Their moment in the sun was short-lived. A few days earlier they were slaves in the land of Egypt, toiling under the hot sun with no purpose but to serve the whims and wishes of the Pharaoh. Ten plagues later they were miraculously set free to return to their homeland that had been promised to their forefather, Abraham, over five centuries earlier. After initiating the Passover meal, the Hebrews walked out of Egypt with shouts of joy.
Those shouts of celebration were soon replaced with screams of terror as Pharaoh’s army was but a pillar of fire away, poised to drive them back into bondage per the command of Pharoah’s hardened heart. The people poured out their lamentation to Moses, blaming him for their present predicament. (Ex. 14:11) When Moses laid their complaint before God the response was anticlimactic, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.” (Ex. 14:15) Their hesitancy? The Red Sea.
In a historic moment a strong east wind blew the water back revealing a pathway through the sea. Though we are not specifically told the width of this path, simple logic would suggest it was not the width of single lane road but rather a corridor wide enough to get as many as two to three million people through in one day. The Hebrews stepped onto the dry seabed and kept going forward until everyone reached the safety of the other side.
When the Egyptians tried the same approach, the waves crashed down upon them; not one escaped. (Ex. 14:28) Miriam grabbed a tambourine and along with several other women began to praise God in song:
I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.—(Ex. 15:1)
While this was the right song to sing, they sang it on the wrong side of the Red Sea. Thanksgiving should have been on their lips before they crossed. God had already delivered them from the strongest empire of the known world. He had decimated their land. He had fed and watered almost 3,000,000 people along with their animals on their journey. They found out that nothing is impossible with God!
When we face our own Red Sea and Pharoah’s army, what song do we sing, and, equally important, when do we sing that song? When the homeschooling days seem to be unproductive or our children struggle with new concepts, are the airwaves filled with songs of thanksgiving for His timing and purposes or do we fall into airing our complaints? God does not us to praise Him ex-post-facto but wants us to walk by faith on the front side, declaring that nothing stays His hand or stops His will from being done? (Dan. 4:35)
It is high time for Christians to sing the right song on the right side. In the spiritual war that we are in, we will face difficulties. The battle between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness is continual attack and counter attack. This is our reality.
The glorious news is that all things work together for our good in Christ. (Romans 8:28) Not only will it be a blessing to God, but it will also be a wonderful example to our children when we sing the right song of thanksgiving on the right side of adversity.
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