Passage

Exodus 14:29
29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

It’s amazing how God provided everything for Israel after she fled from Egypt. He not only got them sent out of the country, but He also caused the Egyptians to give all their silver, gold, clothes, and livestock to the Israelites as they went. It wasn’t long after they left, however, that Pharaoh decided to pursue them and kill them all.

God had a plan for this. He led them out to the Red Sea, where they were seemingly trapped between the raging waters and Pharaoh’s army. The people were mad. They directed their anger at Moses and Aaron for leading them out. They griped and complained that life would have been better in Egypt. They bellyached about the supposed fact that they would be killed in the wilderness. They completely forgot about God and all He had already done for them. But that didn’t stop God from remembering them, and providing a way to get out of their situation.

God instructed Moses to hold out his hands over the sea and then He caused the waters to separate. God provided dry land for the Israelites to cross. He held back the sea as a wall on either side so that they wouldn’t be overcome by the waters. He brought every last one of them to safety before commanding Moses to close the waters over the Egyptian army.

If we look just a bit deeper into this story, we can see the awesome picture it paints, not only of God’s desire to protect us, but of Jesus’ ultimate holiness. If the sea were our sin and Heaven on the other side, how would we get there? How could we cross without supernatural assistance? God, through His Son Jesus, parted our sins. He prepared a safe path for us to cross to the promised land. He’s continually holding back our sins, through His power, so that they don’t come crashing down upon us. He gave us divine redemption through Jesus Christ, who knew no sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus walks above the sins of man, not through them. (“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.” Matthew 14:25) Because He is, He is able to hold back our sins. It is only through the awesome power of Jesus’ outstretched hands on the cross that our sins are walled up to our left and to our right. It is only through His sacrifice that we are given security and firm ground on which to walk.