Advent: Join the Triumphনমুনা

The Scripture:

"Then Moses reached out his hand over the Red Sea. All that night the Lord pushed the sea back with a strong east wind. He turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided. The people of Israel went through the sea on dry ground. There was a wall of water on their right side and on their left" (Exodus 14:21-22, NIRV).

The Story:

Have you ever been somewhere you just wanted to leave? Maybe it was school, maybe it was a dentist's office, maybe it was shopping with your parents. The story of Exodus is a story of leaving. It even sounds like the word “exit.” Try it – exit, exodus, exit, exodus. Exodus is about the exit of God’s people from Egypt. In the Old Testament, God called a group of people to Him and created a family that is known as The Israelites. The Israelites ended up in a nation called Egypt, you know – the one with the pyramids. The only issue is they are not there on vacation visiting the pyramids and riding camels and playing in the desert sands. The Israelites are in slavery. Obviously, God does not like this, so He calls upon a leader named Moses. Moses talks to the leader of Egypt called The Pharaoh, but Pharaoh says, no, he will not let God’s people go.

What happens next in the story is kind of like the gifts from the 12 days of Christmas, but instead, there are 10, and instead of gifts there are plagues. After the 10 plagues, God’s people are released from slavery but they reach a dead end. The Red Sea. Not only that, but Pharaoh changed his mind, and his army is chasing after God’s people.

Then we read in this verse about the Power of God, and one of the biggest victories in the Bible. It’s something that the Old Testament will talk a lot about because it’s so important. God splits the sea and God’s people can walk straight through the sea. That is incredible! I don’t know about you, but when I stand on a beach in front of the ocean, I get nervous just standing there when I see how big the ocean is. Yet God is bigger, and He splits the sea and proves that God can triumph over the biggest things that we can imagine.

The Triumph:

The Birth of Jesus is a Victory just like the splitting of the Red Sea. We remember Jesus’ Birth, not because it’s a nice thing to do, but because it is a moment in time and history where God wins. You may be scared of the ocean and God showed He is Stronger than that. When Jesus is born, God shows us He is Stronger than darkness because Jesus is the Light of the World. This Christmas, celebrate that God is bigger than any problem and that God has won.