Parting of the Red Sea, Christian Wall Art

What is painted

Two great columns of sea rise on the left and right, green and blue, with foam at their tops. Between them runs a dry path, and down it moves a long line of travelers: families, bundles, animals. At the head of the line Moses holds up his staff, a small figure against the immense water.

This version carries no text. The watercolor lets the washes pool and bloom inside the walls of water, so the sea looks alive, while the path stays sandy and light. The scale is the message: people are tiny, the miracle is enormous.

The story of Exodus 14

Freed from Egypt, the Israelites are camped by the sea when Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his chariots after them. Trapped between the army and the water, they panic. Moses answers, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus 14:13).

God tells Moses to lift up his rod and stretch his hand over the sea. The LORD causes the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and the children of Israel go through the midst of the sea on dry ground, “and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left” (verse 22). When the Egyptians follow, the waters return.

The next chapter is a song. Moses and the people sing, and Miriam takes a timbrel and leads the women in dancing. Christians have long read the crossing as a picture of baptism: Paul writes that the fathers were “all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2).

Who it is for

Because of that link, this is a meaningful baptism gift, especially for an adult or older child who knows the story. It also suits a Sunday school room, a family room or a study, and it speaks to anyone standing at the edge of a move, a recovery or a new beginning.

It is printed to order in the US on thick archival matte paper, with free shipping within the United States. The print comes unframed, with a margin of paper around the scene, in sizes from 5x7 to 24x36 plus metric and A formats. A digital download is available.

As Christian wall art for a family room, it invites children to ask what is happening, and the answer is one of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament. As a Christian poster in a Sunday school classroom, it gives teachers a picture to point to when they tell the Exodus from beginning to end, and it holds up well at large sizes.