Tales of the Torah
Nahshon's Leap


Modern believers wade into the river to get baptized,
but Nahshon's leap took much more faith


In the Book of Shemot (Exodus) Torah tells us that the Children of Israel were camping by the Reed Sea.

Pharaoh came chasing after them. He had his chariots and horses and soldiers. They were waving their swords and shaking their spears and shouting. They were coming to kill the Israelites. Everyone was frightened. Everyone was terrified.

There was no place to run away. The Egyptian army was coming from one direction and the water was in the other direction. The only place to run was into the sea! They began to cry and say to Moses, "Why did you bring us out here to kills us? It would have been better for us to die in Egypt."

Moses prayed to the LORD and the LORD said, "Why are crying out to me? Tell the Children of Israel to keep going. Stretch out your staff over the sea, and I will divide the water so Israel can go through."

There is an old Jewish legend that says that Moses stretched out his staff over the sea . . . but nothing happened.

What was wrong? Were the batteries in his staff dead? No. He was certain the batteries were not dead because there were no batteries in those days! Why wasn't the sea splitting.

The LORD was waiting. He wanted to test the Children of Israel to see if they had faith in him or not. He wanted to see if they believed he could really split the sea.

The Children of Israel were afraid to go into the water.

Nahshon ben Aminidab, the Prince of the Tribe of Judah was not afraid. He was happy to be the first to leap into the water. He jumped into the water and charged in deeper and deeper. Everyone was watching as he went deeper into the water. At last he was so deep in the water that it was up to his neck. The waves were rolling all around him. Everyone thought Nahshon would drown.

When the LORD saw the faith of Nahshon the Prince of the Tribe of Judah, he said, "This great faith will be rewarded." He split the water and sent a wind to dry it up. Nahshon walked through the sea on dry ground and all of Israel followed him to safety.

Focus: The legend of Nahshon can teach us about Yeshua.

Can you think of some ways that Yeshua is like Nahshon?

Which one is the Prince of the Tribe of Judah? Nahshon or Yeshua or both?

Which one saved all of Israel by sacrificing their lives? Nahshon or Yeshua or both?

Which one led the way for all the people to follow? Nahshon or Yeshua or both?

Which one did what no one else was able to? Nahshon or Yeshua or both?

Bible Search - Matthew 1:1-16

1. What verse is Nahshon's name in?

2. In this geneology, who is Nahshon's grandson?

3. In this geneology, who is Nahshon's grandson's grandson?

4. Are Nahshon and Yeshua related?

Kehilat Sar Shalom

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