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Baptized in the Red Sea
By Sophia Prinsloo with Barbara Wilmerton Haas

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Text Version | Afrikaans


www.childrenschapel.org/biblestories/text/mosesbaptized.txt

Twin brothers Dillon and William were all sweaty
and dirty from playing football with their friends
in the park, darting back and forth underneath the
streetlights. They had scratches all over their
arms and legs from tackling one another with
gusto. When they got home, Mom took one look at
them and said, "Straight to the bath, guys! Get
into the water and clean up. Otherwise, all those
bruises will get infected from the sweaty filth on
your skin." 

Dillon knew it was going to sting, but he trusted
his mom's advice and went straight to the bath,
opened the taps, put his dirty clothes in the
laundry bin and took the plunge. OUCH! The bruises
hurt, but he knew he was doing the right thing. He
washed with soap and treated his wounds with some
antiseptic ointment his mom had given them. 

William, on the other hand, was so tired, he
ignored his mom, skipped the bath and went
straight to bed. That night he dreamed of
thousands of germs chasing him, jumping on him and
munching on his skin. 

"WHAAAAAH!" he yelled, waking himself from sleep
by rubbing his body, arms and legs in a frenzy. 

Dad came running to his room. "What's wrong, son?"


"Dad, I had a terrible dream about germs, crawling
all over and eating my skin," William sobbed.

Dad looked at him curiously and said, "Son, did
you bathe after playing outside with Dillon and
your friends, like Mom asked you to?"

"No, Dad," he confessed, "I did not think it was
important."

"You'd better go to the bathroom right now and
take a bath. Afterwards I'll help you put
antiseptic ointment on your bruises. Then the
bruises won't become septic and the germs won't
eat your skin and poison your body." 

William immediately went for an urgently needed
bath. After he was all clean and his wounds
disinfected, and tucked back into bed, Dad told
the boys a story....

* * *

Escaping Egypt, the children of Israel had never
before walked that far in their lives. Their
surroundings were all strange and new to them.
They were not afraid they would get lost because
the Lord their God was supernaturally leading them
with the pillar of cloud during day and the pillar
of fire at night. 

While they were still at Etham, the Lord spoke to
Moses and said, "Tell the people to go to
Pi-hahiroth. It is on the shore of the Red Sea. I
want to set a trap for Pharaoh and all his armies
because, for one last time, I want to show them
just how mighty I AM." 

The children of Israel obeyed and traveled through
a narrow valley between mountains, towards the
shore of the Red Sea. In the meantime back in
Egypt, there was CONSTERNATION in Pharaoh's
palace. It was already THREE DAYS since the
Israelites had left Egypt in a massive exodus,
kicking up an enormous cloud of dust.

"WHAT?" Pharaoh yelled angrily at his spies, his
veins popping out on his forehead. "Are you sure
the Israelite slaves are traveling further and
further away from Egypt? Are you sure they are not
coming back?" 

"Yes, your Majesty," the spies replied with ashen
faces, quite scared at what Pharaoh might do to
them in his rage. 

"What have we done letting them go?" Pharaoh kept
on raving. "First they got slack in their work,
then they robbed us of our wealth, and NOW who's
going to build my tomb, as well as my dead son's
tomb in the pyramids? And what about the city that
isn't finished yet? We have made such a HUGE
mistake!" If only Pharaoh had hair, he would have
pulled it all out in utter frustration. 

"But, your Majesty," one of the spies fearfully
replied. 

[Interrupting:] "WHAT?" Pharaoh demanded.

"Your Majesty, they are heading for Pi-hahiroth.
Those foolish slaves don't know it yet, but
they'll be trapped there between the sea and the
mountains. It will be the perfect place for our
mighty cavalry to easily surround and capture
them." 

Hearing that important piece of information,
Pharaoh's evil eyes twinkled at the thought.
"Good! Then, we MUST chase after them and return
them to Egypt immediately!" He looked at his army
generals, nodding at him in agreement, and he
ordered them to action. "Go, get ready the 600
special elite chariot corps and horses and the
other chariots driven by officers as well. We'll
show THEM who's boss!" 

