Waters of Deliverance: From the Red Sea to the Jordan (04/29/'24) -Viewpoint

Waters of Deliverance: From the Red Sea to the Jordan Beneath the vast and brooding skies, where whispers of ancient waters stirred, stood the children of Israel, their feet caressed by the sands of time, their eyes beholding a sea parting, as if by whispered divine decree. A path unveiled beneath the roiling waves, a corridor of salvation carved from the throes of the deep—this was their exodus, their passage through water and into the embrace of a promise, each step a baptism into Moses, into the freedom beyond the torrents. Years waned, and the memory of water lingered, a symbol etched in the collective soul of a people. Then, in the fullness of time, along the banks of the Jordan, another baptism unfolded beneath the watchful expanse of heaven. Here stood John, the herald clad in the rough weave of the wilderness, his voice a clarion call that echoed against the currents, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Into these waters stepped Jesus, the Nazarene, his presence a quietude that calmed the very river that bore him. As he rose from the embrace of the Jordan, the heavens themselves parted—a divine affirmation as the Spirit descended like a dove, serene and solemn. "This is my beloved Son," thundered a voice from the high, anointing the air with a sacred charge. Here, in this riverine cradle, began a new exodus, not from the lash of earthly tyrants but from the shackles of sin and the shadow of death. Just as Israel tread through the parted sea, so now humanity was invited to walk through washed anew, reborn through the waters that Jesus sanctified. This baptism was not merely of water, but of spirit and truth, a heralding of a kingdom where the last are first, and the meek inherit the earth. Thus, the Jordan flowed, a testament to crossings and commencements. From the Red Sea's parted waves to the Jordan’s rippling embrace, the narrative of salvation wove through water, binding the testament old with new, each a reflection of deliverance, a mirror of mercy, a baptism into a new genesis. Pastor Steven G. Lee (April 29, 2024)