Crossing the Red Sea - Exodus Series
Today in Calvary Kids, the kids learned that God fights for His people, He provides a way of escape, and delivers us. The right response we should have is worship and remembering what He's done.
Read Exodus 13:17,21; 14:1-31, 15:1-2,11
God deliberately told Israel to camp at a place where they'd be completely trapped! ?There were mountains on one side, desert on another, and the Red Sea right in front of them. This wasn't an accident and God knew exactly what He was doing. God said Pharaoh would think "They're lost and confused! The wilderness has trapped them!" But God had a purpose - He was going to show His power over Pharaoh one final time to totally defeat the Egyptians and to let the whole world know once and for all: "I am the LORD" Sometimes God allows you to get into situations that look impossible so everyone can see that only God could have delivered you. When you can't fix something yourself, that's when God's power shows up the strongest!
After Israel left, Pharaoh changed his mind AGAIN. His heart kept getting harder every time he refused to obey God. Now that the Hebrews left, the Egyptians missed all the work the people did for them. So Pharaoh gathered his best military forces - 600 choice chariots plus all the other chariots of Egypt. These chariots were like the tanks and fighter jets of the ancient world - the most powerful weapons Egypt had. Israel had no army, no weapons, no training, just former slaves with their families. From a human perspective, they were completely doomed.
The people saw the Egyptian army coming towards them and were terrified understandably! Notice they did two things: First, they cried out to the LORD, but then they complained bitterly. They forgot everything God had just done - the ten plagues, the Passover, the pillar of cloud and fire. This is what fear does - it makes us forget God's past faithfulness and makes us forget all the things God has done for us. They even said it would have been better to be slaves in Egypt! But slavery was horrible! They weren't thinking clearly. When something scary happens, it's okay to cry out to God - that's the right first response! But don't let fear make you forget all the times God has helped you before.
Moses gave powerful commands: "Do not be afraid," even though it was scary for them. "Stand still" - don't run around in panic, wait for God to act. "See the salvation of the LORD" - watch what God is about to do! "Hold your peace" - stop complaining, be quiet and trust. Moses promised they'd never see these Egyptians again and God was about to deal with their enemies permanently. "The LORD will fight for you." Isn't this an amazing promise! Wouldn't it be nice to walk around with a body guard all day and have some fight for you and defend you? That's what it's like having God on our side because Jesus defeated all sin on the cross and took away the power the enemy has over us.
God told Moses to stop calling out to Him and start moving forward. There's a time to pray, but now was time to act in faith! God gave specific instructions: lift the rod, stretch out his hand, and the sea would divide. That would take some faith! Then the people would walk through on dry ground! God would harden the Egyptians' hearts so they'd chase Israel right into the sea. This entire event would show everyone that the LORD is God!
The pillar of cloud and fire moved from leading Israel to standing between Israel and Egypt. God put Himself between His people and their enemies! The pillar gave light to Israel but was darkness to Egypt. Then Moses stretched out his hand like God commanded and God sent a strong east wind all night long. The wind was so powerful it pushed the water back and even dried out the seabed. The water stood up like walls on both sides - can you imagine walking between walls of water held up by God's power? If you guys walked by the walls of water, would you want to touch them or just stay away?
This happened all night long, and probably 2-3 million people crossed on completely dry ground. This was absolutely impossible by human standards - only God could do this! (Psalm 77:19) When you face something that seems completely impossible - maybe someone you love is sick, or a situation has no solution - remember the Red Sea (Jeremiah 32:17). God can make a way when there seems to be no way! Nothing is impossible for God!
The Egyptian army chased them right into the sea - between those walls of water! This showed that they did not fear God even when they saw God's miracle but still thought they could fight His people. Then God looked down and threw the Egyptian army into confusion. He made their chariot wheels fall off - those powerful war machines became like broken down scooters! The Egyptians finally realized "The LORD fights for Israel!" but it was too late. God told Moses to stretch out his hand again, and the walls of water collapsed! Imagine standing in the middle of two huge walls of water and they start to fall down towards you... Every single Egyptian soldier drowned - not one survived (Proverbs 21:30-31). God's judgment was complete and final. This shows us that God completely defeats His enemies. And this points us to Jesus! Jesus didn't just wound sin and death - He completely destroyed their power over us at the cross (1 Corinthians 15:57)!
