overtaking them while encamped at the Red Sea (14:1-9).

Seeing Pharaoh's army charging towards them, the Israelites were understandably terrified and cried out to Moses, who reassured them that God would save them (14:10-14). Moses called out to God, who told him to miraculously part the Red Sea and cross it. The Israelites did with Pharaoh's army in hot pursuit (14:15-25).

That must have been an even more amazing sight to behold, and the terror the Israelites felt during all this would have been indescribable.

When the last Israelite had successfully crossed the Red Sea, and the Egyptians in pursuit were all in the passway that had been created, God told Moses to close the gap and let the waters flow back and drown them. So he did, and thus God had saved them (14:26-31).

The Ignatius Bible notes that this miraculous event was seen in even deeper lights by early Christians:

Paul interprets the sea crossing as a type of Baptism, which brings salvation anew through water and the power of God (1 Cor 10:1-2) (CCC 1221). Allegorically, the sea is a type of Baptism, for just as it caused the demise of Pharaoh, so our washing is the end of the devil's tyranny. In the sea the enemy is slain, and in Baptism our enmity with God lies dead. From the sea the people emerged unharmed, and from the water we step forth saved by the grace of the One who called us (St. Basil, On the Holy Spirit 15, 31). (p. 144)

II. In Leviticus chapter 10, a sad incident occurs where Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu are consumed them both for acting against what he had commanded for worship (10:1-2). 

Aaron must have been on the verge of freaking out, as any father would in this case, but he was calmed by what Moses told him from the Lord and "held his peace" (10:3).

At this point, God spoke of other instances where going against His commands for proper worship will result in death, I guess to reiterate that He wasn't kidding (10:4-11).

Aaron is still shaken by the death of his sons, as can be seen at the end of the chapter. Moses gets angry that he doesn't eat the sin offering, but was "content" once Aaron explained his fear (10:16-20).

III. Psalm 53 is one of lament. As the Ignatius Bible notes:

The speaker is distressed by the corruption that surrounds him (53:1-2), but he is confident that God will bring inners to judgment (53:5) and will restore the fortunes of Israel (53:6). (p. 874)

The opening line of this psalm is powerful, not only against atheism but also against a slack attitude as if following God's will isn't important in our lives:

 The fool says in his heart,

“There is no God.” (53:1)

That's all for today!