The story
Yahweh tells them all to camp in front of Pi-Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, we could perhaps say a rock and a hard place. Pharaoh having seen apparent confusion thinks this must be weakness, and besides they’ve lost their workforce, so he sends 600 chariots probably each with an archer on board. Dramatically the Chariots overtake the Israelites, and they are blocked in. They can’t go forwards, they can’t go back and the sea is the only route left. It all looks rather hopeless. Ever found yourself here? It’s not surprising they turn on Moses at this point. I know I would have. “What have you done taking us out of Egypt” they cry, “were there not enough graves in Egypt?” which is more than a little sarcastic, it’s thought that 3/4 of Egypt was dedicated to burials, in the form of pyramids and similar. “It’s ok “says Moses, I imagine with a confidence that he may not have felt, sometimes the Spirit speaks with a conviction through us when our own is not totally on board. Moses didn’t know how God would act, only that He would. Yahweh tells Moses to stretch out his staff over the sea so they can walk through. The pillar of cloud moves behind them, a cloud so dark that it keeps the enemy distant. Moses obeys and stretches out his arms with the staff, and the Lord divides the sea, and they walk through to the other side. Of course, the Egyptians pursue, they have a job to do. But Yahweh clogs up the wheels of the chariots, they start to fall and crash. “Moses, stretch out your hand again” God says, as he does the waters return and wash over the Egyptians. From the other side of the sea the Israelites see their pursuers washed up dead on the other shore. This part of the war has been won. The enemy without has been defeated. Only now the real work of the internal and personal battles can start in each and every heart.
What’s happening with Moses ?
Moses is getting flack all the way here isn’t he? There’s a sense of them and us, Moses stands with God and is becoming the bridge the people can cross to reach God for themselves. But he isn’t Jesus, he is just a man who would have been subject to all the same weaknesses as us, and we see through the story can fall prey to them. Here, though he seems resolute, up for the challenge with a strength of faith that we could think incredible, and it is, but it’s a God given faith he has responded to. Despite Moses courage the Glory still all belongs to the Lord. Yahweh didn’t need Moses to stretch out his hand to split the sea. The staff wasn’t a magic wand. God needed to set Moses up as an authority, to demonstrate that he was chosen, that he did hear, that he was to be trusted. God knew the people would need this over and over, to learn to hear and respond to Moses was the first step in hearing and responding to Him. Moses has seen enough to stand on the promises of God, perhaps you could argue so have the Israelites, but as yet they haven’t heard from God directly, it has always been second hand. Without this baptismal experience they are not yet disposed to hear Gods voice. Moses’s own baptismal experience was as a child in the Nile, drawn out of the water. God is still remote and distant. Unapproachable for the likes of them, living still with a slave mentality. Was Moses taken aback when Yahweh spoke to him so sharply? Was it sharply? I can read the text like there’s impatience in Gods voice as He tells Moses “Why are you crying out to me?” Perhaps it was an encouraging tone, perhaps it would have sounded more like, “Ok now, think, you do know what to do” Perhaps God was starting to train Moses to listen to that internal voice, the one that is always present if we stop, and listen and attune our ‘spiritual’ ears. I think how we read Gods voice in this tells us much about how we relate to God, how much of a Hebrew slave still lives in us.
What’s happening with the Israelites?
This war was won, but in the hearts of each Hebrew another war still needed to be fought. It’s worth watching how Yahweh slowly and deliberately works with what He has. This generation never reach perfection in their trust and love for him, but they set a groundwork for the next to build on. This isn’t a 40 year project, this is an eternal project that is still being played out today with you and I. Even in their lack of trust, even in their natural tendency to think bad of Him, He still delivers, it doesn’t remedy the problem in one act but it chinks at the armour that 400 years of slavery would have forged.
I wonder what, for the entire night before the sea divided for them, were the secret thoughts of those camped on its banks. I wonder how many times they thought they had come from one tyrant to another, with the Egyptians before them and an apparently uncrossable sea in front of them, It isn’t surprising they questioned if they had backed the wrong horse. Did they question that they were just to be abandoned or punished? Don’t we still allow those thoughts to pervade in times of trial? On the banks of the Red Sea the Israelites are taught to cry out to God, the first time they were in a situation to stand on the promises spoken to them through Moses. We know He hears and responds as He is, of course, orchestrating each step. But at this point in the Journey they have still to discover the nature of Yahweh. Still to uncover the depth of love He has for them. How unlike slavery this relationship will be, and how unlike Pharaoh it is possible to be. Even in all this total lack of trust He still delivers, He knows their limitations and despite them they still get to see the awesome power of God.
What are we learning about God?
We have spoken about the wisdom, the mercy, the patience. But here we see a God who stands between us and the enemy. Importantly the Israelites walk through the sea under their own volition, there is a respect for their own free will to make that choice. The odds have been stacked in the favour of going for it, sure, but only because God knows that ultimately this is what is the very best thing for them. Here the cloudy pillar slips to the back, they walk through not being led, but protected. I think if we are to see this as a type of baptism this is important. The difference between guided and forced. This is His gentle hand in a pivotal moment. He has cleared the path before us, He will be present, protecting us whilst we walk out our free choice. He cares about the small physical things, this isn’t just spiritual. God gives us the tools we need. He knows our helpless state. He knows that the temptation to stay in our bondage is often more appealing than the risks associated with change. At the end of this chapter the Israelites would have looked back over the sea to see the remains of the Egyptians washed up on the other beach, there is no one left to return to, the past is dead to them now, as dead as the corpses of those who pursued them. I’m sure not many of those present would have said in that moment that the Lord had made this part of the pilgrimage easy, yet from hindsight it was. It was only fear and mistrust that made it appear like a trial. I think that’s another lesson for us all there.
What are we to learn from this place?
There are many lessons to be learnt from Pi- Hahiroth. It is such a significant story for us, as much as the Israelites who lived it. We are given a choice to follow, to remain is almost to choose our own spiritual death, but we are given the freedom to make that choice, He will stand between us and all that will try to prevent our walking forward to Him, but for those first steps we have to choose, everything is stacked in our favour to do so, but we still have the freedom to remain in our own personal Egypt. It’s worth noting that the one prayer from Moses achieves far more than all the groaning. Groaning is part of our make-up, but they groan to each other, they snipe and winge, but Moses, Moses addresses the concerns to God. He prays, even when the prayer is a complaint, he addresses it to the one who can change the situation or at least reassure that this is how it’s meant to be. I have often been astounded by people who complain that things are unjust and that if there is a God he is at best disinterested. Always this kind of comment comes from those who have never given the Lord even one day of their lives, yet are quick to blame Him for all that is wrong with it. For those given over to the Lord there is a life changing and beautiful quote here, “You need only be still and the Lord will fight for you” It has taken years of prayer and discernment to even start this way of being, and I still have much ground to cover….or perhaps I have much ground not to cover. He has the plan, He has the means, He has the power. We have to be still In Him and be carried with it. Does this look like sitting on our behinds, passive and inactive? No. but the activity must be directed and guided by Him. The activity is in the leaning, the trusting, the following, and as simple as that may sound it will take a lifetime to do it well, and even that will be achieved in His strength and grace. The lesson here is first pray, then listen and only then act. Is this a foolproof plan? No sorry, but you can trust that falls and wrong paths will bring as much to your spiritual growth and your understanding of your need for Him than any smooth straight road. It is all in here, the University of the desert experience, we face every emotion within it, and it teaches us everything. Despair keeps us from standing or moving forward, Fear tells us to retreat, Impatience tells us it’s all up to us, presumption will tell you to jump in the sea before it’s parted. Pride will tell us we don’t need the sea parted at all, we can build our own boats, or we are strong enough to swim. In opposition to all these Hope roots us to the spot trusting in the outcome, courage holds us there, patience gives us the strength to wait on His timing, and humility means that we know of our limitations and foremost need for a saviour
What do we learn about the Spiritual Journey?
Confusion is a great tool of the enemy, confusion throws everything into doubt, it weakens our resolve, erodes our trust. Confusion is a ‘go to’ of Satan. In the beginning we read how the Spirit hovers over the Chaos and brings order and harmony. Confusion and chaos are not from the Lord. Ignatius teaches us to seek the peace, the contemplated, the chosen and deliberated. That this is where we find the Lord, in the still small voice. Elijah never found God in the thunder or the earthquakes, Elijah found God in the small soft voice that he had come to know in the interior of his soul. Perhaps this is where we will find His reassuring presence too. A stilled heart is a grace of God, one focussed and untroubled by the exterior events that may surround you.
The Israelites had boundaries all around them, even as they crossed the sea. The walls of water could be viewed two ways. Were they a guiding path to security and freedom or were they oppressive boundaries that limited the options? I Wonder how you view the boundaries the Lord has placed in your life? Do you see them as restrictive or narrowing or can you appreciate that the lack of options is what keeps you walking in the right direction. It is all about our perspective, an embrace could restrict you or it could support you, the difference is purely in the perception of the relationship with the one embracing. If it is the Lord that’s closing doors or holding you tightly it will say so much about your relationship with Him as to how you view it.
A little about Baptism, the Israelites walk freely through the waters, symbolising for us the sacrament of Baptism. We will naturally pursue our fallen natural state and it is through Baptism this is washed away. A new natural state emerges, the old self killed off in the waters. Is it any wonder that the enemy doesn’t want you walking through this, after all you were working for him up till this point. It is to be expected that there will be a fight and that arrows will be sent from the past to attempt to pierce you and wound your future. Once you are on the other side of course, they are killed and washed away. Of course it would be natural to assume that having had this ‘Baptism’ that we should arrive the other side perfected. We have only to read the rest of this book to know that isn’t what’s happened, we have only to look around us and ourselves to see that our baptisms didn’t prevent us from sinning at all! So what was washed away? What change can we trust has been made in us from this Sacrament? Being baptised in the Catholic Church is essential to remove original sin from your soul, restore you into God’s friendship, and allow God to dwell in you, it restores sanctifying grace in the soul, and make Heaven possible. The very first step to perfection yes, but not yet the completion of it.
Further reading …..St Gregory of Nyssa interprets that the passion inclined to pleasure is observed in the horses fervently pulling the chariots. The three who drive the chariot he ascribes to a three fold separation of the soul, the logical, the appetites and the Spirit.
