Image from flowvella.com
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, "Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish 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 keep still." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers." The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. (Exodus 14:10-31)
Good day and a Happy Friday for you and yours, dear Friend! I pray this finds you well and enjoying the blessing of being alive to face a new day here on the earth!
The picture above does not to justice the image I have in my mind and heart of how God delivered Israel from the Egyptians. I guess I also blame Cecil B. DeMille for using all of the power and majesty of Hollywood in that day, and casting Charlton Heston didn't hurt either, for his epic movie Exodus, is an amazing film and a testament to what humans believe that God can do.
Please keep in mind the thoughts of the average Israelite in that throng of people escaping Egypt in the middle of the night. They probably kept thinking it was too good to be true, and today's passage shows that they were right. Pharaoh and the people of Egypt woke up the the reality that life without their captives would be difficult, and off they go chasing them. The sight of an army catching up to them caused some of them to scream, "Was it because there were no grave in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the wilderness?" And worse insults hurled at Moses for this predicament they found themselves in. Poor Moses, all he can say is, "Do not be afraid..." and that becomes a recurrent theme or intro to many of the powerful stories in the Bible. Hard to not be afraid. They knew the might of Egypt, the sharp edges of their swords and the swiftness of arrows in battle, and to keep running, well, the swimming lessons in the school gym were not enough to survive the crossing of the Red Sea!
God tells Moses to lift up the staff he was carrying and to stretch his hand over the sea and divide it, and the sea parted. It's been many years since I have visited Universal Studios, but back on those days, the parting of the Red Sea was part of one of the rides; again no justice to the imagination, but a triumph of the wonder of what God did on Israel's behalf.
Perhaps you have had days where there was what seemed like an army behind you, and the scariness of an ocean before you, and you might have thought or said something along the lines of the Israelites, and even hearing God saying through the Bible, or through your pastor or friends, you still were afraid, and then it happened! You can't explain it, but you sure enjoyed it! Your problem or challenge defeated by the unexplainable work of God in your life. I pray that caused you to come to the point of faith that the passage closes with; "So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord." May it be so.
PRAYER: God of power and might, stretch forth Your protective hand over this dear reader. Whatever army is chasing her/her, defeat it, and whatever ocean, be it debt, worry, illness, a sour relationship, part it, and let this dear reader walk through it unscathed. Thank You in advance, for your great glory. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share this devotional with someone in need. And view the one minute word of encouragement I recorded earlier this morning. Click on the link below!
Love you all,
Eradio Valverde
