Going Forward

"Speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward."

The Israelites could not go back to Egypt. What lay ahead was the daunting Red Sea. The future seemed bleak. Moses did what all believers should do in such a time as this. He expressed unwavering confidence in God that He would work for His people in their extremity. Verse 15 is always God's word for the church. He wants us to go forward and not go back.

There are three things we should note in regard to this command that we should go forward

1. The word of the Lord
   It is not a word from Moses or a man, but a word from the Lord.

• the clarity of this word
• the compulsion in this word

2. The way of the Lord
   God's way forward was entirely contrary to human reasoning and logic. So the Lord graciously did two things to help His people go forward:

• he prepared the people to go forward
• he prepared a pathway for the people to go forward
  Looking at the pathway, we see
• it went down
• it was dark
• it was dangerous

3. The work of the Lord
   God had long promised to bring his people into the land. The Lord now did a great work as he fulfilled that promise and led His people forward.

• he drove back the water
• he dealt with the wicked