It is crucial not to view these historical events as unrelated but rather as foretellers of what is to come; the miracles witnessed by the Israelites were also indications of our future.
He conveyed some narratives differently than what we have learned, ensuring that his accounts could not simply be taken as recollections of the past but were also prophetic. For instance, we read not that the Jordan turned back but rather that it halted at the source of its streams while the people crossed. The mention of mountains leaping and hills dancing was also his addition. He expressed that the sea fled and the Jordan was turned back, and then he asked, "What is the matter with you, O sea, that you have fled? And you, O Jordan, that you have turned back?" Mountains leaped like lambs and hills like young sheep.
Let us consider what is being taught to us here, as both events are representative of our own experience, calling for self-examination. If we cherish the grace of God given to us, we are Israel, the offspring of Abraham, of whom the apostle declares, "Therefore you are Abraham's seed." No Christian should deem themselves separate from the name of Israel, for we are brought together with the believing Jews, including the chief apostles. Our Lord also states, "I have other sheep that are not of this fold; these I must bring, so there will be one flock, one Shepherd." Thus, the Christian community is indeed Israel, and correspondingly, the house of Jacob, as they are one and the same. However, many Jews, justly criticized for their unfaithfulness, traded their birthright for earthly pleasures, aligning not with Jacob but with Esau.
Egypt is often viewed as a symbol of affliction or oppression, representing this world from which we must spiritually distance ourselves. No one should be unequally yoked with nonbelievers. Every individual becomes a worthy member of the heavenly Jerusalem when they first renounce the worldly life, just as those people could not enter the promised land without departing from Egypt beforehand. And just as they did not leave until Divinely assisted, neither can anyone truly turn away from this world without the gift of God's mercy. What was once a shadow is now fulfilled in each faithful person engaged in the daily functions of the Church in this present age, as the beloved John described, the last days.
Listen to what the apostle, teacher to the Gentiles, teaches us: "I do not want you, brothers, to be uninformed that our ancestors were all under the cloud and passed through the sea; they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea and ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." Yet, despite this, many of them displeased God and faced rejection in the wilderness. These things serve as our examples. What more do we desire, dear brothers? For it is clear, not based on human conjecture, but from the Apostle's own word—God and our Lord. These words, albeit spoken through flesh, are the voice of God. From such a powerful testimony, it is evident that all actions performed symbolically have now found their completion in our salvation. The future was foretold then; now, we observe what has transpired and what is unfolding in the present.
Consider this remarkable point: the concealed insights of ancient texts are, in some sense, unveiled through them. The prophet Micah states, "In the days of your going out of Egypt, I will show Him wonders." Thus, while this Psalm reflects on past events, it also possesses prophetic insight. It states that Judah was His sanctuary; phrases like "saw it" and "fled" declare past truths, while references to the Jordan turning back, mountains rising, and the earth trembling likewise connote historical events yet remain clear harbingers of the future. Although these verses were penned long after the exodus and before the advent of the Church, they indeed testify to prophetic truth. "In the days of your departure from Egypt, I will show him wonders. The nations shall see and be ashamed." If within this recounting lies the foreshadowing of the future, who can rightly associate "shall see and be ashamed" with former occurrences? Furthermore, he directly refers to those who pursued to destroy us, our sins, which are conquered and eradicated in Baptism, just as the Egyptians were drowned in the sea. It is declared that since He does not forever withhold His wrath, being good and merciful, He will again show mercy and cast our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
What does this mean, beloved? You who see yourselves as Israelites through Abraham's lineage, you who belong to the house of Jacob, heirs of the promise, know that you too have emerged from Egypt because you have renounced worldly ways; you have come out of a foreign nation because through your godly profession, you have distanced yourself from the blasphemies of the Gentiles. For it is not the tongues of the foreigners that glorify God; it is you who sing Hallelujah. For within you, Judah has become His sanctuary; a true Jew is inwardly so, circumcision of the heart, not merely an outward appearance. Examine yourselves to see if faith has purified your hearts and if your confession has made you clean. In you, Judah has become His sanctuary, and you are His dominion, as He has empowered you to become children of God.
I urge you to not turn to darkness, nor seek evil when the Jordan is turned back. For the Lord admonishes those who turn away from Him. And each one who forsakes the source of life, turning from their Creator, is like a river flowing into the sea, submerging themselves into the bitterness of this world. It would be better for such a person to return, so that the God they cast behind them may again be before them, thereby ensuring that the worldly chaos they once faced recedes and that they can forget what lies behind them to reach toward what is ahead, which will be their blessing after conversion.
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob. What does it mean to be ‘in the presence of the Lord’ but to acknowledge Him who declared, "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." The earth trembles, but through slothfulness, it quakes to fortify those who seek strength in the Lord.
He transformed solid rock into pools of water and flint into flowing springs. He softened Himself, revealing what appeared to be His rigidity, providing drink to believers, so that in them may flow a spring of water welling up to eternal life, as He once seemed unyielding when not known. Therefore, those who exclaimed, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" were confounded as they awaited the revelation of the Scriptures. The rock, which was tough, became pools of water, a rock becoming springs when, through His resurrection, He explained to them, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, how Christ was to suffer thus and subsequently sent the Holy Spirit, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink."
THEOSIS