8.26.2026
One of my very favorite movies is Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 classic The Ten Commandments. Is it a perfect movie? By no means. Is it faithful to the Biblical account? By no means. Is some of the acting over the top? Oh, very much so. Does it capture the spirit of biblical account? I believe it does.
BUT. Does it have the GREATEST single special effect in all of cinema? Oh, most definitely.
The Ten Commandments has been a favorite of mine since it was first shown on television in 1973. I’ve told the story before of when I was little my mom would serve me a mound of Jello and I would take a string or piece of dental floss, give it my best 9 year-old Charlton Heston imitation, “Behold his mighty hand!” and “part” the Red Jello.
Being a nerd from an early age, I had read that to create the illusion of the parting of the Red Sea for the 1923 silent version of The Ten Commandments, the special effects men poured water over quivering mounds of gelatin. The outcome? It looked exactly like water pouring over two quivering mounds of gelatin.
But at the time it was amazing!
In 1956, technology was advanced enough to produce an awe-inspiring scene that still holds up 70 years!! I’ll attach a clip at the end of this note (and, yes, there was gelatin, but just to thicken the water).
Yes, the scene is amazing, and it’s one reason I love the movie, but the real reason is that I love the text behind the movie.
Starting this Sunday, I’ll be preaching from Exodus. These are some of the foundational texts from the Old Testament. For example, this Sunday we’ll read about God commissioning Moses at the burning bush. The next week we’ll read about the first Passover and see the connections with the Last Supper. The scripture about God’s deliverance at the Red Sea falls on September 13, but I’ll be out of town hunting Sasquatch or whatever, and Alan Weatherly will be preaching for us that day (so make sure you’re in town for that one!).
We’ll be on this journey with the children of Israel all the way until Advent, November 29.
These texts are foundational because in them the people of God discovered who they were and Whose they were.
Whose they were: This week, God introduces himself to Moses as “the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” This is the God who made the promises and now He is the God who will fulfill those promises! And unlike the pagan gods who were limited to one area of life (the god of storms, the god of death, etc.), God revealed himself to be unlimited: “I am Who I am” which could also be translated “I will be Who I will be.”
We’ll talk about what the Name meant for Israel and what it means for us!
Later, we’ll see how God revealed Himself again on Mt. Sinai as the God who is “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness . . .” (Exodus 34:6). This is who God committed himself to be for his people, a promise that is most clearly seen when Jesus is on the cross.
Who they were: Going through these experiences, the children of Israel were the people God delivered from slavery, but that was just the beginning! God called Israel his Son in Exodus 4:22, and said that if they were faithful and obedient, they would be “my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6).
As a “priestly kingdom,” God’s vision for his faithful people was for them to faithfully live a life of obedience so they could be faithful witnesses to the world around them of God’s faithfulness.
Did you catch the repeated word there?
God is faithful, and he wants our faithfulness in return. And it’s not just for His sake or even for our sake, but for the sake of the entire world. We’ll see the way that what God did for Israel on a micro-scale, God wants to do for the entire world on a macro-scale! And we’ll see how God, just as he used Moses to bring Israel out of Egypt, wants to use us to take the Good News of God’s greatest deliverance to a world enslaved by an enemy much more insidious than Pharaoh.
That’s it! There it is! And there’s so much more – don’t miss a Sunday!
Blessings,
Pastor Terry
Here’s the 1956 Parting of the Red Sea: https://youtu.be/TwPwRyF9RH0?si=6OZeISvkZwhIp_Zb
Here’s a short video explaining how they did it: https://youtube.com/shorts/HftRvVMmvYk?si=rv0r6QJNIZYk3GQd
For the fun of it, here are 5 different versions . . . I love the Prince of Egypt version, but the 1956 is still tops in my book: https://youtu.be/ibyN1Et5KFA?si=yewwRrQQpqZ41n_y