While Egypt was destroyed, Israel was completely safe on the other side! The Bible says "the LORD saved Israel" - this was God's work. They could see the Egyptian soldiers dead on the shore - proof their enemies were gone. This great miracle caused the people to fear the LORD and believe in Him. And seeing the dead army, they didn't have to fear them chasing them anymore.
God does all the work to set us free from sin, and all we have to do is to walk by faith after the cross of Jesus. We never have to fear again that the world can chase us down. Israel's immediate response was worship - they sang a great song of praise! They celebrated what God had done. Our memory verse comes from this song: "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?" The answer is NOBODY! There is no god like the LORD! He is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders and grateful worship from all of us is the right response. When God answers a prayer, when He helps you through something scary, when He solves a problem that seemed impossible - worship Him! Write down what He did and tell other people. Sing songs of praise (Psalm 103:2) instead of just moving on and forgetting His goodness!
Christ Connection: Moses led Israel through the Red Sea to freedom from slavery, but Jesus leads us through baptism to freedom from sin and gives us new resurrection life!
Comparison Chart:
1. Moses carried a staff (Exodus 14:16) → Jesus carried a cross (John 19:17).
2. Moses led a physical freedom from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 14:30) → Jesus gave a spiritual freedom from sin's slavery (John 8:34-36).
3. Crossing the sea represented baptism into Moses (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) → Passing through the waters of baptism represents being united with Christ and freed from sin (Romans 6:3-4).
4. Pharaoh's army destroyed in water (Exodus 14:28) → Sin and death destroyed at the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).
5. Pillar of cloud guides and protects (Exodus 14:19-20) → The Holy Spirit promises to guide people to truth and convict us from sin to protect us (John 16:8,13).
6. Moses led a physical and temporary deliverance to the wilderness (Exodus 15:22) → Jesus leads an eternal deliverance to God's kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
7. People saw God's power over creation (Exodus 14:21) → The world saw Jesus' power over death in resurrection (Romans 1:4).
8. Israelites did none of the work but freely passed through the waters on dry ground (Exodus 14:29) → Believers do not work for salvation, Jesus did all the work on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).
The Greater Deliverancе:
The Red Sea crossing is a beautiful picture of what Jesus does for us! Just as Israel was trapped with enemies behind them and the sea before them, we were trapped by sin with no way to save ourselves. Just as God provided a way through the impossible waters, Jesus provided a way through death itself - He died and rose again, making a path for us to follow. Paul makes this connection clear in Romans 6:3-4: "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When we trust in Jesus, we pass through the waters of baptism just as Israel passed through the Red Sea. We leave our old life of slavery to sin behind and enter a new life of freedom in Christ!
Also, just as God completely destroyed Pharaoh's army so they could never enslave Israel again, Jesus completely destroyed the power of sin and death so they can never enslave us again. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" The victory is complete!
Gospel Connection:
Jesus is the greater Moses who leads us out of slavery to sin. Just as the Israelites had to trust God and step into the path He made through the sea, you have to trust Jesus and follow Him to be saved. You can't save yourself from sin any more than the Israelites could save themselves from Egypt's army. But Jesus made a way! He died on the cross to pay for your sins and rose from the dead to defeat death. When you trust in Him, you pass from death to life, from slavery to freedom, from judgment to salvation!
Application:
1. When you're facing something scary that seems impossible, cry out to God first before panicking or complaining.
2. Remember God's past faithfulness when facing new challenges - don't let fear make you forget.
3. Trust that God can make a way when there seems to be no way.
4. Let God fight your battles instead of trying to handle everything yourself.
5. After God delivers you, respond with worship and grateful remembrance - write it down, tell others, let it build your faith.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think God led Israel to camp at a place where they'd be trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea?
2. What did the Israelites do wrong when they saw the Egyptian army approaching, and what should they have done instead?
3. What does it mean that "the LORD will fight for you"? Can you think of a time when you needed God to fight for you?
4. How is baptism like the Red Sea crossing?
5. What's one impossible situation you're facing right now where you need to trust that God can make a way?
Memory Verse:
"Who is like You, O Lord?" (Simplified from Exodus 15:11).
