Show Me Your Gloryਨਮੂਨਾ

The Red Sea Miracle

In the deepest, darkest hour of our suffering, whether self-induced or seemingly random and undeserved, God sees us and hears our desperate cries. For 400 years, the people of God were slaves of the Egyptian Empire (Ex 12:40). The Israelites were oppressed and abused (Ex 1:11-14; 2:11). At the height of their misery, their baby boys were murdered before their very eyes (Ex 1:16, 22). What could be worse than losing a child? Then, the supernatural crashed into their suffering! The Israelites miraculously found themselves on the other side of the Red Sea—watching Pharoah and his military drowning in the abyss (Ex 14:15-31; Is 51:10; Heb 11:29). The people of God witnessed the great and mighty power of the Lord set them free from their oppressors (Ex 14:31).

Many years later, the Israelites were commissioned by God to conquer Jericho—one of the Egyptian Empire’s Canaanite Outposts (Jo 1:2). As Israeli spies were caught scoping out Jericho, they were quickly assisted by a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab who lived with her family in Jericho (Jo 2:1-24; Heb 11:31). She hid the Israelite spies and made an agreement with them. Essentially, if they would spare her and her family during the coming Israeli invasion, she would help them avoid being captured by Canaanite police who had learned of their presence in Jericho. Read what Rahab said to the spies: “For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in Heaven above and on Earth below” (Joshua 2:10-11).

Whether Rahab heard about the miracle from someone who had witnessed the Red Sea Miracle or thirdhand from someone who was proclaiming it in the region, she did not witness it herself. The Red Sea Miracle did not happen to her directly; but nonetheless, she chose to believe the testimony of God’s power. After hearing about it, she acted upon it accordingly by aiding and abetting in espionage (Jas 2:24-26). As a result, she and her family were spared (Jo 6:17, 21-26). As a result, Rahab was grafted into the Israelite community (Jo 6:25). Rahab birthed Boaz who was King David’s great-great-grandfather and the ancestor of Jesus, the Messiah (Matthew 1:5-16). In other words, a prostitute from a wicked civilization became the ancestor of the most famous person to ever walk the Earth—all because she heard a miraculous testimony. Simply put, Rahab’s radical life-change came from hearing a testimony, believing it, and then acting upon it.

Have you experienced a miracle first-hand?

Did you tell people about what you experienced? If yes, did they believe you?

Has someone shared a miraculous experience with you before? If yes, did you believe them? If yes, how did it change your life?