When the Israelites found themselves trapped by the Egyptians with no escape, they lamented the prospect of perishing in the desert, prompting Moses to take action.
Exodus 14:10-17
10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
Note that God tells Moses to lift his staff and to stretch his HAND over the sea. The rod must have been lifted and rested upon his shoulders to form the cross and the hand forward to point ahead of him over the sea.
Moses was symbolic of Christ and the reason He formed the cross as instructed by the Word of God which is Jesus the Christ.
God told Moses to stop crying after Him and do what He said. When Moses obeyed, the sea parted. We should learn from this because in Christ we also need to speak the Word of God and have faith that God will confirm the Word through signs.
Mark 16:20
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
The anointing (Christ/Holy Spirit) is within the Christian, however, we must allow that anointing to come from within through studying the Word, obedience, and faith in God, not ourselves. God knows the heart and when the person is ready for service and then the Spirit will come upon that person and abide on him for the work of the ministry with God confirming the Word through signs and wonders. In other words, it is not just about speaking the Word and, abracadabra, things just happen. The Word must be in the hearts and minds of people before the anointing can emerge from within and upon as it did with the apostles and Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:2-4
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Israelites complained every time they were in some form of challenge, which is why God eventually gave them laws so that they could govern themselves which was not God’s intention for mankind. The truth is that mankind will always challenge situations with different opinions and solutions, as people have varying desires, strengths, weaknesses, and tolerance levels, which is why we have so many religions and gods today. God knew that people could not fulfil all laws by their strength, but because of their disobedience and lack of faith, He allowed them to be responsible in fulfilling the law to show that they needed Him.