In his rage, Pharaoh forgot all about the ten
plagues and the losses Egypt suffered because of
his pride and stubbornness, but all the while it
was the Lord hardening his heart for the last
time.

As the Israelites came near the shore, a watchman
suddenly sounded the alarm: "There is a cloud of
dust in the distance coming towards us!" He
paused. "OH, NO! There are chariots approaching!
It must be Egyptian soldiers coming for us! UH-OH!
It looks like Pharaoh's entire cavalry!" 

Suddenly chaos and wailing spread like wildfire
through the Israelite camp because they did not
fully trust God. "We're TRAPPPED! Crazy,
bloodthirsty Egyptians are going to CRUSH us! We
are all DOOMED! Help, oh, Lord God! PLEASE, HELP
US!" 

In their unbelief, the people hysterically accused
Moses for their predicament and in their hearts,
they returned to Egypt saying, "Moses, it's all
your fault! You didn't listen to us when we wanted
to stay in Egypt! Why do you want us to get
killed? Oh, how we wished we were back in Egypt!
Being slaves is far better than being dead meat in
the wilderness. We can't even defend ourselves
because we have no weapons!"

Moses tried to calm them down. "People, don't be
afraid. Stay calm! The Lord is with us and today
you will see the Lord protect you, fight for you
and rescue you. You'll NEVER see those Egyptians
again!"

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Moses, stop praying!
Now is the time for action! Have faith and lift up
your rod, stretch it out towards the Red Sea and I
will open a pathway through the water. The
Israelites will walk through the sea on dry land."

The Egyptians were fast approaching in their
mobile chariots but the Lord protected the
Israelites by moving the pillar of cloud between
them and the Egyptians so that the Egyptians could
not find the Israelites. The sun was setting and,
on the Israelite side, the pillar of cloud changed
into a spectacular pillar of fire, giving them
light, but, on the Egyptian side, there was
darkness.

In the meantime, Moses obeyed the Lord and
stretched out his rod towards the Red Sea.
Suddenly a strong east wind started to blow.
Miraculously, the Red Sea began to part right in
front of their eyes, making a pathway right
through the water. They had never seen anything
like it. There were walls of water on both sides
of the path, and the wind blew so hard it dried up
the seabed so that the Israelites could go through
on dry land. In fact, the wind blew all night
long.

"Forward, MARCH!" Moses commanded. In amazement,
with their robes flapping in the wind, the
Israelites began walking across the dry seabed.
The salty smell of the sea air filled their
nostrils and the pillar of fire provided light for
them to see.

"Watch where you step," the mothers warned their
children. "Those sharp corals can cut your feet
open. And don't put anything you pick up in your
mouths!"

The children were amazed and excited by what they
saw. The seabed was a seashell treasury but there
wasn't much time to pick them up because they had
to hurry. Glancing at the walls of water, now and
again, they spotted some fish and other sea
creatures. It was almost like the first aquarium
ever, filling them with wonder.

The Israelites walked right through the night. At
first light, the Egyptians saw the pathway through
the sea and thought, "Wow! If the children of
Israel can walk through to the other side, so can
we. In fact, we'll do it better than them by
riding our chariots through the dry seabed."

So, the Egyptian cavalry chased after the
Israelites, catching up to them. But then the Lord
looked down on them and began to harass them.
Their chariot wheels started to fall off and the
chariots scraped their bottoms behind the horses,
across the dry seabed. Some of them bumped against
the rocky coral and capsized, flinging the
soldiers out, onto the seabed.

Fear gripped the Egyptian soldiers and they
shouted, "Let's get OUT of here! Remember the Ten
Plagues? The Lord is fighting for the Israelites!"
But they couldn't move because all the chariots
and horses were stuck smack in the middle of the
sea.

When the all the Israelites were safely on the
other side, the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out
your hand over the sea again."

As soon as Moses obeyed, the walls of water came
crashing down. The Egyptians tried to flee but,
instead, they sank like lead in the mighty waters,
and all Pharaoh's chariots and horsemen drowned in
the sea. Of all those chasing the Israelites, not
one survived. Their bodies washed up on the
seashore for all the Israelites to see. 

