A Bird’s Eye View of the Passover, Part 8

(You can find the other parts of the story here.)

Daniel, the Crowned Eagle, gives his view on the final plague and the parting of the sea:

 

Today has been the saddest day I’ve ever witnessed. As I flew from one end of Egypt to the other, I heard the sound of mothers weeping, fathers crying, brothers and sisters wailing.

One single man hardened his heart toward the Lord and believed he was a god. The king of Egypt, Pharaoh himself, hardened his heart, and because of his stubbornness all the firstborn children in Egypt died. You never know how many people will be affected by a single hardened heart.

Today has been the happiest day I’ve ever witnessed. As I flew from Egypt to Goshen, I saw all the Hebrew slaves rejoicing. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, summoned Moses, the prophet of the Lord, and declared that all the Hebrew slaves would be free—forever free from their slavery to the Egyptians.

I wheel down from my course through the sky to hear their praises. I love to hear all of creation praise the Lord, especially those who had been downtrodden.

As I come closer, I hear the Hebrews discuss the amazing events among themselves.

An old man speaks to his grandson. “We took the lamb, the perfect, one year old lamb, and we slaughtered it as the sun went down. We smeared the blood of the lamb on two sides of the door and on the top of the door. We ate the roasted meat with unleavened bread. And while we ate, the Lord delivered us. Not one of our children died because we obeyed! This night the Lord kept vigil to bring us out of the land of Egypt! Praise the Lord that I lived to see this day!”

“Are we really free, Grandfather?” the boy asks.

“We are really free, Joshua!”

“Praise the Lord,” the boy whispers. “Praise the Lord!”

The whole nation walks away free. My heart is elated by what the Lord has done for them! I follow this magnificent procession as they walk through the desert to the Red Sea.

Why has the Lord brought them here? What will He do next?

The Israelites build camp by the sea.

I catch my dinner from the crags of the rocks nearby and perch close to see what will happen.

My eagle eye catches what the Hebrews cannot see. Pharaoh, with 600 of his chariot and hundreds of soldiers, are riding and marching across the desert. The Israelites are trapped! I leave my half-eaten dinner to fly through the sky and cry out a warning to them. Some of the Israelites sound the warning trumpets. Everyone is in a panic.

Everyone, that is, except Moses. “Stop being afraid!” he says. “Stand your ground, for you will see how the Lord will save you!”

Moses lifts his staff and reaches his hand out over the sea.

A cloud stands before the Israelites, a pillar of brightness and beauty like the glory of the Lord. Behind the Israelites there was a cloud of great darkness and fire. The Egyptians didn’t come near the Israelites.

A strong east wind blows all night long. By the light of the moon and the light of the stars I see that a path has formed—right in the middle of the Sea!

The people of Israel, all of them, walk straight through the Red Sea on dry ground.

That cloud of darkness and fire lifts. I am glad I stayed on this side of the sea long enough to see the surprise on their faces. Who before has ever seen the sea part in two?

Pharaoh, in his rage, orders his army to follow the Israelites. He wants his slaves back.

But God wants them to be free.

All the chariot wheels stick in the mud while they’re in the middle of the sea.

Moses once again reaches his hand out over the sea, and the water returned to where it was before.

Moses and the Israelites rejoiced so loudly that I heard them from across the sea:

I will sing to the Lord,

for he is highly exalted.

Both horse and driver

he has hurled into the sea.

“The Lord is my strength and my defense;

he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

~ Exodus 15:1-2

* For those who think this may have just been ankle deep water that Moses and the Israelites crossed, how much of a miracle was it that the entire Egyptian army drowned in 6 inches of water? Just something to consider.