What is this all about?  How do we get from the Exodus story of the Red Sea crossing to baptism?  I hope this blog might help.  I never imagined how saving  the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s army had anything to do with baptism. 

Actually there is some dispute as to where the Red Sea might be.  Some believe it was called the Reed Sea from the words Yam Suf and the words Red Sea was a mistranslation from the Greek text.  This particular area of water was quite accessible to the slaves that were now on their way out of Egypt.  Normally it would have been shallow and marshy  except during monsoon season when the small streams became raging torrents.  We will let the “experts” decide that.  However, there is one area where chariot wheels have actually been located.   Could they be from Pharaoh’s army?  

But this we know.  The miraculous crossing of this sea, wherever it might be, was completely orchestrated by God.  Truly divine intervention.  How I remember Charlton Heston raising his arms and saying, “behold the glory of the Lord,” or words to that effect.  Those of you who are old enough remember that scene in “The Ten Commandments” and
recall it as one of the memorable highlights of the movie. 

So how does this miraculous crossing predate the idea of baptism? According to Jewish historians and rabbis, this crossing was a type of baptism or cleansing . 

Pharaoh was considered a personification of Satan, who demanded the “souls” and allegiance of his people, while Egypt was the place of sin and corruption. Paganism
consisted in the worship of the Pharaoh himself and other idols. some in the form of animals which were considered sacred.   (Remember the Golden calf episode?)

When the Hebrews escaped Egypt they were leaving their old life of “sin and corruption.” In other words they “died” to their old life, entering into a new life of promise.  They passed through the “waters” and came out on the other side as free people  having left the old behind and were “cleansed” to become a new people belonging to God.   They were no longer slaves of sin but “reborn” by passing through the water into a new life.

This symbolism may be equated with
baptism.  So baptism isn’t a Christian idea.  Far from it. Cleansing was originally a  Levitical purification rite found in the Hebrew scriptures. The priest used some form of water to ritually “wash” as way of preparing  himself to present sacrifices to a holy God. 

During the 2nd temple period…..the time of Jesus…. most purification ceremonies such as leprosy; a woman after her menstrual period; anyone touching dead body….all these
required immersion before worshipping
in the temple .

People would immerse themselves in a water filled pool called a mikvah.   Many such sites have been located around Jerusalem as well as other sites in Israel that were places of worship.  People knew they were sinful and needed to be “cleansed” before offering sacrifices or prayers to God.  They did this as a form of repentance before entering God’s presence.

The Greek New Testament expresses immersion into the mikvah with the term baptizo where we get the word baptism.   The person entering the mikvah immerses himself or herself by wading into the water and bending the knees to completely submerge in the water.  This “dunking” might be done several times to wash away  ritual uncleanness and in repentance, praying while immersing themselves. 

To the Jewish people, the immersion ritual also symbolized death and resurrection.  This was to remember their freedom from death in Egypt to a new life (resurrection) in their promised land.

 So when we read Acts 2 and Peter’s
 sermon to those gathered for Pentecost, the idea of acknowledging Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord and immersing themselves for repentance, was not a new idea. John the Baptizer, also employed immersion as the physical token of repentance.  The penitent entering the water of the Jordan, died to sin and emerged from the water reborn to a life of repentance and righteousness. 

One of the rites that Jews required of a Gentile to be accepted into their faith was the rite of baptism…..along with circumcision for men.  Baptism was important for all new proselytes to Judaism. 

Paul emphasized that his new Gentile converts need not undergo the rite of circumcision in order to accept the Jewish Messiah.  They need not become Jews. But he  did write in his letter to the Romans (6:3-7),
“Do  you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.⁵ For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, ⁶ knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For he who has died has been freed from sin. ”

Is Paul remembering his Jewish roots?

I have always enjoyed reading Exodus.  The good guys, vs. the bad guys.  Of course the good guys, are Moses, Aaron and all the Hebrew slaves that had been so mistreated by that villainous Pharaoh.  He and his magicians are the bad guys of course.  They  made slaves of God’s people and wouldn’t let them return to Canaan or for that matter even release them for a few days to worship in the desert.  It’s time for action. However, there is a very strange paradox here. The Bible tells us that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh.  Why would God seemingly decide to harden this man’s heart, apparently making him more resistant to allowing the release of these Hebrews?  We have to dig deeper.

God did not arbitrarily or capriciously decide to harden Pharaoh’s heart.  First of all, the Hebrew word for “hardened” actually means to “strengthen or make firm.” God actually strengthens Pharaoh’s resolve to do what he wants to do.   God does not override  Pharaoh’s freedom of will but reinforces it.  So what does this actually mean?

