The Original Mission Impossible: Red Sea Waters #2: (Story with Music Video)
A Slave who, despite himself, Finds his Heart Beating for Freedom
Hi Readers, thanks for joining me. I wanted this story to convey the miracle of our Salvation, today! If God had not intervened - we would be slaves in a kingdom of darkness, with no way out. I am so thankful for all God has done, it deserves being shouted from the rooftops in every shape and form: So I also wrote and animated a song to this end. (The animation started as a doodle and grew into what you see below). If you like this story and the song (below) please like, comment, share so others can be encouraged by this content. Here we go:
My name is Amram, son of Joktan. I was born a slave, as was my father, and his father before him. The chains of Pharaoh’s power wound tight around my family’s necks long before I drew my first breath.
Our days were ruled by the crack of the taskmaster’s whip, and our bodies groaned beneath the weight of stone and mud. My back bears scars from my youth, deep and crooked from punishments dealt without mercy. I’ve seen men fall dead beside me, beaten until breath fled and eyes turned dull. I’ve seen mothers clutching lifeless infants, crushed beneath labor or claimed by hunger. My wife, Tirzah, works long hours grinding grain until her hands bleed, and our children, Lamech and Asa, carry loads far heavier than boys of ten and six should ever bear. Even in the night, when darkness blankets the land, our groans rise to the God of our fathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We beg Him to remember us. Sometimes, when my bones ache and my sons cry from hunger, I wonder if He listens at all. “God is allowed to be silent” My wife would say. I admired her faith.
But then Moses came. The man who fled Egypt’s wrath years ago, now returned with a fire in his eyes and the name of the God of our ancestors on his lips. He spoke of deliverance, of freedom - words that tasted bitter, too wild to believe. After all, who could stand against the most powerful army in the world? We were slaves, and nothing could change that.
But then came the plagues, a fury unmatched - water turned to blood, frogs swarming the land, gnats, flies, disease, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness so thick you could choke on it. Pharaoh’s heart hardened again and again, and each promise of freedom ended in deeper misery, aggravating my bitterness that much more. Tirzah tried to sooth me at night: I couldn’t speak, my tongue ached and stuck to the roof of my mouth from using my own spit to make bricks for Pharaoh’s kingdom. “Our God, the God of Moses will prevail,” She whispered, but all I felt was the weight of every broken promise. Could a slave ever truly be free?
Then came the final night - the worst and the best. The air was heavy, thick with dread as we slaughtered lambs and painted our doorposts with blood. We huddled inside, eating in haste as screams rose from Egyptian homes. My arms encircled Lamech and Asa, trembling as the wails grew louder. We were untouched, but the shadow of death brushed near, close enough to chill my bones. Then came the cry - urgent, desperate - “Go!” Pharaoh had relented. Trembling hands gathered what little we owned, and with hearts hammering, we fled.
Freedom. The word reached my heart again. Yet I dared not speak it. We marched from the only home we’d known, every step heavy with fear. I knew that Pharaoh’s heart had wavered before. Could we trust in this fragile hope? Each night, I searched the horizon for the dust of chariots. Tirzah spoke softly to the boys, teaching them the promises of God. I wanted to believe, but the doubts gnawed at me like hunger. How far could we run? I wanted to believe in a God of miracles, but then we reached the Red Sea - a vast, unmoving wall of water.
Trapped!
Panic surged like a flood as whispers of fear passed through the camp. I gripped Lamech’s shoulder, my eyes darting back. I wanted to hold him tight, show him that daddy could make everything ok. But the beat of my heart did not lie. I had never felt so helpless. The dust cloud rose—Pharaoh’s army, iron glinting in the sunlight. I heard my own despair echo in the cries around me.
But Moses stood, arms outstretched. I focused on him, if only because his sturdy manner calmed my own panic. The wind howled, fierce and wild, and the sea ripped apart. Water surged to either side, held back by an unseen hand. A path opened before us. Tirzah gasped, clutching Asa. Lamech’s eyes shone wide with fear and awe. I could only stare. We stepped forward - what choice did we have? - but the seabed was cool beneath my feet, damp and solid. My heart hammered in my chest as I walked between walls of water, the roar pounding in my ears. Would the sea hold? The path stretched, endless and narrow, but we crossed - at first with one trembling step at a time, and then more lightly as despite myself, my heart clung to hope once more.
We reached the other shore. And as the last of us stood on this side - the walls of the sea crashed together. I watched for a few seconds as Pharaoh’s pride and fury sank beneath the waves. “Some trust in chariots and armies, but I will trust in the living God.” My wife said out loud, though as if to herself.
Silence settled, heavy and complete.
I sank to my knees, clutching Tirzah and the boys. The truth of an open sea, an open sky, our enemies powerless and defeated blurred my eyes with tears - we were free. Truly free.
Not just released, not merely spared - but, what was the word? Delivered! Our old life was gone, swallowed by the sea. The whips, the chains, the lash of commands - washed away. Lamech tugged at my sleeve, eyes wide. “Look daddy, a crabbie,” he said with delight, his hands and fingers shaping into a pretend pincer. I kissed his forehead, my heart surging.
A new life awaited - a life I’d never dared to dream of. Yet here it was. I had been given a gift from God!
The wilderness lay vast and uncertain before us, but my God who just split the sea would go with us. I stood, a man made new, the burden of slavery lifted from my shoulders. Tirzah’s smile was radiant, her cheeks flushed, her faith steadfast.
We walked forward, side by side, and joined in the singing as Miriam and Moses lifted there voices to praise our God who fought for us, and won a fight we could not win.
The old life was gone. The new had come. Praise be to Adonai!
“The waters had risen
They drowned every fear,
Where once the waves raged,
Our freedom flows” (Exodus 15)
Now for the song, I wrote this as I meditated on all that my God has done for me, and for us. And the animation tells a story of it’s own, of trial and persecution, endurance and faith … for we live for a Kingdom whose builder and maker is God.
I loved writing the song, drawing the pictures 15 minutes at a time over months, and writing the story. I hope you loved reading and listening.
This is me wondering if a green-screen would have been a more comfortable option!
If you got this far!! I would love to hear from you. Feel free to message me, tell me what you liked most about this story, or what you hated. I loved writing it and I hope to connect.