I was immediately drawn into this painting. I love this story anyway so it was easy to imagine myself in the middle of this crowd as they walked. What must it have been like??
Stumbling slow, I gape and gawk, elbowing every person within arms-length as I ask for the hundredth time, “Are you seeing this?? It’s water! Standing up!! No, seriously; do you??”
Exodus 15:8 word-paints the amazing narrative:
“And with the blast of Your nostrils
The waters were gathered together;
The floods stood upright like a heap;
The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.”
Congeal defined is to change from a liquid or soft state to a thick or solid state.
That definition, together with the verse, had me previously picturing more of a solid water wall, rigid, no movement. But one thing that spoke to me in this painting is there are still crashing waves up high, at the top of the heap. There’s still movement, churning, agitation beyond what is affecting them at the moment. They’re walking through the steady walls of water, though maybe still a little scared because – high water! – but they’re on a dry path, the path on a journey filled with promise.
As Christians, I think we often walk in a similar way, on the dry hard-packed earth of faith only (because sometimes there is no other way no matter how many alternate routes we look for), with situations still surging and churning on all sides. We can see the difficult, the messy, the unfinished, the hurtful, just there in the distance. But when we put one foot in the faith-way set before us, guess what? Our perspective changes. Faith changes how we experience the walk.
The Exodus verse above was from Moses’ praise-filled tribute after crossing the Red Sea early in their freedom expedition. And not just once but twice did God astoundingly take them through great waters on dry ground! The second time was at the Jordan River which would put them on-property of THE promised land. But before they got to the Jordan crossing, God had instructions on how it was to be done, starting in Joshua 3:1-4. The priests were to go ahead carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord; the people were to follow the ark at a distance, the distance of over 8 football fields in fact! God’s words were “…that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” He HAD to go before them because they had never done a day like this before, this place, these circumstances. Sounds pretty much like every one of our days, right? I don’t know how I’m going to walk this out; I don’t know how I’m going to get through this; I have no idea what to do, I’ve never done this before. I’ve never had a two-year-old before. I’ve never cared for an aging parent before. I’ve never buried a sibling before. I’ve never been this short of finances. I’ve never gone to college as an adult. I’ve never been laid off from a job. I don’t know how to relate to my family. I don’t know how I can ever forgive. I’ve never been so alone. I’ve never loved so hard and fallen so far. I’ve never passed these ways before.
God’s directions weren’t just for this one-time river crossing though; they’re for us right now too.
God’s promise started them on this grand wilderness trek but He was with them every step, before, behind, and all around. His covenant to never leave, never forsake is sure and true no matter what our days contain. It’s intimidating to move forward when the unsure or overwhelming looms in such a threatening way. But His presence remains. His promise still stands (like floods standing upright like a heap). And when we inch even just a pinky-toe onto a dusty faith path, our view can be unlike anything we’ve ever encountered before!
*
Painting by Friedrich Hechelmann, Die Rettung am Schilfmeer (Rescue at the Red Sea)