Recently I was thinking about all the obstacles that seem to be stacked up before me – continuing issues with the divorce, job issues, money issues, living arrangement issues, parenting issues, etc. And it really got me down. It almost ruined my whole weekend. It made me feel hemmed in, like there was nowhere I could go and no way out. It's not a good feeling! I sent out an Email to some friends in a Bible study group and a few others to request their prayers for me in this and God put something on my heart that I feel I am responsible to share:
I love the Old Testament. It just seems to be very real people, making very real mistakes, seeing very real works of God, and requiring very real faith. Jesus had not yet come. It was but a promise to them – a prophecy. But not a reality as it is – or should be – to us. I often find myself looking behind the story and trying to get inside the heads of those involved. Not just the main characters, however, but the supporting cast. What were they thinking? How was God working in their hearts and minds? And how was the devil working against God?
I was reminded of the story of the children of Israel, the Israelites, and their escape from captivity in Egypt. God delivered them and had Moses lead them away to what they expected would be freedom. They would get their freedom and their deliverance, but not the way that I’m sure they had expected. Rather, they got their deliverance exactly the way God intended. The story is found in Exodus 13:17 – 14:31.
The story begins with this statement, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter…. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.” God intentionally took them the harder way. The longer way. But He had a plan and He knew more than the Israelites would ever know. In the middle of those two statements God explains why He did this – “For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’” God knew that the shorter route would lead them into potential war, and that the Israelites, after so many years in captivity, would likely opt for the slavery they knew than the war they had never experienced. In short – God knew them better than they knew themselves, and He knew what He was doing!
As they were marching through the desert, optimistic about their future and hopeful for their destination, they noticed, apparently from a high point in their journey, that the Egyptian army had taken up arms and had begun pursuing them. Their response was not unlike ours when we find unexpected complications in our plans, rather than looking at the big picture of God’s plan. And this is what I like about the Old Testament accounts – you can hear the sarcasm in their complaints. You can hear their self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness. You can hear their victim mentality rather than the mentality of people who serve an Almighty God. “They said to Moses, ‘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!’”
Moses response was simple – “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.” I LOVE that verse! But do you think they did what Moses commanded (note, it was a command – not a request)? We don’t know for sure… but I’d be surprised if the majority followed his direction. Note also how definitive and absolute all of the language was. There was no ambiguity, nothing was vague, nothing was uncertain, and everything was definite. Yet still we doubt.
Imagine their situation: They are cresting a mountain range after struggling their way to the top, from which they look down behind them and see the dust clouds raised from the Egyptian horses, chariots and soldiers. They are immediately afraid. They look down before them and see the expanse of the Red Sea. The portion of the Red Sea they saw was the eastern of the two “fingertips” of the Red Sea, between which rests the Sinai Peninsula. The portion they faced measured approximately ten miles across. TEN MILES! The deepest parts of this portion of the Red Sea can be as much as 5,000 FEET deep! What do you think they thought when they looked down upon this extreme and very legitimate obstacle? And when they looked back and saw the might of the Egyptian army in pursuit? Hope? Peace? Confidence? Optimism? Quite the contrary, I would think, despite Moses’ exhortations and commands.
But what happened? I think we all know. God commanded Moses to extend his arms out over the sea. God parted the seas. Not only did he part the seas, He gave them DRY GROUND upon which to walk – no slipping, no sinking in the mud, no dangers of any kind. Safe, dry ground. For ten miles across, and approximately a quarter to a half-mile wide. And the depth? The area the Israelites are believed to have crossed “just happens” (remember, there was no sonar back in that day!) to have been positioned directly between the greatest depths of the entire Red Sea, one measuring 3000 feet deep, the other 5000 feet deep. And the Israelites passed right between them, at the most reasonable point possible.
On either side of them they faced, the Bible says, “a wall of water.” Wow. How must THAT have made them feel? Do you think there were still those skeptics who said “Yeah, the ground is dry now, and we’re ok now, but look at THAT! That could come down any minute!” Do you think we would say that? I know I would – and probably do in my own circumstances.
And as they crossed, and as they ascended the western bank of the sea and looked back, what did they see? The Egyptian army – still in pursuit and closing ever faster. Do you think there were those who thought they passed through the sea only to die on the other side at the hand of the Egyptians? I'm sure there were. But I think we all know the outcome. The Egyptians followed the Israelites down into the Red Sea passage. They traveled over the same dry ground. They looked up at the same walls of water to their north and south, left and right. God let them begin to cross. Do you think the Israelites complained about this? Surely! God let them experience the same miraculous passage. And did the Israelites complain? Again, it is not recorded, but I’d bet on it that they did!
“The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night (at the last minute, perhaps?) the Lord looked down… at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said ‘Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!’” So, however far through the passage they were, the Egyptians stopped and began to turn around, as best as they could, given the confusion God was creating amongst them.
“Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back into its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen – the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of these survived.”
Why?? Why did God allow His people to go through this?? To experience this fear? To literally fear for their lives? To question His providence and plan? To suffer the psychological and emotional anguish of their predicament? Easy. God says it in the Scriptures. At the end of the account the author concludes “And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in Him and in Moses His servant.” And at the beginning of the account as well the Lord tells Moses that “I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” When the Israelites find themselves hemmed in between the army of Pharaoh and the expanse of the Red Sea, God again tells Moses “I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
And something that isn’t mentioned in the Scriptures but is there nonetheless – had the children of Israel not been put in that position, had they not responded the way they did, had it not been recorded, and had it not been canonized into the Bible, we would know nothing of it. We would not know the amazing power and faithfulness of God. We would not see that to doubt and fear is both normal and human, though it is also both unnecessary and inappropriate. Bottom line – it is all for His glory. Period. And it should be viewed as our privilege to be a part of it. And when we are a allowed to be a part of it, we need to share it with the world around us. It is our responsibility.
I say this to me, and I say this to you – actually, not me, but God says it – no matter your obstacles, no matter who or what is pursuing you, no matter what fears and doubts you may have (slightly paraphrased):
“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The fears you experience today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14:13-14
An incredible link I found, and from which I obtained some of this information is below – I’d highly encourage you to check it out when you have half an hour or so to watch the YouTube. The basics can be viewed in about 5-10 minutes, though.
http://www.arkdiscovery.com/red_sea_crossing.htm
