What does Israel at the Red Sea teach about how God saves us?
Israel at the Red Sea pictures salvation as God’s deliverance when people are helpless. Moses told them to stand still and see the salvation of God, for they could do nothing. God opened the sea, and they walked through on dry ground. Likewise, we are saved not by works or merit, but by God’s grace through faith in Christ.
Les teaches that the Red Sea is a picture of Ephesians 2. Israel was locked in with no way out, and Moses said, ‘Stand still, and see the salvation of God.’ The key is ‘But God’—not ‘but you’ or ‘but I.’ God opened the Red Sea, and Israel walked through on dry ground. That is exactly what God has done for us: it is not by anything we have done or deserve, but because of what Christ has done. Paul says God, who is rich in mercy, loved us even when we were dead, hopeless, and helpless, and quickened us together with Christ. Salvation is by grace through faith, not of yourselves.