Walking through the Desert / Trapped!
After God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, instead of going the closest way to Canaan, He led them through the desert to the Red Sea. During the day, God went before them in a pillar of cloud and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light to see.
But when Pharaoh heard that they had left, he changed his mind again. “What have we done? We’ve let all our slaves go free!” So Pharaoh took his army and horsemen and chariots and chased after the Israelites. They caught up with them, trapping them beside the Red Sea. They could not escape.
When the people saw the Egyptians, they were terrified and cried out, “Moses, why did you bring us out in the desert to die? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
Stand Firm! Divide the Sea and Cross
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." And the Lord spoke to Moses and said, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to move ahead! Lift up your staff out over the sea to divide the waters so that the people can go across on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will follow after you, and I will gain glory for myself through them, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” At this time the Lord moved behind them in the pillar of cloud to protect them from the Egyptian army. All night the cloud caused darkness for the Egyptians and light for the Israelites. And Moses stretched out his staff, and God drove the sea back with a strong wind. The waters divided, and the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on their right and on their left. Then all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots chased after them into the sea.
Deliverance
When the night was almost over, God looked down from the cloud on the Egyptian army, and He threw it into confusion. He made their chariot wheels jam so that it was hard for them to drive. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from those Israelites. The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”
Then God said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water flows back over the Egyptians.” Then the sea returned and swept them away and covered everything. Not even one of them escaped. That day God saved Israel from the Egyptians. Early the next morning they saw the Egyptians lying dead all along the shore. And when they saw the great power God had displayed, they feared Him and trusted Him. And they trusted in His servant, Moses, too.