Wisdom 19:1-16: a reflection

1But indignation without mercy came upon the ungodly to the end; for God also foreknew their future, 2how, having changed their minds to let your people go, and having sped them eagerly on their way, they would change their minds and pursue them. 3For while they were yet in the midst of their mourning, and lamenting at the graves of the dead, they made another foolish decision, and pursued as fugitives those whom they had begged to leave and driven out. 4For the doom which they deserved was drawing them to this end, and it made them forget the things that had happened to them, that they might fill up the punishment which was yet lacking from their torments, 5and that your people might journey on by a marvelous road, but they themselves might find a strange death. 6For the whole creation, each part in its diverse kind, was made new again, complying with your commandments, that your servants might be kept unharmed. 7Then the cloud that overshadowed the camp was seen, and dry land rising up out of what had been water, out of the Red sea an unhindered highway, and a grassy plain out of the violent surge, 8by which they passed over with all their army, these who were covered with your hand, having seen strange marvels. 9For like horses they roamed at large, and they skipped about like lambs, praising you, O Lord, who was their deliverer. 10For they still remembered the things that happened in the time of their sojourning, how instead of bearing cattle, the land brought forth lice, and instead of fish, the river spewed out a multitude of frogs. 11But afterwards, they also saw a new kind of birds, when, led on by desire, they asked for luxurious dainties; 12for, to comfort them, quails came up for them from the sea. 13Punishments came upon the sinners, not without the signs that were given beforehand by the violence of the thunder, for they justly suffered through their own wickednesses, for the hatred which they practiced toward guests was grievous indeed. 14For while the others didn’t receive the strangers when they came to them, the Egyptians made slaves of guests who were their benefactors. 15And not only so, but while punishment of some sort will come upon the former, since they received as enemies those who were aliens; 16because these first welcomed with feastings, and then afflicted with dreadful toils, those who had already shared with them in the same rights.

This passage reflects on the great deliverance at the Red Sea, marveling at how God made a way for his people where there was no way. The writer sees creation itself reshaped for their rescue: dry land rising up out of the sea, an unhindered highway appearing through what had been deep water, a grassy plain where violent waves had been. God's people passed through safely, sheltered under his hand, while their pursuers met a very different end. Creation, the writer says, was made new to serve the deliverance of God's servants.

The picture is of a God who bends the very order of the world to save his people. Where there was a barrier, an impassable sea, God made a road. And the people's response, the writer says, was joy: they roamed free like released animals and skipped like lambs, praising God their deliverer. What had seemed a dead end, trapped between the sea and their enemies, became the scene of their rescue, and their fear turned into praise. The God who made creation could remake it to open a way of escape.

There is deep hope here for the moments when you feel trapped, with no way forward and danger closing in. The God who opened a highway through the sea is not limited by the barriers that hem you in. He can make a way where you can see none, reordering circumstances themselves for the good of his people. When you stand at your own Red Sea, hemmed in and afraid, remember this ancient song of deliverance. Trust the God who makes roads through the sea, and let your fear turn, in time, to the praise of your Deliverer.

Lord, at the Red Sea you made a highway where there was no way, reshaping creation itself to deliver your people, and their fear turned to joyful praise. When I feel trapped, hemmed in with no way forward, remind me that you are not limited by the barriers before me. Make a way where I can see none, and turn my fear into the praise of my Deliverer. I trust the God who makes roads through the sea. Amen.