Proper 9 (September 2026) Bible notes for adults and young people

Exodus 14:19-31

After Passover, Pharaoh finally permitted the Israelites to leave Egypt, but upon learning that the people had left, he changed his mind again. Pursuing the Israelites, Pharaoh’s army ‘overtook them’ (14:9).

God had led the Israelites with cloud and fire ‘by the roundabout way of the wilderness’ (13:18) and told Moses to ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp’ by the sea (14:1). This is war and the fleeing slaves are described as ‘the army of Israel’ (14:20). The ruthless worldly kingdom of Pharaoh is to be defeated so that not only the Israelites but also the Egyptians will know that ‘the Lord is fighting for them’ (14:25).

Just as God had told Moses at the burning bush that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart as part of his plan to display his glory (4:21), once again, we hear that God ‘will harden Pharaoh’s heart… so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh’ (14:4). Pharaoh’s treacherous actions are part of the display of God’s sovereignty, but we are also told that Pharaoh has responsibility in these actions. He himself ‘hardened his heart, and would not listen to’ Moses and Aaron (8:15). God destroyed the Egyptian army only because Pharaoh sent the heavy chariots, with their horses and drivers, into the waves. God also turned the sea into dry land, making way for the deliverance of the Israelites. We also see that Moses and the Israelites had to act for God’s plan to come to fruition, as they walked in faith through the parted waters.

Psalm 114

This psalm recalls the crossing of both the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and the Jordan, when the priests carrying the ark stood on dry ground as the nation crossed over (Joshua 3:14-17). The ark was carried into Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 8:6), as Judah became the sanctuary for God. This displays the power of God, whose creative word in the beginning gathered all the waters to ‘let the dry land appear’ (Genesis 1:9).

Romans 14:1-12

Paul’s invitation to welcome one another follows from what he has said about love for ‘another’ as fulfilling the law (13:8). We live for the Lord and are accountable to God, therefore our conduct towards each other must be shaped by Christ who ‘did not please himself’ (15:3). Respect for those with whom we disagree is fundamental to following Jesus. ‘We do not live to ourselves’ (14:7), so we must not imperil another’s integrity. Drawing on Isaiah 45:23 Paul looks forward to the time when the whole world will worship God. The language in Romans 14 is very close to Philippians 2:5-11, which praises God whose glory is revealed in the humility of Jesus. Both in Philippians 2 and in Romans 14, praise has practical implications. If all are to come to worship, then we must not only look to the interest of others but also expect to learn from them. Those we think ‘weak in faith’ (14:1) may help us to go forward with God, whose ‘power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Matthew 18:21-35

Before this parable, Jesus urges Peter to forgive ‘seventy-seven times’, as he had advised turning the other cheek ‘so that you may be children of your Father in heaven’ (5:38-45). But after the parable, Jesus warns that God will follow the example of unforgiving humanity: ‘So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive’. The parable, set in the context of this tension between mercy and judgement, invites us to consider the true meaning of forgiveness. The one who owed ‘ten thousand talents’ was offered forgiveness but was unwilling to receive it. He failed to be transformed, refusing to acknowledge the graciousness of the king by being generous to his fellow slave, whose debt was only a tiny fraction of his own. He could not join being forgiven and offering forgiveness, as it says in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors’ (6:12).

Linking the readings

Today’s passages recognise that to decide to go with God is to accept an invitation to be transformed. Once the Israelites had found the courage to cross the sea, the waters rolled back to their normal depth, and there was no going back. Becoming part of a Christian community that welcomed both Jews, who observed the Sabbath, and Gentiles, who judged all days to be alike, meant no going back to the old, segregated ways of thinking and recognising God’s mercy must provoke transformation in all our relationships – an invitation to walk with God, living in his ways of grace and forgiveness.