22nd October 2026

The episode of the miraculous Red Sea crossing was a formative event in salvation history, marking the transition point where the once enslaved, stateless people of the Hebrews, became a free and sovereign nation under God. However, like the entire Old Testament, Exodus remains a closed book unless we can, with our New Testament spectacles, see the Lord Jesus Christ in its ancient pages. Nevertheless, this wayward nation, Old Covenant Israel, for all its wilful brokenness, was indeed called, by the grace of God, to be the repository of the word of testimony, the spring of hope for the world, and the womb of the incarnation.

Whenever people find themselves trapped in a difficult, perilous, or oppressive situation, the inner lamenting cry which yearns to find a voice, is so often found suppressed beneath an anguished longing for a way out. Here is the book of the Exodus, the book of ‘the way out’. The Hebrews entered Egypt as the sons of Jacob, but they will emerge from the Red Sea as the redeemed nation of Israel, marching towards Sinai, ‘the mountain of the Lord’, where the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, will speak to them, in words of cloud-bursting thunder, from the once sacred mount.

The Israelites marched out from the gates of Egyptian slavery, boldly, triumphantly, and with a ‘high hand’ (Exodus 14:8 KJV); yet soon the rumbling sand behind them revealed a pursuing threat, as the armed chariots of Pharaoh followed on their heels (v.8). Having professed faith in Jesus, we may think that the devil, who once enslaved us, has accepted defeat, and retreated into a sulking, solitary shell of darkness. Not according to Jesus, who warned Peter to be on his guard for the evil one, should he gain an entrance, would gladly sift him like wheat (Luke 22:31,32). Later, from the experiences of his own ministry as an apostle, pastor, and shepherd, Peter warns us all, as believers, how our adversary is neither unthreatening nor encaged, but stalks the world and prowls the church, ‘like a roaring lion looking for someone  to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). However, despite his ferocious capacity, Satan cannot sift you, nor can he devour you if, by the faith of Christ you continue to walk in his Spirit and rest in his grace. John likewise reassures us when we look to Christ we have nothing to fear from the devil or his minions: ‘…because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world’ (1 John 4:4 NIV). 

As the Egyptian armies overtook the descendants of Jacob, bracing them against the surging waters of the sea, Moses answered the faithless protests of his 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” (Exodus 14:13-14). With the guiding light of the pillar of fire, and the guarding presence of the angel of the Lord, Moses did as the Lord commanded and raised his staff over the waters, causing a powerful wind to divide and hold back the fast-flowing tide. With raging columns of water on their left and right, through a long night of powerful witness, the Israelites crossed, on dry land the same restless sea which soon engulfed the military might of Egypt (vv.19-28).

The apostle Paul informs us these things were recorded for our instruction and encouragement (Romans 15:4), but we are not baptised into Moses, as was the whole nation of Israel (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Our baptism speaks of our union and communion with Christ, a participation in his vicarious baptism (Matthew 3:13-15), who lived and died and rose again for our salvation, taking upon himself the sins of the whole world, and imparting to us the righteousness which is uniquely his: ‘For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith” ’ (Romans 1:17 NIV).

Local congregation:
Grace Communion Peterborough
Farcet Village Hall
Main Street
Farcet
Peterborough
PE7 3AN

Meeting time:
Sunday 11.00 am

Local congregational contact:
Richard Dempsey
Email:  richard.dempsey@btinternet.com.
Local church website: GRACE COMMUNION CHURCH PETERBOROUGH – Landing Page

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church