A Choice of Life or Death
Notes
Transcript
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help.
They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.
The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”
The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp.
As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.
As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen.
The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Then the angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.
It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lit up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,
and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them.
During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion.
He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.”
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.
The water came back and covered the chariots and horsemen, plus the entire army of Pharaoh that had gone after them into the sea. Not even one of them survived.
But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.
That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses.
Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites.
Aaron repeated everything the Lord had said to Moses and performed the signs before the people.
The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt low and worshiped.
He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.
I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.
Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works.
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.