One of the problems with the Israelites crossing the Red Sea is that the Red Sea is not a shallow sea. As a matter of fact, most of the coastline drops off drastically just a short distance from the shoreline. But, and this is a big but, there is a sort of land bridge right here, starting at the edge of this delta and extending all the way across the Gulf of Aqaba to Arabia. This land bridge is something like 800 feet below the water. Take a look at this...
This is a topographical display of the sea bottom. Note the land bridge that
crosses just at this point. And, since we know that the sea levels have been
rising over the centuries (go to Evoligion to get the scoop on this) it was
probably quite a bit shallower at the time of the crossing. This would have made it much easier for the
Israelites to descend to the bottom and cross the sea. Anywhere else and the
drop would have been too great for the people to get down to the bottom and then back
up again on the other side. Does God know how to plan, or what? Imagine, when He
created the Gulf of Aqaba, He created it with this bridge, knowing that one day
He would have to lead the Israelites across it! Now that's planning ahead! :)
If we take another look at one of the pictures we saw earlier, you can see how this land bridge crosses the bottom...
So, the Israelites cross the Red Sea, God causes the sea to close in on Pharaoh's army and kills them all. This is the last the people see of the Egyptians who had enslaved them, for four hundred years. Remember, this is exactly what God told Abraham would happen! But now what? Well, when Moses first saw God in the burning bush, God told him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and to bring them back to the very mountain that God first spoke to Moses...
Exo 3:12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
The name of this mountain was Mount Sinai. And where was this mountain located? Well, since Moses had been watching the herds of his father-in-law, Jethro, when he spotted the burning bush, and Jethro lived in Midian, then this mountain would have to be in Midian. And where was Midian? It was located in Arabia! Not, as so many Bibles indicate, on the Egyptian peninsula now known as the Sinai peninsula!
This is the location that most Bibles give for Mount Sinai. Notice that it is on
the Sinai peninsula. Now look where Midian was...
That's right, in Arabia. Now, let's look at the route that the Hebrews took
after crossing the Red Sea...
