Faith Accomplishing the Impossible

April 30th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 11:28-29 By faith [Moses] kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

Moses’ faith was also characterized by his obedience in keeping the Passover—a feast he could not have fully understood when it was instituted just prior to the exodus from Egypt. God told Moses to inform Israel that they must assemble on a specific night to sprinkle the blood of a selected lamb on the doorposts of their homes in order to avoid God’s final plague—the death of the firstborn in Egypt (Ex. 11-12). God gave Moses very specific instructions for Israel in order to avoid the plague, and as long as Israel obeyed it literally, they would indeed avoid the plague.

Now if we put ourselves in the shoes of those Israelites, we would see the seeming absurdity of God’s instructions regarding the lamb and its blood that was to be painted on their doorposts. For Moses to take these instructions from God and pass them on took faith on his part, for he had to believe that what God said was true, in spite of how strange it certainly seemed. Of course there was no power in a lamb’s blood; the power was in the act of faith it took to instruct Israel to do this and for Israel to obey and spread the lamb’s blood on their doorposts. Those who did showed their faith and avoided the plague of death. “Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did” (Ex. 12:1-3, 28).

Neither Moses nor Israel could not have fully understood that their act was symbolic of Christ’s future sacrifice on the cross, as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), which would save all who trust in Him for salvation. But even in the midst of his ignorance, Moses showed faith by obeying God down to the letter. As a result, when the death angel flew over the people of Israel that night, it “passed over” those who had demonstrated faith by painting blood on their doorposts. As a result of their obedience, each firstborn child lived.

Note in v. 28 the phrase “by faith he kept the Passover.” This perfect tense verb means that he carried out his task; he celebrated it—instituting it as a lasting ordinance in Israel (Ex. 12:14), an ordinance that prefigured the death of Jesus Christ. By carrying out the task of the Passover, it is clear that Moses never once doubted that Israel would be delivered from Egypt. How did he know this? He believed God and His word. And through Moses’ obedience, God saved Israel.

In v. 29 Moses’ faith was also demonstrated in his patient boldness. Having led Israel out of Egypt following the ten plagues which demonstrated the power of God to His people, Israel’s weak faith became evident as they approached the Red Sea. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert” (Ex. 14:11, 12). But Moses replied, “Do not fear! Stand and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today… the Lord will fight for you while you keep silent” (14:13-14).

God then worked through Moses’ boldness and parted the waters so that Israel could pass through safely. But in spite of their lack of faith, it took great faith for them to walk through the parted waters, seeing the danger all around them. They had no guarantee that God would let them pass through to the end, but they proceeded by faith as if God would. And of course God’s word proved faithful, for those who believed Him passed through without harm. The Egyptians, however, not acting on faith, did not fare so well after God allowed the water walls to collapse. Their hardened hearts, which only trusted in themselves, led them to their ultimate demise.

We note here how one man’s faith was so genuine and effective that it transformed a faithless people and delivered them from death. Clearly, those powerful in faith can elevate others to greatness and ultimate deliverance. Through faith in Jesus Christ, anything is possible!

Food For Thought
Sometimes life’s problems bring us to a dead end in our walk with Christ, just like Israel when they came to the Red Sea. We see no deliverance, only despair. It is at that point that we must be bold like Moses and believe in the face of fear that God will deliver us. And when life’s problems seem like walls of water around us, we just have to move forward and take another step. On the other side is relief if we will only trust. God loves to show His faithfulness by taking us to the brink of despair to test our faith. And we love to tell others about it after we’ve experienced it. How humiliating it is to fail God’s tests. Yet His grace gives us another day!