Read Exodus 13:17,21; 14:1-31, 15:1-2,11
God deliberately told Israel to camp at a place where they'd be completely trapped! ?There were mountains on one side, desert on another, and the Red Sea right in front of them. This wasn't an accident and God knew exactly what He was doing. God said Pharaoh would think "They're lost and confused! The wilderness has trapped them!" But God had a purpose - He was going to show His power over Pharaoh one final time to totally defeat the Egyptians and to let the whole world know once and for all: "I am the LORD" Sometimes God allows you to get into situations that look impossible so everyone can see that only God could have delivered you. When you can't fix something yourself, that's when God's power shows up the strongest!
After Israel left, Pharaoh changed his mind AGAIN. His heart kept getting harder every time he refused to obey God. Now that the Hebrews left, the Egyptians missed all the work the people did for them. So Pharaoh gathered his best military forces - 600 choice chariots plus all the other chariots of Egypt. These chariots were like the tanks and fighter jets of the ancient world - the most powerful weapons Egypt had. Israel had no army, no weapons, no training, just former slaves with their families. From a human perspective, they were completely doomed.
The people saw the Egyptian army coming towards them and were terrified understandably! Notice they did two things: First, they cried out to the LORD, but then they complained bitterly. They forgot everything God had just done - the ten plagues, the Passover, the pillar of cloud and fire. This is what fear does - it makes us forget God's past faithfulness and makes us forget all the things God has done for us. They even said it would have been better to be slaves in Egypt! But slavery was horrible! They weren't thinking clearly. When something scary happens, it's okay to cry out to God - that's the right first response! But don't let fear make you forget all the times God has helped you before.
Moses gave powerful commands: "Do not be afraid," even though it was scary for them. "Stand still" - don't run around in panic, wait for God to act. "See the salvation of the LORD" - watch what God is about to do! "Hold your peace" - stop complaining, be quiet and trust. Moses promised they'd never see these Egyptians again and God was about to deal with their enemies permanently. "The LORD will fight for you." Isn't this an amazing promise! Wouldn't it be nice to walk around with a body guard all day and have some fight for you and defend you? That's what it's like having God on our side because Jesus defeated all sin on the cross and took away the power the enemy has over us.
God told Moses to stop calling out to Him and start moving forward. There's a time to pray, but now was time to act in faith! God gave specific instructions: lift the rod, stretch out his hand, and the sea would divide. That would take some faith! Then the people would walk through on dry ground! God would harden the Egyptians' hearts so they'd chase Israel right into the sea. This entire event would show everyone that the LORD is God!
The pillar of cloud and fire moved from leading Israel to standing between Israel and Egypt. God put Himself between His people and their enemies! The pillar gave light to Israel but was darkness to Egypt. Then Moses stretched out his hand like God commanded and God sent a strong east wind all night long. The wind was so powerful it pushed the water back and even dried out the seabed. The water stood up like walls on both sides - can you imagine walking between walls of water held up by God's power? If you guys walked by the walls of water, would you want to touch them or just stay away?
This happened all night long, and probably 2-3 million people crossed on completely dry ground. This was absolutely impossible by human standards - only God could do this! (Psalm 77:19) When you face something that seems completely impossible - maybe someone you love is sick, or a situation has no solution - remember the Red Sea (Jeremiah 32:17). God can make a way when there seems to be no way! Nothing is impossible for God!
The Egyptian army chased them right into the sea - between those walls of water! This showed that they did not fear God even when they saw God's miracle but still thought they could fight His people. Then God looked down and threw the Egyptian army into confusion. He made their chariot wheels fall off - those powerful war machines became like broken down scooters! The Egyptians finally realized "The LORD fights for Israel!" but it was too late. God told Moses to stretch out his hand again, and the walls of water collapsed! Imagine standing in the middle of two huge walls of water and they start to fall down towards you... Every single Egyptian soldier drowned - not one survived (Proverbs 21:30-31). God's judgment was complete and final. This shows us that God completely defeats His enemies. And this points us to Jesus! Jesus didn't just wound sin and death - He completely destroyed their power over us at the cross (1 Corinthians 15:57)!