From the outset, God explained that He intended to make His a contest with the Egyptian pantheon of gods into a public affair.  He said, “Against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments —I am the Lord” (Ex 12:12). Pharaoh was considered a God, after the Sun God, Ra.  His word was the same as a god speaking.  Our God intended to use this  as an example of man’s power as opposed to the real power of God. He would establish His name (reputation) and His identity in the eyes of His people Israel, in the eyes of all Egypt, and in the eyes of the whole world.  “The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst. (Ex.7:5)

Don’t forget, the Hebrews had been under the influence of Egypt for 500 years. Undoubtedly they had forgotten the “roots” of their faith.  Now God intended to show them.   He was preparing them for deliverance and  to make them into a nation…. not only for Himself but ultimately to bring blessings to the whole world.

God not only would use the so-called gods of  Egypt to bring the Egyptians to their knees but He seeks to reveal His sovereignty to all human beings,  so that they can truly know Him and reflect His image….not some god of man’s creation.

Pharaoh is a free moral agent, genuinely responsible for his own deeds, yet God is behind it all, orchestrating everything for His own redemptive purposes.  He also desires that Egyptians repent and come to belief in the God of the Hebrews, the only God they need.

Of course, we know that Pharaoh does not repent even after the terrible plagues that Egyptians  suffered.  But Pharaoh is finally crushed by the weight of the final plague which culminated in the death of his first born son. This final act brings the mighty Pharaoh to his knees and under duress releases the  Hebrew slaves.

  The Hebrews are told to avoid this final plague by putting the blood of a lamb on their houses. That terrible night is now recalled in the Passover which is celebrated in most Jewish homes today. It is called the Seder. There is a whole ceremony which has evolved to commemorate that night and this year, Passover, will begin on the 23rd of April.

Jesus and His disciples celebrated their Passover meal because it was commanded by God in remembrance of their ancestors’ deliverance from their oppression in Egypt.

We as Christians also celebrate this ceremony but we call it the Lord’s supper or Holy Communion.  I wonder how many of us really understand the true meaning of that observance. We remember our “Lamb of Sacrifice” with the matzot (unleavened bread)  reminding us of His body and  the wine of His shed blood.  We take this “meal” as a reminder of the  night before Jesus became our ultimate sacrifice.

God has a plan that will not fail and our choices still matter.  We need to remain alert so that we don’t fail to play our part or worse, like Pharaoh…. resist it.  Each of us has a real responsibility to God and His plan to bring others to know Him as Creator and Redeemer. How are you and I fulfilling our share of this responsibility?

God made His grand entrance onto the stage of world history and sent a message to the whole world.  “I exist, I am God, there is none like Me!” Israel as a nation, is the trophy of His victory. We as Christians are blessed because God has saved us through them.

Oh my.  I guess you would call me judgmental. I do judge.  I am sure we all do to one extent or another.  Not outwardly perhaps, but I can very well spot something I don’t like in another person.  Hey, I’m a Christian. That’s wrong!  The Torah of God which Jesus quotes says……”Love your neighbor as yourself”. We call it the Golden Rule.  It’s not an option.  We are so commanded.  This type of judging is petty and sinful.

Here’s another one. “Judge not, that you be not judged.”  People who don’t even read the Bible know that one.  Without reading the Bible. they have only heard  that verse  and use it frequently against  Christians or those whom they consider are judging their actions.  By the way, that verse comes from Matthew 7:1.   Here’s lies a problem for them.

When you tell someone he has no right to judge someone else, they have judged you for judging!  My, what a conundrum!  Each one of us has a world view on which we base our lives…..suppositions on which we operate  and upon which we make our decisions.  Christians should be basing their decisions, their life style, their world view on what we understand in the Bible.

Ask the man on the street if lying is wrong.  Of course, he would say “yes”.  “My parents taught me or it just is wrong.” Parents should be honored but at the same time they are not the final authority on matters of morality.  They are mere humans whose opinions are subject to change.

It is a worthy exercise to ask ourselves where we get the moral values that govern our lives.  Is it each person for himself or do we acknowledge a higher power with authority to declare such?  Perhaps we feel that’s its ok to do something if it isn’t hurting anyone else. For example…  watching pornography by oneself is rationalized by saying that it isn’t actually hurting anyone. That means that we are making our own moral decisions  based on what we want to believe rather than submitting to God.

All my thoughts on this don’t mean anything.  But I defer to my “higher authority”…the only One who has priority to set the rules.  Perhaps, I would be more lenient with moral behavior.  But I didn’t make the rules.  God did.  Now, if you don’t believe that God cares about what you do…then perhaps you had better change your mind.  I’m not your judge.  I am only judging your behavior in the light of what God tells us.  Don’t blame me.  But I do believe that we all must answer for our behavior sooner or later.

 So can I as a Christian, judge your behavior? Yes!!… I also believe that as a Christian I am morally obligated to judge immoral behavior. There are many examples in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament of God using people speaking out against immoral behavior.  I am not being” holier than thou.”  I am guilty of sin as much as anyone.  But I do know that whatever I do or say must be pleasing or displeasing to God.  I must do my best to follow what He has declared in His Word.  He has set the perimeters of my behavior.   He is the absolute authority on judgment.

So when we allow others to intimidate us with the words on judging…or they say, “who are you to judge me?” then you can rightly say to them…”I didn’t set the rules.”