And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant. Three responses to the sight of salvation: they saw, they feared, they trusted. The seeing of the mighty hand — the same mighty hand Moses proclaimed in the wilderness instructions, the hand that brought plagues, the hand that divided the sea — produces fear and trust together. The fear is not terror but reverence, the awe of those who have witnessed power beyond anything they could produce or deserve. The trust is the disposition of those whose fear has been converted to confidence in the one who fights for them. Proverbs 9:10 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom — the sea crossing is the inaugural act of Israel's wisdom, the moment when fear and trust converge in the presence of the God who has saved them.

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