BETWEEN PHARAOH AND THE RED SEA
Part 7
Exo. 14:1-31
Morning Meditation 11/8/16
I will only give you the Scriptures that give the setting of this story: Verses 1-2 say, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.”
Then verses 8-10 say, “And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. 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.”
Moses carefully points out where Israel was and how they got there. The Lord’s guidance system went into play after the blood was applied in Egypt and they began their journey to the promised land. These are the very first steps after the Passover night. They were where they were because they had followed the Lord to this place. And it was a trap! God led Israel into a trap.
One of the first lessons we learn after we are saved is that Salvation does not remove the trials. The faith we exercise in Jesus and His shed blood is a new experience for us. Up until that time we operate on rationalism. Our walk is not a faith-walk. Now that we are saved, God leads us into a walk of faith and trust in Him. Faith is always tried. God led Israel into an impossible situation. They were trapped with no way out.. They had been used to thinking their way through problems and taking the most sensible way out. The walk of faith is a learned way of life. It is not natural. It is the principle of the new life. It is the only way that pleases the Lord. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” It doesn’t say that it is hard to please God without faith, it says it is impossible. Sometimes God has to lead us into a TRAP to get us to TRUST. When there is no other way out, we can complain and be ugly to Moses, but if we can’t whip Pharaoh, and we can’t swim, the only other alternative is to trust!
They were where they were because God led them there. So many times we think when bad things happen to us, we are out of the will of God. Israel was not out of the will of God.. They were led there by the Lord. If you are having problems, and you have sin in your life for which the Lord has been convicting you, it is time to confess and get forgiveness. That could certainly be the cause of the problem. God does chasten His children “ . . . that they not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32). But many times the problems that we have, are trials planned by God to manifest His power to deliver us. God is involved in life with us. Our body is His temple. Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” If you are going through a time of trial and you feel trapped, this passage illustrates the possibility that, instead of being out of the will of God, you are exactly where God wants you. God led you there.
Now you can do one of two things. You can say, “Lord, this is an interesting situation. We can’t go back. I see Pharaoh and his army and they look very mad and they are too many for us. We wouldn’t stand a chance!” And Lord, “have you noticed that there is a sea here? And none of us have had swimming lessons! We have been too busy making bricks to take swimming lessons! Lord, it will be interesting to see how YOU ARE GOING TO HANDLE THIS SITUATION.” Now that is what FAITH would say. But did you notice, that is not was Israel said?
Verse 10 says, “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.” The words, “And when Pharaoh drew nigh” mean that it was getting a little crowded! It had not dawned on them that this was not their fight. So when Pharaoh got close enough to make Israel get claustrophobia, they panicked! They did three things. They “lifted up their eyes,” they were “sore afraid,” and they “cried out to the LORD.” What we see often gets us into trouble. We can’t get beyond what we see. Israel saw giants in the Promised Land instead of God. And they were “sore” afraid. This word means that they were exceedingly afraid. They were in great fear. Someone defined fear as “confidence in the enemy.” Israel knew how cruel Pharaoh could be. They knew how helpless they had been in the past against him. What they didn’t realize is that God had delivered them from him. The Passover took care of that. They are now under the protection of another Master. This is where many Christians are today. They have been delivered by the blood. But they have not discovered that they do not have to fear their past or obey the old master. Both were defeated on the cross by Jesus. When speaking of His cross, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). The deliverance of the children of Israel at the Red Sea was the application of the Passover to the immediate need. Glory be to God! Do you see it? There is no trial, that the victory over that trial, whether it is the removal of it, or, God’s grace to bear it, has not already been won by Jesus at the cross. It is there for FAITH TO RECEIVE.
But Israel panicked. We do not make wise decisions when we panic. Have you noticed that? Israel did not do a thing in this situation but give problems. First of all, they said, “Moses, we told you what would happen when you twisted our arms and talked us into this deadly venture, when we were still in Egypt.” This is not the exact words they used but you can read them in verses 11-12. I’ll let you read those for yourself. Moses had a time with the people. Moses knew how hard headed and stiff necked the people were. He had informed the LORD about this in Exodus 4:1: “And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.” When Moses was explaining to Israel what God had planned for them they were debating the issue. They had said to Moses “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.” It is better to be a slave than to die! Israel panicked because they were not exercising faith. They just refused to think in terms of their new Master.
Not only did they panic but they blamed Moses. Listen, if a preacher is not willing to take the heat for the glory of the Lord, he might as well get out of the ministry. This is a pattern found throughout the Scripture. When things go wrong, Christians in general (not everyone) blame God’s earthly leader. If you don’t like what God is saying, you attack the messenger. Thank the Lord, He had a man in Moses who would do what the HE said and not put it up for a vote of the people. Notice what the people said, “. . . THOU has taken us away to die in the wilderness . . .” (Caps mine). Moses, “You got us into this mess, all of us are going to die, and it will be your fault.” Moses exercises his meekness, doesn’t even dignify their stupidity, and says, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today . . .” Moses says, “You are looking at the wrong person (Pharaoh their old master). No wonder you are afraid. You must learn to look to your new Master.” The words “Fear ye not” were meant to settle them down. They were seized with fear. Fear has torment the Bible says. This was the kind of fear they had. The words “Stand still” suggest they were prancing in place! They were getting ready to take their solo flight back to Egypt. When we are stricken by fear, we want to run. Moses said, “Be still.” Then he gave them hope. He said, “ . . . and see the salvation of the LORD.” Moses knew that they could not be wiped out here because he knew God finishes what He starts. Do you know that? Paul says in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
God never leads us into defeat. He leads us into situations to try our faith which to Him is much more precious than gold (1 Pet. 1:7), that He might manifest His care for us. He saved Israel out of this situation and He always will for us.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