While Egypt was destroyed, Israel was completely safe on the other side! The Bible says "the LORD saved Israel" - this was God's work. They could see the Egyptian soldiers dead on the shore - proof their enemies were gone. This great miracle caused the people to fear the LORD and believe in Him. And seeing the dead army, they didn't have to fear them chasing them anymore.
God does all the work to set us free from sin, and all we have to do is to walk by faith after the cross of Jesus. We never have to fear again that the world can chase us down. Israel's immediate response was worship - they sang a great song of praise! They celebrated what God had done. Our memory verse comes from this song: "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods?" The answer is NOBODY! There is no god like the LORD! He is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders and grateful worship from all of us is the right response. When God answers a prayer, when He helps you through something scary, when He solves a problem that seemed impossible - worship Him! Write down what He did and tell other people. Sing songs of praise (Psalm 103:2) instead of just moving on and forgetting His goodness!
Christ Connection: Moses led Israel through the Red Sea to freedom from slavery, but Jesus leads us through baptism to freedom from sin and gives us new resurrection life!
Comparison Chart:
1. Moses carried a staff (Exodus 14:16) → Jesus carried a cross (John 19:17).
2. Moses led a physical freedom from Egyptian slavery (Exodus 14:30) → Jesus gave a spiritual freedom from sin's slavery (John 8:34-36).
3. Crossing the sea represented baptism into Moses (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) → Passing through the waters of baptism represents being united with Christ and freed from sin (Romans 6:3-4).
4. Pharaoh's army destroyed in water (Exodus 14:28) → Sin and death destroyed at the cross (Colossians 2:13-15).
5. Pillar of cloud guides and protects (Exodus 14:19-20) → The Holy Spirit promises to guide people to truth and convict us from sin to protect us (John 16:8,13).
6. Moses led a physical and temporary deliverance to the wilderness (Exodus 15:22) → Jesus leads an eternal deliverance to God's kingdom (Colossians 1:13).
7. People saw God's power over creation (Exodus 14:21) → The world saw Jesus' power over death in resurrection (Romans 1:4).
8. Israelites did none of the work but freely passed through the waters on dry ground (Exodus 14:29) → Believers do not work for salvation, Jesus did all the work on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5).
The Greater Deliverancе:
The Red Sea crossing is a beautiful picture of what Jesus does for us! Just as Israel was trapped with enemies behind them and the sea before them, we were trapped by sin with no way to save ourselves. Just as God provided a way through the impossible waters, Jesus provided a way through death itself - He died and rose again, making a path for us to follow. Paul makes this connection clear in Romans 6:3-4: "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When we trust in Jesus, we pass through the waters of baptism just as Israel passed through the Red Sea. We leave our old life of slavery to sin behind and enter a new life of freedom in Christ!
Also, just as God completely destroyed Pharaoh's army so they could never enslave Israel again, Jesus completely destroyed the power of sin and death so they can never enslave us again. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!" The victory is complete!
Gospel Connection:
Jesus is the greater Moses who leads us out of slavery to sin. Just as the Israelites had to trust God and step into the path He made through the sea, you have to trust Jesus and follow Him to be saved. You can't save yourself from sin any more than the Israelites could save themselves from Egypt's army. But Jesus made a way! He died on the cross to pay for your sins and rose from the dead to defeat death. When you trust in Him, you pass from death to life, from slavery to freedom, from judgment to salvation!
Application:
1. When you're facing something scary that seems impossible, cry out to God first before panicking or complaining.
2. Remember God's past faithfulness when facing new challenges - don't let fear make you forget.
3. Trust that God can make a way when there seems to be no way.
4. Let God fight your battles instead of trying to handle everything yourself.
5. After God delivers you, respond with worship and grateful remembrance - write it down, tell others, let it build your faith.
Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think God led Israel to camp at a place where they'd be trapped between the Egyptian army and the Red Sea?
2. What did the Israelites do wrong when they saw the Egyptian army approaching, and what should they have done instead?
3. What does it mean that "the LORD will fight for you"? Can you think of a time when you needed God to fight for you?
4. How is baptism like the Red Sea crossing?
5. What's one impossible situation you're facing right now where you need to trust that God can make a way?
Memory Verse:
"Who is like You, O Lord?" (Simplified from Exodus 15:11).
Posted in Calvary Kids