CROSSING THE RED SEA.
THE children have all read in their Bibles and many of you have learned at Sabbath school of how the children of Israel were kept for so long in cruel bondage in Egypt, and how at last the Lord hearkened to their cries and sent his servant Moses to bring them out of that land into the land of Canaan. When the Egyptian king refused to let the children of Israel go with Moses, the Lord brought terrible plagues upon him and his people, until he was very glad to have them go, and urged them with so much haste that they started off in the night.
It was a very great multitude that thus went up out of Egypt; and by day the Lord led them by a pillar of cloud, and at night by a pillar of fire.
Their third encampment was by the Red Sea, in a narrow place where the mountains were on both sides of them, and the sea before them. Now after the king of Egypt had got over his fright a little, he began to be sorry he had let the children of Israel go from serving him; so he made ready his horses and chariots and pursued after them. He overtook them as they were camped here by the sea; and the people were greatly afraid, for they could see no way to escape from him, and thought they should all have to be slain or go back into bondage.
But the Lord spake to his servant Moses, and told him to tell the people to fear not, but to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, for he would fight for them. Then the Lord told Moses to stretch his hand out over the sea; and when he had done so, "the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land; and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left."
By the picture you can see very plainly how it was, and how the water must have looked standing as a wall on both sides of them. The sea at the place where it is supposed they crossed is about ten miles wide, and the passage-way opened through it must have been several miles wide, or such a host of people could not have passed through in one night, as they must have done; for it was in the morning watch, which would be somewhere between two o'clock in the morning and sunrise, that the Egyptians followed after them into the sea.
The Lord's people must all have been through the sea by this time, or he would not have let the waters return, as he did, to destroy the Egyptians. Thus we see how the Lord is stronger than all the armies of earth, and that he is able to care for his people at all
times and in every danger.
And just so kindly will he care for every little child that tries to love and obey him.
E. B.