²⁹ By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

Miracles seemed to occur quite frequently in the Bible, and so they did—at certain, well-contained time periods. Abraham had very, very infrequent communications with God, and even then it wasn’t always a voice speaking from heaven (e.g. in a vision or while he slept). But aside from a few times in the lives of his son and grandson, one would not describe the volume of supernatural activity with words like “all the time.”

Then there were 400 years of absolute silence from God with zero miracles—until Moses arrives on the scene. Then the nature-defying, miraculous work of God burst out with ten events, which bible teachers of old called “plagues.” And so, it would seem that after first-hand experiences of seeing with their own eyes what God could do, that going through the Red Sea needn’t require much faith at all. After all, God had proven Himself ten times over!

Faith has little memory. Once a thing is done, faith is no longer required to believe it to be so. Therefore faith goes idle until the next challenge arises. “Lord, I know You did that thing in the past, but this thing is completely different. There is just no way around it.” Surely all was lost, for the people of God, upon leaving Egypt, found themselves being pursued by Pharaoh’s army (he changed his mind once again!) and cornered with nowhere to escape—the army of Egypt on one side and the sea on the other (Exodus 14). Some among Israel began to gripe and complain, trying to persuade the rest to form a mutiny against Moses. But God’s appointed leader prevailed and led the people in faith.

Some modern skeptics in an effort to minimize or falsify this account have suggested that the Red Sea in the area where they crossed would probably have been shallow enough for people to walk across. But such would not explain how the well-trained armies of Egypt were destroyed in a few feet of water! Whatever happened, the difference between the fate of the Egyptians and the Israelites was that the latter believed God and followed Him.

The lesson for the readers of Hebrews, including us today, is that there is no barrier too great for God to divide and break through. There is no trap the enemy of our souls can lay which can stop the movement forward of the life that follows God. Our role is simply to live the life of faith, trusting in God whom we do not see, but know by faith to be there.

Lord, help me break through the barriers in my life, as I keep following You. Help me not to shrink back or to give in, but to boldly move forward!