The Red Sea and Jordan
Bob Yandian
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So, the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (Exodus 14:21,22)
The Red Sea was the first of two bodies of water the children of Israel crossed before coming into the Promised Land, Canaan. Although the people walked through both bodies of water, the two were different from each other and unique from each other.
The Red Sea is a Type of Salvation
The Red Sea is a type of the blood of Jesus, even down to its name, The RED Sea. The Israelites were taken out of Egypt, delivered from years of bondage and allowed to go free.
Israel did nothing to be delivered. God did everything. God sent the plagues, preserved Israel during them, and brought them out on dry land. His command for them was to do nothing but stand still and watch God do the work. We are saved by God's grace, not our works (Ephesians 2:8).
Israel was boxed in from the front, behind and on each side. The Red Sea stood in front of them, the Egyptian army was behind them and a mountain range was on each side. The only answer was through the Red Sea, by boat, submarine or through it, walking on dry land. The world needs to know there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved, but through the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12). There is only one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. Man is surrounded and boxed in by religions, brotherhoods and all systems of good works. Nothing can remove the sins and curses of Adam but the Red Sea, the blood of Jesus.
Israel's enemies were destroyed permanently. The same Red Sea which opened and allowed the Jewish nation to go free, swallowed up and completely destroyed the Egyptian army, it's horses, chariots and weapons. The blood of Jesus was our deliverance and Satan's destruction.
Israel left slavery and entered life of freedom in the wilderness. Although the wilderness was not the Promised Land, it was better than Egypt. It was a necessary place to unlearn Egypt and learn to totally trust in God. It was a place to grow up and prepare to enter Canaan. It was only an eleven-day journey by foot, but it took the first generation forty years to learn it's lessons. Forty years was not God's fault, but theirs. We all have a wilderness after the new birth to begin to unlearn the world's way of looking at life and begin to understand God's way. It’s called discipleship, maturity or the place of the renewing of the mind, preparation for the land of Abundance.
The water divided in two directions. No sin past or future was left uncovered in taking the children of Israel into their new life. There is no sin you have ever committed or will commit that will remove you from the Christian life or keep you from going to heaven. Cleansing of sins in your daily Christian walk are to preserve you from Satan's plans and devices in this life and help you maintain your joy.
The Jordan River is a Type of Daily Forgiveness for the Believer
Those who carried the ark came to Jordan, and the feet of the priests who carried the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for Jordan overflowed all its banks at harvest time). And the waters which came from upstream stood and rose up in a heap very far back, to the city of Adam, that is beside Zaretan. And the waters which ran down toward the sea in the plain, the Dead Sea, stopped and were cut off. And the people passed over right beside Jericho. (Joshua 3:15,16)
The Red Sea was a standing wide body of deep, impassable water. The Jordan was a flowing river from one direction.
The Red Sea separated Israel from their freedom. The Jordan separated them from their blessings, their inheritance.
The Red Sea represents salvation through faith in Jesus Christ's shed blood. The Jordan represents forgiveness of sins in the daily life of a Christian. It was water in both cases, representing the blood of Jesus, which both saves us as sinners and cleanses us as saints.
Man had nothing to do with the parting of the Red Sea. But men, the priests, had to put the soles of their shoes down into the edge of the water before it moved back. In salvation, we simply believe in the finished work of Jesus. In forgiveness of sins for the believer, we must confess our sins for them to be forgiven. We approach God, no longer as a slave, but as a priest.
Back to Adam
The water backed up a long way, to the city of Adam. Nothing, back to Adam, can stop us from obtaining our inheritance in life when we confess our sins. Confession of sins for the Christian stops Satan from hindering us through demons, sickness, financial problems. It is also a guarantee from generational curses. Nothing back to Adam is left uncovered. Our past ancestor's sins, divorce, mental illness, temper, poverty or cancer no longer have dominion over us. We have a new bloodline, the family of God, in which there are no curses. I am no longer in Adam, but in Christ.
