Exodus 14:10, “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.”
Today I was caught by the phrase, “behold, the Egyptians marched after them;”. I thought of my own life this week. Today is Saturday and it is the last day of the week. Upon reflecting back over the entire week I was disappointed in myself. Oh, there were not instances of gross sin or anything like that. There were; on the other hand, many small battles that I did not face very well.
I began to think about the children of Israel and their journey here. God has miraculously delivered them out of Egypt. He delivered them out of bondage and slavery. This causes me to think how He has brought me out of bondage and slavery to sin. If you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour then you have been delivered from bondage and slavery to sin also. Remember how God brought the plagues and finally Pharaoh let them go. God brings things into people’s lives that are not pleasant in order to turn them to Himself. This is one reason why bad things happen to good people.
How did the children of Israel react to the fact that the enemy they were just delivered from was now pursuing them like a hunter after his prey? Look at Exodus 14:11-12, “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? 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.” The children of Israel were in fear for their lives. A man was on the news broadcast yesterday and he had shot an intruder five (5) times in the back side (ouch!). The reporter asked him if he was scared. His reply was that he did not know if it was fear, adrenaline or what it was. You see, Israel was faced with their enemy and they became fearful. There was not trust; but, only fear.
Instead of being filled with fear Moses was full of faith. Notice his instructions in Exodus 14:13-14, “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. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” This may seem odd to you and I; but, God was getting ready to miraculously deliver the children of Israel again. We need to have a confidence that God will deliver us from the trials of life. If He chooses not to deliver us then He is building our faith and our character. We have to just keep on keeping on for the Lord. This is all we can do.
God is encouraging Moses and the children of Israel to exercise their faith. Look at Exodus 14:15-16, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 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.” They were standing at the river’s bank and God says, “Go forward.” Yeah, right! Little did they know that God was working on their behalf. He was about to punish the Egyptians for their hardness of heart toward Him and show the Israelites great deliverance.
Sometimes God allows us the opportunity to see the demise of our enemies. This is not an opportunity for us to rejoice over their end. This is an opportunity to praise God for His miraculous deliverance, faithfulness and many other things. Look at Exodus 14:25-26, “And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” I would have loved to see this taking place. Notice the best laid plans of the Egyptians just fell apart as they worked contrary to God. So, how do you respond to the trials that come into your life? You can be fearful or you can be full of faith. The choice is yours to make.
So, how are you doing?
Today’s reading: Exodus 14, 15, 16; Psalm 22, 52, 82, 112, 142; Proverbs 22