Friday, June 15, 2007

"The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. . . . Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: 'I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!' " (Exodus 14:14, 15:1).

IDEA: How we interpret the events lies not in the events themselves but in the interpreter.

PURPOSE: To help listeners see that we believe in order to know, rather than know in order to believe.

There is a dispute going on today between those who are evolutionists and those who believe in “Intelligent Design.” Do you have a dog in that fight?

Have you ever wondered, “How could anyone look at nature and not believe that God exists?”

Look at the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and how we might explain it.

I. How were the people of Israel able to cross the Sea?

At one level it was an act of God (Exodus 14:14). That is how the biblical writer explains it.

At another level it could be ascribed to an east wind (Exodus 13:21). This is how a news magazine might handle it.

At another level, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews ascribes what happened to the Israelites’ faith.

Are these explanations mutually exclusive?

II. Why were the Egyptians drowned when they attempted to cross the sea?

This was an act of God (Exodus 15:1).

It was the abating of the east wind, the breakdown of the chariots, and their sinking in the mud.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews implies that they were destroyed because they had no faith.

It was Moses’ faith that caused their destruction (Exodus 14:27).

III. What makes the difference in which explanation for that event that we accept?