Trusting God At The Red Sea
The Exodus Chronicles Part 6:
Associate Pastor Cole Parleir
The Word: Exodus 14
Focus: God’s path of deliverance is designed to strengthen your faith while bringing about permanent victories in your life.
Points
When God Says “Turn Back”
When the Battle Intensifies
When God Fights For You
When God Says “Turn Back”
Exodus 14:1-4
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-Zephaniah; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.”
The road to freedom may seem inefficient. It is actually God’s master plan to bring about a complete victory.
The LORD said ‘Turn back and encamp” - Progress in God can feel slow and inefficient. Don’t sweep your sin or fears under the rug. God wants to confront everything that kills, steals, and destroys your life of faith in him including heart posters and mentalities that may have persisted for generations and throughout godless cultural norms you have been raised in.
The LORD said take your stand ‘By the sea’ - Where are the emergency exits? By design God allows and even directs his people into circumstances that are vulnerable, unsafe, and do not make sense without a supernatural intervention. This is unto the purpose of revealing where our hope is that it may be placed in Him alone.
Pharaoh will say “they are wandering…the wilderness has shut them in’ - Israel became the LORD’s ‘bait’ to bring justice upon Pharaoh. To the eyes of the faithless your path to God’s freedom in Christ will seem foolish with pointless pain and suffering. When God’s people humble themselves and become ‘fools for Christ’ it makes room for God to get glory over that and those which are opposed to Him.
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.””
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1co.3.18-20.ESV
‘And they did so.’ - When we recognize the narrow path of God’s choosing is so that our freedom may be complete, we will trust and obey quickly and fully.
Question: When God’s path for your freedom in Christ seems foolish and/or slow, will you trust him?
When the Battle Intensifies
Exodus 14:5-12
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sear by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses,”Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt:”Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
When the battle intensifies around God’s people they can be assured of a final victory.
When Pharaoh says ‘What is this we have done,…?” - God’s enemies will bring about their own destruction through an increase of rebellion and intensified fighting. This is the fulfillment of verse 4 (I will harden Pharaoh’s heart), which prepares God’s people for the hot pursuit that is coming next, and gives them faith that God will also fulfill the end of verse 4 “I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host”. The hard heart and the increased warfare are actually proofs that God will deliver his people and you completely.
The rebellious heart is steeped in pride and arrogance resulting in extreme folly. Egypt was the world’s military superpower at the time. Pharaoh unleashed their full arsenal (chosen chariots, officers, and army) on runaway slaves as if they were fighting a militarized nation. This also is the Lord’s doing as he sought to completely set Israel free by drawing out all of the enemies resources for destruction.
How does the LORD use ones own heart to bring about his justice and deliverance? A good example can be found in Aikido - A modern Japanese martial art.
Defined on Wikipedia as “the ‘Way of combining forces’ or ‘Way of unifying energy’, in which the term aiki refers to the martial arts principle or tactic of blending with an attacker's movements for the purpose of controlling their actions with minimal effort. One applies aiki by understanding the rhythm and intent of the attacker to find the optimal position and timing to apply a counter-technique.” Essentially, God uses their own intense folly to bring about their destruction because a hard heart is incapable of repentance. Think Steven Siegal making someone look foolish when he simply side steps their angry attack and they hurt themselves.
Aikido demonstration: https://youtu.be/DVs--uHf4sE
“…and they feared greatly.” - God’s greatest victories in our lives can also be accompanied by our greatest fears despite God showing himself faithful to us in in the past. We are all like Dori of Finding Nemo when it comes to God’s faithfulness, needing him to introduce himself to us again. We need the Gospel everyday!
“It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” - in defense and sympathy of the Israelites faithless cries, God was about to do a new thing that had never been done in all of history. There was no precedent for what he was about to do…and God had not yet told them what he was about to do. He had only said “I will get glory over Pharaoh and his hosts”. God’s glory was the only plan they knew.
Question: In times of uncertainty, are you living for God’s glory alone? Do you believe he can do a new thing?
When God Fights For You
Exodus 14:13-31
“And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work 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 be silent.”
The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”
When we do not give way to fear and stand firm on God’s word, he will work his complete salvation on our behalf.
“For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.” - The LORD promises and accomplishes complete, final, and total victory over his enemies. This is the appropriate expectation for those in Christ.
“Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them”
- On your faith journey the Lord is present helping you in your weakness and protecting you from the enemy so that you can make it all the way home.
How does the Exodus apply to me? Only slaves need freedom
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:31-36 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.8.31-36.ESV
This is the Gospel. The son remains in God’s house forever.
God came to earth as the man Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He lived the perfect sinless life we should have lived, died the death we as sinners deserved, and rose from the dead three days later confirming humanities penalty had been paid for all who repent and place their trust in him as savior and Lord. For those trust this, they have the right to become children of God with a permanent place in the Father’s house, the promised land of heaven.
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.”
Hebrews 11:1-2 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.11.1-2.ESV
And…
“By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.”
Hebrews 11:29 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.11.29.ESV
Place your faith in Jesus Christ today, and you will have hope for tomorrow and all days to come as you walk free from God’s wrath as a child of God.
Reflection Questions
Do you identify with the Isrealites in any way in Exodus 14? The wandering? The vulnerability? The uncertainty of God’s plan for you and his glory as you walk into freedom?
As the Isrealites by faith crossed through the Red Sea into the promised freedom from their slave drivers, have you gone through the waters of baptism by faith in Jesus Christ?
Pray and Act
Heavenly Father, you are holy and faithful in all your ways. Thank you for the offer of true and complete freedom through the gift of forgiveness and unmerited forever purchased by your Son Jesus at the cross. Help me to trust you to finish the work you began in me as you bring me and others home as sons and daughters into your eternal kingdom. In Jesus name, amen.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher