So, instead of heading straight East to their destination, God sends them South [map]. How confusing that must have been! Have you ever felt that way about God’s guidance? Why this way, Lord? This other way is much better. Often it seems God does take a round-about way to where He wants us to go. Here, we are assured there is a reason. They are not yet ready to face war. In the next few weeks we’ll see how God uses the wilderness to forge them into a nation,  chosen to be a kingdom of priests to the world. There is much they need to learn about God and themselves. In fact, it will take 40 years in the wilderness to get those lessons down so they are ready for the next step.

We are an impatient people, always looking for short-cuts in our spiritual journey. We run to a conference here or a seminar there. We want instant peace, self-control, faith, and character. But much of this needs time, space, and wilderness time. Certainly conferences and seminars do have a place. Yet, they never can never be a bypass of the role of the wilderness in forming us into the people God wants us to be. The “Way of the Philistines” is often a temptation the devil uses. It is more comfortable, lots of pleasant rest stops and provisions along the way to satisfy our appetites. But it leaves us totally unprepared for the big struggles of life.

There is a second confusing thing about the way God leads Israel, or at least it is confusing until the parting of the Red Sea. God deliberately leads them into a cul-de-sac. They don’t hightail it out of Egypt. They wander around, so that to Pharaoh it looks like they are lost. Then that gives Pharaoh plenty of time to change his mind and mobilize his troops. As Pharaoh pursues them, God leads Israel smack up against an uncrossable body of water– the Red Sea or the Reed Sea. Several possible crossing locations have been suggested [show on map]. The where is not what is most important though. Wherever it was, it is the deliverance that is important.

Something else I’d like to call to your attention is that this group leaving Egypt is not entirely Israelites. The number given in the text is 600,000 men. Since they didn’t count the women and children we’ll have to guess about the number. But 1.5-2 million people seems reasonable. In 12:38 we read, Many other people went up with them.... So, this is a mixed group. It leads me to wonder if many others, Egyptian friends and neighbors, hadn’t come to believe in the true God through His power displayed in the plagues or through the quiet witness of believers. While Israel didn’t always live up to God’s will in welcoming anyone who believed into their company, apparently here others were welcomed into their ranks.

Also, it is not just the living that are going up out of Egypt. In 13:29, we read:
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”
Here is a promise fulfilled 400 years later. Joseph expressed his faith in God keeping His Word. The community of faith had kept that alive and present for over four centuries. Now, Moses takes Joseph’s bones with him. Commitments kept and history remembered are also to be integrated into our present journeys. The past is not forgotten or left behind.

 

DELIVERANCE 
So, here Israel is, led by a pillar-shaped cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by night, brought to a halt up against a great sea of water. As the Israelites get settled into camp, perhaps thinking, “This is a pleasant camping spot along the sea,” Pharaoh’s army approaches with 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, and “all” of Pharaoh’s troops and horsemen with officers over all of them (14:7-9). Then,
...the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. (Ex 14:10)
Certainly, crying out to the LORD in our terror is the right response. Then, do the Israelites go on to remember God’s awesome miracles over the last year in delivering them from the clutches of Pharaoh saying, “God has been faithful so far. I’m sure He can handle this as well?” No. Instead of confessing faith, they complain. In a moment, it seems like all that God has done vanishes from their minds as they now blame Moses for their predicament:
"Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex 14:11-12)

How quickly we can forget God’s previous provision and faithfulness the minute a new crisis arrives! Of course fear has a way of driving out any rational thoughts and we react at an emotional level. But isn’t it also true of us that we can enjoy 99 days of God’s favor and blessing and then on day 100 the hose on the washing machine breaks spilling water everywhere and we cry out, “Why do things always go wrong for me?”

Now, God (through Moses) gives this wonderful directive to these terrified people:
"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Ex 14:13-14)
Sprinkled in with God’s assuring promises are three commands that serve us well in any crisis:
1.         “Do not be afraid.”
2.         “Stand firm.”
3.         “Be still.”
“Do not be afraid.” With a command like that, most of us probably think, “Right, as if I want to be afraid. I can’t just stop feelings of fear– especially with the whole Egyptian army breathing down my neck and I’m trapped.” But then, we must remind ourselves that God never commands us to do what we cannot do– so there must be some volitional elements here. And here we come to an important step we can take. We can focus upon that which we fear and the more we focus upon it, the more it grows, right? Or, we can deliberately take our eyes off that and instead look to the Lord, and then we feel our fears begin to come into perspective. The more we focus upon God and the more we believe Him, the more our fears will recede.

Most of us have learned the peril of too much concentration upon what we fear. I had my routine colonoscopy a week ago. I say routine because it is something doctors have told me I need to do every three years because my father died of colon cancer and there is a significant genetic component. I think this was my third or fourth, so I was familiar with the drill (no pun intended). The doctor in going over the procedure beforehand, as they must do, also told me of all that could go wrong though rare. “Perforation of the bowel” somehow stuck in my brain as it never had before. That “rare, unlikely” occurrence was given with a statistic that was considerably higher than like the one in a billion chance I feel more secure with. Later that day, I felt my mind drawn like a magnet to “perforation of the bowel.” Scenarios of emergency surgery started playing unbidden in my mind. Now, I was tempted to go there, but fortunately I knew that was silly, and would only make things worse. So, like most of us have learned, I had to forcefully take my mind and put it on other things– especially the Lord. I know that experience is rather trivial compared to what some of you have been through, but the principle is sound nonetheless. We do have some control over our fear. “Do not be afraid.”

“Stand firm,” is a second command that helps us when we’re up against it. Our tendency when in a position like Israel’s is to panic and run, though there’s really no secure place to run to. But we may try to find refuge in things this world offers. Many escape into drugs, medicate their fear with alcohol, or try to forget their troubles by a spending spree. Sometimes faith is just hanging in there, standing firm. We’re under attack and instead of fighting back or running, we simply stand our ground and trust the Lord to fight for us.

“Be still,” is our final admonition. This is getting quiet before God, spending time in His presence until His peace penetrates all the parts of our souls. We let our complaints and fears be transformed into quiet rest. Psalm 46 expresses this so well:
            God is our refuge and strength,
                        an ever-present help in trouble.
            Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
                        and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, (1-2)
And it ends with,
            Be still, and know that I am God;
                        I will be exalted among the nations,
            I will be exalted in the earth."

            The LORD Almighty is with us;
                        the God of Jacob is our fortress. (10-11)

God does indeed deliver Israel. The angel of God who had been in front of them leading them, along with the miraculous cloud now, moved behind them to stand between them and the Egyptians as protection. Throughout that perilous night, the cloud plunged the Egyptians into inky darkness and gave reassuring light to Israel. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and the winds began to blow. All night long, a strong east wind drove back the sea, dividing the waters, and turning it into dry ground. Later that night, all of Israel was able to walk through the sea with a wall of water on their right and a wall of water on their left.

 

Tragically, the Egyptian army pursued them into the divided sea. Can you imagine such incredible hardness of heart and determination to defy God? During the night they’d witnessed the miraculous cloud coming between them and Israel so they could not move because of the total darkness. Now they saw waters parted in a miracle beyond anything they could have imagined. Yet, they plunge headlong into the middle of the sea. It ends in horrible tragedy. Certainly God does not desire anyone’s destruction. But sometimes hearts can be so bent upon evil that no amount of warning or supernatural signs pointing to God’s will can stop them.

During the Roaring Twenties (1920s) on Wall Street, William Wilson made a fortune as a stock analyst. He was one of the first to investigate companies personally, riding up and down the Eastern Seaboard on a motorcycle with his wife in a sidecar. Stock investors began paying handsomely for Wilson’s reports. A couple of them even loaned him money to buy for himself some of the stocks he was recommending. Soon he was living in a luxurious place in New York, making lots of money. But, he had a deadly habit: he drank too much. His alcoholism soon plunged him deeply in debt. A physician told him if he didn’t stop drinking, he would soon be dead. Thinking he knew better, Bill Wilson did not stop. He was hospitalized three more times before he finally called out for help. Finally, in desperation he cried out, “If there be a God, let Him show Himself to me now!”

Alcohol was like Pharaoh’s armies in hard pursuit of Bill. Before him lay the impassible Red Sea: he had to stop or die. With Bill’s crying out to God, there was a supernatural peace and relief that flowed over him. God parted the Red Sea for Bill, giving him the strength to never drink again. He (“Bill W.”) and Dr. Robert Smith (“Dr. Bob”) cofounded Alcoholics Anonymous, based solidly upon Christian truth. Through A.A. founded by these two alcoholics referred to simply as “Bill W.” and “Dr. Bob,” millions have been able to pass through the impassible sea of addiction into a life of sobriety.

CONCLUSION
The passage through the Red Sea is taken as a baptismal metaphor in I Cor. 10:2. It is a Spirit work in both cases. As the wind parts the Red Sea, we are reminded that in the Hebrew wind and Spirit are the same word, “rhua.” Passing through the waters, Israel embarks upon a new life, led by the Spirit. The old way is buried and behind them.  One day they were demoralized and crushed under Egyptian slavery. Now, miraculously, they have left all that behind and are enjoying the favor of God’s chosen people, singing the praises of a redeeming God.

All these are appropriate images for the waters of our baptism: buried with Christ, and raised to new life in Him– born of the Spirit. The old sinful nature and practices are dead and buried so we can live anew in the kingdom of God. We have been rescued “from the present evil age...” (Gal. 1:4) so that we can truly live to the glory of God.

Whatever you face in your life that has you thinking, “There’s just no way I can get through this,” decide to meet it with faith in the God who is never without a way– even if it has to be a miracle beyond your imagining. Rather than fretting, complaining, or giving into hopeless despair, choose to follow His guidance for us here at the Red Sea.
-           We can express our trust in Him by choosing to first, not be afraid– fix our eyes upon God         and His ability to deliver us or provide for us.
-           Then we can stand firm, hold our ground and not run off to try to fix things with inadequate solutions.
-           And finally, we can be still, quiet our hearts in His peaceful presence.

Listen! In the darkness of your night, the Spirit wind has begun to blow. At the first flush of dawn, you will see your way through with impossibilities walled up on your right and your left as you walk through to a new freedom in Christ.

 

 

                                                                       +     +     +

                                ON EAGLES’ WINGS, V. “Exodus!”
                          For Further Study and Reflection from Sermon 10-09-05

Scripture: Exodus 12:31-42; 13:17-22; 14:10-31

1.         Is there something in this sermon that seems particularly applicable to your life now?

 

2.         Has there been a time in your life when God seemed to be leading you in a direction that
            didn’t make sense to you at the time? What happened? (Ex. 13:17-18)

 

3.         As the Egyptian army was coming upon the Israelites, what two responses did they have (Ex. 14:10-12)?  Is this at all like us?

 

4.         Have you ever been under attack and felt God wanted you to not respond (“The Lord will fight for you,” Ex. 14:14)?
How did you feel and what was the outcome?

 

5.         Can you think of a specific difficulty you’ve faced lately? Talk about your response to it.

 

6.         Moses tells the Israelites to not be afraid in Ex. 14:13-14. What are some ways you attempt to combat fear in your life?

7.         Consider the following verses on moving from fear to trust.
For each one, think: 1) is there something we are responsible to do? 2) What gives us assurance?

Psalm 56:3-4
           

Psalm 27:1-2

 

            Isaiah 43:1-2

 

            John 14:27

 

            Phil. 4:4-8;

 

I Pet. 5:7

 

8.         Is one of the above verses especially helpful to you right now?  Why?

 

9.         What was the final attitude of the Israelites after their deliverance from Pharaoh? (Ex. 14:31 & chapter 15)?

 

Talk about the effect God’s deliverance has had in your attitude.