“Passage of the Jews through the Red Sea” (detail) by Ivan Aivazovsky
Crossing the Red Sea
One of the most dramatic miracles recorded in the scriptures is the passages of thousands of Israelites through the Red Sea on dry ground. The author of Exodus records that “the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left” (Exodus 14:22, 29). This event has inspired subsequent generations of believers, including Book of Mormon prophets. This week’s Come, Follow Me study guide for Individuals and Families encourages us to also let this event strengthen our faith: “When we need deliverance—when we need a little more faith, when we need to ‘stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord’—we can remember how ‘the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians’ (Exodus 14:13, 30).”
Here is a blog post about how this event can inspire us with the faith to move forward:
Murmuring
Almost immediately after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites began to complain. They were hungry and thirsty. In Egypt, they had been slaves but at least they had food and water. (See Exodus 15:23–27; 16:1–15; 17:1–7.) Their murmuring has a parallel in the Book of Mormon: Lehi’s oldest sons, Laman and Lemuel complained at every stage of their journey from Jerusalem to their promised land. (See, for example, 1 Nephi 2:11–12.) It’s easy for us to be critical of them, but if we are self-aware, we may discover that we do a fair amount of murmuring ourselves.
It’s also important to note that there is a difference between reactive grumbling and proactively raising genuine concerns. Here is a blog post on that topic:
Manna
Crossing the Red Sea was an event, but eating manna in the wilderness became a way of life for the Israelites for forty years, a continual reminder of their reliance on God. The way manna was delivered taught important spiritual lessons, including our need for daily nourishment and the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy. Both Nephi and King Limhi reminded their people of manna immediately after mentioning the Red Sea. (See 1 Nephi 17:26-28, Mosiah 7:19.)
Moses summarized the lesson of the manna in this way: “Man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3). And the Savior quoted that passage when Satan tempted Him to use His power to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:1-4).
Here is a blog post about one lesson I’ve learned from manna: not to be a picky consumer of spiritual nourishment:
Two other blog posts relating to this week’s reading
- The Song of the Sea, which expresses the joy the Israelites felt after crossing the Red Sea, also conveys the joy of modern Israel as they are gathered and delivered from spiritual captivity: My Strength…My Song…My Salvation – 2 Nephi 22:2.
- The hill where Moses raised his hand towards heaven during a battle is called “Jehovah-nissi,” which means literally “the Lord is my standard” – A Standard for My People.
Blog Posts: April 5-10
The Red Sea and Real Intent
There were chariots behind them, sand dunes on every side, and just a lot of water immediately ahead. He needed information all right—what to do—but it wasn’t a casual thing he was asking. In this case it was literally a matter of life and death. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Case Not Away Therefore Your Confidence,”…
No Graves in Egypt
Frustration and fear can narrow our thinking, reducing the number of outcomes that we perceive to be possible. Sometimes, we express this narrow thinking as a false dilemma, in which we articulate multiple bad outcomes and attempt to select the least bad, instead of searching for a better one. As the children of Israel approached…
What Is It?
Shortly after passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, the children of Israel became hungry and worried aloud that they would starve to death. In response, God promised Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (Exodus 16:4). The following day, as they emerged from their tents, they discovered scattered across the ground “a…
Your Healer
At a place which the children of Israel called Marah (“bitter”), because the water was undrinkable, the Lord taught Moses how to make the water sweet. He didn’t have Moses use his rod or simply speak some words. Instead, He showed Moses a tree, which when placed in the water, made it sweet. Moses then…
The Song of the Sea: Gratitude Builds Faith
Many times in the Book of Mormon, people offer thanks and praise to God after receiving a blessing. For example: The family of Lehi “did rejoice exceedingly” and offered sacrifice to God when the sons returned safely from Jerusalem with the brass plates (1 Nephi 5:9-10). They did the same after the sons returned with…
His Hands Were Steady
Not long after the children of Israel escaped from the Egyptian army through the Red Sea, they confronted a new enemy. In a place called Rephidim, they were attacked by the Amalekites. God told Moses to stand on the top of a hill and hold up his rod—the same rod that he had held over…
I like this post but I think you misspelled tempted. Mom
Sent from my iPad
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Thanks! Fixed it.