The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-01-24
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.


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For January IS is. Israel Crossing the
Red Sea."-Exodus 14:1-15:21.
Where Pharaoh and Kaiser Failed.
Condolences great and small have
been crowded into the war; as, for
instance, the fact that both sultan and
kaiser came a cropper at the very spot
where Pharaoh met disaster in his at
tack upon the Israelites. When the
German-led army of deliverance"
went down to Egypt two years ago 1t
was in the full expectation that the
British would be crushed and their
hold on the east broken. All sorts OF
curious devices to overcome the desert
wastes were adopted. but in vain; and
the expedition ended in mad riot
The failure of the ARMY of deliver
ance" broke the spirit of all the Mos
lens who really believed in a holy
war" At present. in contrast, the
British have established a pipe line
across the desert, and a railway; so
that one may go by trail from Cairo
to Jerusalem. Aeroplanes make the
flight over the forty year route of the
Israelites in four hours Leaders in
| liberty of the Jews in the Land of
Promise. All mankind is observing
/ the new case of the Jews as it is being
i worked out in Palestine. Even the
street-corner philosophers behold the
strange providence in the case of the
Chosen People, who have been again
| freed by the world war for liberty.
The meaning of the word Hebrews
| is the erossers;" and this signifi-
canoe is more deeply embodied in the
history than in the name. From its
i beginnings in Abraham down to the
present, Israel has been finding way
| to cross streams and oceans of decision
and peril. Floods of disaster which
have engulfed greater and prouder ma
tons have left it untouched. The
story of the crossing. of the Red Sea is
symbolical of this chosen peoples de-
liYerance from countless perils and
| their preservation amid great dangers.
| For the larger Israel which calls Je-
hovah Father. there is here a dra-
matte reinforcement of the ever fresh
and practical teaching that somehow
! God makes a way for the feet of His
own; and that by His dealings with
| His children He teaches the unbeliev-
| ing His might and majesty.
| The story is the story of miracle.
All the ingenious theories of tides and
shadows and sand5ars seem foolish to
| one who has looked upon the site OF
! this great deliverance- Let me quote
| from one of my own lessons, penned a
dozen years ago. while travelling from
India to Egypt: "At the minute of
this writing l am sailing up the Red
sea, with the mountainous Sinai pen
insula in sight on one side and the
sandy shores of Egypt on the other.
| A strong west wind, ouch as drove the
waters upon the Egyptians, is blowing
and the sea is running high and
heavy. dashing upon on the deck OF
| the great ocean linsc. For five days
we have been ploughing swiftly thru
the Red sea, which suggests how
| great is this body of water which some
commentat would treat as if it
were a shallow mill pond Only the
| supernatural interposition of the Ruler
of wind and wave could effect such a
wonder as the crossing of the Red
sea by the Israelites; it was a miracle
| of Providence"
"SpoiIins the Egyptians"
The enslavel Israelites went not
the night of the Passover. When the
suffering and panic stricken Egyptian ms
did at length let them go they were
of sudden more eager to get rid OF
their slaves than they had been q
| retain them. So when the Israelites
came asking for gifts-which is not a
| strange procedure in the eyes of one
were met with an attitude of Take
1t and go; anything to get rid OF you y
| Inc old version says that the Israelites
borrowed" of the Egyptians; but
this is a palpable mistranslation;
asked" is the word in the original
The state OF mind of the Egyptians
must have been akin to the terror.
stricken Chinese of Picking, after the
RELIEF of the siege; when, in abject
fear, they not only gave foreigners
whatever they asked, but even heaped
gifts upon them un1sking. So it came
to pass that the exiIes went not out
empty; and probably. also, from the
dead bodies of the engulfed Egyptians
| washed up on the Sinai shore, Il ey
obtained accoutrements of war.
The route chosen by Moses wa.
not directly across the fsthmus OF
| SueZ, for that would have led into
the country of the Philistines. and
the newly emancipated slaves needed
much disciplining before they were
ready to enter upon hostilities with
this warlike people. So the line OF
march lay down the shores of Egypt
toward the Red sea: apparently into
a ''cul de sac" but really into a grea;
deliverance that would forever elimi-
nate Pharaoh and his hosts as a fac
tor to be feared.
An Army or a Mob.
Even a disciplined army is cum
bersome in its movements: those who
have seen a great unorganized moi
of people know how difficult IL is tc
handle. So the leadership of thi.
raw company was no small task fol-
Moses. The Israelites were each car
rying such of his meagre possessions
as he could bear away. and the whole
were encountered with focks and
herds and the inevitable impediments
of an army of families.
Yet IL was an army, notwithstand-
ing all. 1t had a large measure OF
homogeneity. common purpose and
a childlike dependen e upon the mar
who REPRESENTED it's divine leadership