Continuing our thought:
God said, "Go through on dry ground." So it was by trust that they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, not worrying about that water crashing in. You know, as soon as the last Hebrew went up on the other side, then what happened? Here it came and the Egyptians were caught in the middle of it. But you see, for the people in their trusting and because of the crisis that trust became to them faith, they walked in and they walked across on dry ground, because that’s what God said to do. For us when we've passed through the crisis of death (by Faith) and the cross's Salvation and heirship become ours by faith. But before this is true we've got to have come into redemption in order to acquire the at-onement (atonement: an exchange) which is Salvation. At-onement through Christ by a death to sin and Satan's influence or hold and the restoration of all things made new and spiritual which were lost at the fall. The crossing on dry ground can be said to be symbolic of the exchanging of one allegiance for another from under Egypt to under God.
All right, so "By faith they passed through the Red Sea as dry land." It wasn’t muddy. It wasn’t wet. It was like dry land. Then the Egyptians were drowned because the water came back. But, you see, that’s what it means to take God at His Word. It’s not always easy. It’s not always easy to just simply say, "Well God said it and I can depend on it." But this is what God expects. This is what He’s looking for and now demands of us. He is simply looking for our believing, then receiving and trusting in what He has said. The problem is, most don’t read far enough in their Bibles to get those instructions from the Apostle Paul. Many don't know that all Religion is a hindrance and blockage to God's activity. They don't hear with spiritual ears nor do they see with spiritual eyes because they are veiled and therefore are hidden and remain so. This is seen in Romans 11:25, 7-8 and 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 where it is speaking of Israel's condition because of Religion ie...unbelief. All right, let’s move on into verse 30.
Hebrews 11:30
"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days." Now that’s probably one of the things in Scripture that is scoffed at as much as anything. The world will not believe that all the Hebrews had to do was walk around it seven times. But, they believed God. Now again, they were just as human as we are. Don’t you suppose a lot of those Hebrews, as they were marching around that well-fortified city, must have had some scoffing ideas within their own mind? Satan must have had a hay day on their intuition, I can hear some of them saying, "Well, what in the world is this going to do? How in the world is this going to defeat Jericho?" But they did it. And it happened. Because God said it would. That is why they were told to be still and not say a word for seven days, all the while marching in total silence.
You see, we’re up against the same thing. Why can’t people accept the concept of the departure? Because it takes a lot of trust in His faith, and God's Faithfulness and I know that. I can see that the unbelieving world thinks we’re crazy as loons to think that all of a sudden, someday, God’s going to give a shout, as or like a trumpet’s sound and we’re going to be gone from this earth. They can’t believe that! Well, I can understand that to a point. It does stretch the imagination. The natural mind does not get wrapped around that concept and because the word rapture is not there, and that means to them its not there. But listen the Lord Himself said, back there in Matthew, that "with God nothing is impossible."
Do you think it’s impossible for Him to suddenly take every true believer off the planet? No! It’s not impossible, and He’s going to do it because the Word says He will. But that’s where faith does comes in. We take it by faith. I can’t explain it, and you can’t explain it but, oh, we can believe it because it’s what the Word tells us.
All right, so they marched around Jericho, foolishness in the eyes of men, but God said that’s what it took. Now again, to this very day, archaeologists like to argue, "Did the walls fall down?" Some maintain that they went straight down. But regardless of which way they went – they went! Jericho was a sitting duck for the Hebrews. But it takes faith to believe it. All right, verse 31:
Hebrews 11:31
"By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."
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