Nehemiah 9:9

Nehemiah 9:9 says, And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;  The priests continued to read about what God had done for the people of Israel in the past, continuing with His delivering them from bondage in Egypt by parting the Red Sea in order for them to leave.   This was a miraculous delivery, just as our deliverance from sin by the sacrifice on Jesus on the cross is a miraculous delivery today, and we should always remember that if we are a follower of Christ. 

Verse ten adds, And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.  The priests continued to speak about how God had sent signs and wonders to pharaoh in order to attempt to get him to release the people of Israel.  God could have just destroyed all the Egyptians, but He gave them an opportunity to make the decision on their own, and things got worse and worse for them when they didn’t.  God could still just destroy all those who defy Him today, but He gives them an opportunity to accept His gift of salvation, and no matter how successful things may be going for them in life, until they come to Him, things are only going to get worse spiritually. 

Verse eleven continues, And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.  The priests then said that God led the people of Israel through the sea on dry land and then all those Egyptians following them drowned.  I have heard some people say that it wasn’t really the sea that they went through on dry land but just a marshy area that didn’t take a miracle, but if that were the case, then God drowned an army in a marshy area as well.  People often look for ways to explain away the miracles of God, but we must accept them for what they are, beginning with the miracle of salvation.  The Israelites passed through because they were following God by faith and were under His protection, and the Egyptians drowned because they weren’t.  God has made a way for people to escape the everlasting destruction that awaits all those who do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, but if they refuse to, just as the Egyptians refused to do what God was telling them to do, then they will still face that everlasting destruction.  The choice will always be left to each person.  

Verse twelve concludes, Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. The priests reminded the people about how God had led the people of Israel with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to light their way.  We have Jesus Christ as our light to lead us on His way and give use everlasting life if we are a Christian, and we also have the Holy Spirit with us at all times to help us follow God’s way.