When the Israelites saw the bodies of Pharaoh's
soldiers, they were filled with awe and respect
for God and his servant Moses and they believed in
them. God was true to his Word about protecting
and rescuing the Israelites because that was the
last time they ever saw the Egyptians.

Joy sprang up in their hearts and souls, causing
Moses to teach the Israelites a joyful song. They
sang God's praises, singing about the awesome
display of God's power they had all witnessed when
He protected and saved them from the Egyptians and
from death. Miriam, the prophetess, who was Moses'
sister, took up her tambourine and led the women
in joyful dances as they sang together:

"I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed
gloriously;

He has thrown both horse and rider into the sea.

The Lord is my strength, my song, and my
salvation.

He is my God and I will praise Him."

"What a story!" Dillon and William said in wonder.

Dad smiled and said, "Guys, Mom is a wise woman
and you should trust her advice, as well as mine,
but, most of all, you need to trust God and also
have faith in Him. You see, germs make us sick in
our bodies, and sin makes us sick in our souls,
just as the Egyptians wanted to keep the
Israelites in slavery. But just like God made a
way for the Israelites through the Red Sea, to get
rid of the Egyptians, God made a way for us to get
rid of sin. That is by faith in his Son, Jesus
Christ, Who died for our sins on the cross. We
cannot see faith but we can show our faith in
Jesus to everyone, by being baptized in water,
just as the Israelites went through the Red Sea."

* * *

REMEMBER!
When you feel trapped by sin or circumstances,
trust the Lord for help and He will deliver you.

THINK!
1. Why did Pharaoh want the Israelites to return
to Egypt?
2. How did God overthrow the plans of Pharaoh and
his elite chariot corps?
3. Do you think the Lord was judging the Egyptians
for their bad treatment of the Israelites? 
4. Did the Israelites trust the Lord or did they
wail and complain? 
5. Who was mightier, the Egyptians or God?
6. Which man trusted God completely? Why did he trust God?
7. Who taught the Israelites a joyful song?
8. What did Miriam do?

A VERSE TO LEARN:
"The Lord is my strength and song, and he is
become my salvation" (Exodus 15:2a).

AN ALTERNATE VERSE TO LEARN:
"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not,
stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord,
which he will shew to you to day" (Exodus 14:13a).


PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Have you ever had a problem that made you feel
like you were pushed into a corner with no way to
escape? Did that happen to you at home or at
school? What did you do? Did you blame God and
fight against Him like the Egyptians did? Or, like
the Israelites, did you become fearful and doubt
God could help you? Or did you trust God, like
Moses, cry out to Him for help, and do what He
instructed? Whose example would you like to
follow? The Egyptians', the Israelites' or
Moses' example?
 
[After discussion:] Remember, when you have a
problem and feel your faith is weak, you can ask
someone who knows God to help you, like the
Israelites asked Moses. God also wants you to go
to Him in prayer yourself, but you must do that
with a trusting heart that's ready to obey Him
just like Moses.

Let's take a moment and ask God to forgive us
for blaming or doubting Him when we felt trapped
by sin or found ourselves in difficult situations.
Let's ask God to help us trust Him in everything
and surround us with wise people who know God and
can help us in time of need. Let's thank God in
advance for the help He is sure to send our way.


LET'S PRAY:

****************************************************
Heavenly Father, thank You for saving and protecting us.
Forgive us for the times we've blamed or doubted You. 
Help us to always trust You, especially in those times
when we feel trapped by sin or some difficult situation.
Surround us with wise people. Give us thankful hearts.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
****************************************************

CAN YOU FIND THIS STORY IN THE BIBLE?
Exodus 14:1-15:27

DID YOU KNOW?
You can view this Bible story in full color with
pictures and resources to go along with the story
at www.bit.ly/mosesbaptized-en

BIBLE STORY ARCHIVE
www.childrenschapel.org/bibstory2.html 

                                 * * *
Copyright (c) 2021 by Barbara Wilmerton Haas.

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