EXODUS 14:1-2; 10-14 – Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. 10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THOSE RED SEA MOMENTS. This situation did not look promising. God’s people left Egypt and were told to set up camp by the Red Sea. Sounds like a nice relaxing time by the sea except for who was bearing down upon them from the west. The Egyptians had a change of heart. They were coming for the Israelites and not to have a joint camping event for old times’ sake.
So, picture their dilemma. In front of them was the Red Sea and this wasn’t a small river to cross. Oh, and there wasn’t a ferry boat. Behind them were some very angry Egyptians who were either going to kill them or bring them back to slavery. They had no way out and no resources within themselves to handle what was before and behind them. And Moses states the obvious. Fear gripped them. Anxiety filled their hearts.
There are “Red Sea moments” in our lives, too. Oh, we are not looking at a bunch or ruthless, godless, pagans seeking to kill us. Nor are we standing by a literal sea with no way to cross. But we do encounter situations and circumstances that seem to “box us in” leaving us feeling helpless, powerless, and even hopeless with no sense of direction or help possible.
In the case of the Israelites and ourselves, we are watching the painful work of God’s sovereignty moving us and them to the place where our only hope is in God to intervene. If He doesn’t act, we, like them, are doomed. And Moses would give them instructions and hope that apply to us in our “Red Sea moments” too.
First, the instruction – And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The instructions are in the form of two commands and an encouragement – fear not, stand firm, and only be silent. Good advice. When we don’t know what to do or simply cannot find a sense of direction in a tough circumstance, wait, pray, and seek counsel. Don’t act. We might attempt to cross our “Red Sea” and “drown” if we make a hasty decision in a tough situation.
Moses would them give them hope in the form of promises, two of them – “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” God’s people were to be encouraged because the Lord promised salvation or deliverance from their situation, and He would fight against their enemies, the Egyptians. And we know what happened to them . . . a watery grave at the bottom of the Red Sea. And fearful believer, the same God is our God. He will deliver us at His timing and fight our enemies by His own strong arm. Just wait and do so in faith.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to trust and wait on You when I don’t know what to do or where to turn.”
QUOTE: “Unchanging and overwhelming circumstances are God’s gifts to keep us from trusting ourselves.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim