In our modern era of bridges, tunnels, and ferries, it is difficult to grasp the significance of a water crossing for those living in biblical times. Bodies of water functioned as natural barriers that divided peoples. Water even figuratively divided one era from the next, i.e. Noah passed through flood waters into a new world. So when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, that began a new epoch in redemptive history and established a pattern of divine deliverance to be repeated throughout Scripture.