In a time of need, Jacob had to move his entire family to Egypt where he was received with open arms. One of his sons – Joseph – had become an influential man in Egypt, and so Jacob’s family was treated with much respect. Unfortunately, 400 years later all of this was distant memory. Jacob’s offspring had grown in leaps and bounds. Feeling threatened by their explosive population growth the tides had turned against them. Egypt’s Pharaoh forced them into slave labor.

It was time to leave Egypt.

Israel’s exodus from Egypt was no minor feat. In order to arrive at their destination – a region southeast from the Mediterranean Sea – they had to pass through treacherous desert terrain and get past the Red Sea. With the Egyptian army on their heels, the Red Sea quickly turned into a death trap. There simply seemed no escaping from the Egyptians.

And Israel cried out to the Lord.

All of a sudden the waters began to recede until a pathway opened up, right ahead of them. Led by Moses they ventured into the dried-up seabed to cross the Red Sea on foot. With their children, their livestock and all of their belongings they fled to the other shore. Meanwhile the Egyptian army had arrived and they were stunned to see the mysterious pathway through the Red Sea. After a moment’s hesitation the Pharaoh ordered his army to continue their pursuit – but when the last Israelites reached the other shore the waters of the Red Sea returned and the waves crushed over the pursuing soldiers, their horses and chariots. All of Pharaoh’s army drowned. A day of tragedy and triumph, it was on this occasion that the nation of Israel was born, a pivotal moment in their history.

And yet, now the Lord says: “Forget this miracle at the Red Sea! This is nothing compared to the miracle that is about to happen.”

If every piece of information on the internet was a tree, we would have an endless forest of information right at our fingertips – but how do we get to the bottom of things? To cut through a sea of data, we need to remember that only one tree matters to humanity: the tree Jesus was nailed to. Back in Paradise, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil offered the fruit of death. On Golgotha, the tree that Jesus was nailed to offers the fruit of eternal life. His subsequent resurrection stands for victory over death. Jesus draws every human being to Him. He brings peace to a broken world – thus the arrival of God’s Son surpasses the miracle at the Red Sea.

The Lord makes a way in the wilderness. Let us not dwell on the past and look forward to better things to come.