Why are
you crying out to me? Move on!
Exodus
13:17-14:31*
Key verse -
14: 15 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell
the Israelites to move on”.
Introduction:
In last week’s message, God told Israel how
they should remember the Passover. They
were to observe three things: the Passover reenactment by only circumcised
Israelites, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the consecration of their
firstborns. These were to help Israel remember the works of God, specifically how He
saved their firstborns from the angel of death, and how He had freed them from slavery in Egypt. Israel was commanded to
observe these three things as a token of
their loyalty and honor to their God YHWH. In this way, the relationship
between God as Lord and Israel as His
firstborn son was solidified. This was the confirmation of the covenant that
was made between Abraham and God (Genesis 17). At that time, God declared His
will to take Abraham and his descendants as His people. Abraham was given the
ordinance of circumcision as a sign of that covenant.
Israel was
embarking on a new life as God’s firstborn son. That new life began with their journey
to the land of God’s promise. They
travelled for forty years; this journey itself was a journey of life. At the
outset of their journey, God gave Israel the most important lesson through one remarkable event, the Red Sea crossing.
The journey progressed
as follows: 1) the Exodus from Egypt 2)
crossing the Red Sea, and 3) the three
problems they experienced on the way - fighting against the Amalekites, the administrative adjustment, and Israel’s arrival
and meeting God at Mountain Sinai (Horeb). Crossing the Red Sea is the first
event in this journey. As such, it bears an enormous amount of significance for
the rest of the journey that still lay ahead of them.
Life is a
journey. It has a beginning and an ending. Whether we like it or not, we have already
begun this journey, and we shall reach
the end sometime in the coming years. Just as Israel began a new journey with
God, so have we begun a similar journey
with Him.
Before
considering Israel’s journey, we should look at two things: what was Israel’s mindset as they set out on
their journey, and what set-up do we have in taking our journey.
a) The
mindset:
The Israelites
were slaves in Egypt. Most likely, all of them were born slaves and did not
know any life other than slavery. This is very significant to our
understanding of the upcoming events.
b)
Set-up of the journey (Exodus 13:17-22):
First, God determined the course of
this journey and set the direction (Exodus 13:17-18);
Since they
were heading to the land God was going to give them, He led them from the very beginning
of this journey. Out of consideration for His people, God set the course of
this journey. ordinarily the best and shortest way from Goshen (Ramses) to Canaan would
be to go along the Mediterranean coastline. This was a flat, well-developed road meant for
travel, with few hills or mountains. Along this road, there was also more water and pastures. However, God avoided this
road because Israel was not ready to engage in any wars; the fiercest people,
the Philistines, lived all along this coast. So He chose a southward route and
then to the desert in the middle of Arabian Peninsula. This direction was different
way, but God knew Israel so well and had planned the entire course of the journey.
When He chose this direction, God took into consideration Israel’s spiritual condition,
the experience that they would have on this road, and what He would teach them as
they were taking this way. Israel did
not have any thoughts or understanding of what this road might entail, but this was the way God chose and He knew it was
the best way for them to get to their final destination, the Promised Land. For
us, as we begin a journey while God leads, we are in the same situation as the
Israelites. God leads and chooses the
way we are to go. We can find such a principle in Jesus’ life (Matthew 4:1). We
believers are to be led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18). How
could this possible? This is answered in
Israel’s first experience with God’s mighty power. When I say that this was their
first, I am talking about a personal experience, seeing and being a part of the actual event. This
experience bears profound significance for
one’s walk with God. God provided such an experience for Abraham (Genesis 12), as
well as in the life of Jesus (Matthew 4:1). Jesus let his disciples experience God’s
power before he asked them who they thought he was (Luke 9:1-6).
Second, the Israelites set their hearts on the hope
of the Promised Land as their final destination.
About 400 years before the exodus, Joseph died. At that time, Joseph
envisioned this moment and told the Israelites to take his bones with them when
they left. Even while his life on earth was ending, Joseph saw the place that
God would prepare for his people s a permanent dwelling place. As they took the
bones of Joseph with them (19), their destination was clear, the land of God’s
promise, the land that He would give as their everlasting possession. As Israel
exhumed Joseph’s body in order to take his bones, they were looking ahead to the wonderful place of God’s eternal
blessing! Likewise, when we set our eyes on where we are going, we can
handle the problems along the way a little better. Our journey through life is
the kingdom of God that He prepared for us. This is the place of eternal
blessing. None of us should lose this focus.
In all three synoptic gospels, just before Jesus was arrested, his main
teaching was about the end of the ages and his coming power and glory. ** Jesus drew his disciples’
attentions to that future time, the time
that would bring the full restoration of God’s kingdom through Christ’s second
coming. That certainty was deeply planted in the hearts of the Israelites as
they exhumed Joseph’s body in order to carry his bones to the Promised Land.
Third, God led the journey: He led Israel
by literally standing in front of them and guiding them. When He stopped, the entire march
stopped, and when He moved on, the entire community got up and moved on. His
presence was with them 24 hours a day. At
the night, it was seen as a pillar of fire and during the day, it was a pillar
of cloud. His presence was visible and
unambiguous to them; God Almighty was literally with Israel. God wanted to give
them comfort and peace through His protection.
God’s will to uphold His
name in glory
At the outset
of this journey, God decided to let the world know who He was, not only Israel
but also the many kingdoms in the
surrounding area, in addition to what He would and could do for his chosen son,
Israel.
[Exodus 14:1-4]
In the beginning of this journey, Israel headed south instead of eastward, because God decided
not to have them go through the Philistines’ territory along the coasts of
Egypt and Canaan. However, as they reached Etham, God suddenly had them turn back toward Ramses, i.e. northward again. Israel encamped
near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. It appeared that Israel had lost
her way, or did not know how or where to cross the sea.
[Exodus 14:5-9]
As Pharaoh heard that Israel had left, he and his officials felt a deep sense
of loss, and they changed their mind, deciding to pursue Israel. It is very
interesting that, less than a few days or weeks before this, all the firstborn
sons in Egypt died by the power of the God of Israel. The Egyptians’ minds and
hearts were so engrossed with power and
control that they forgot the power of Israel’s God. They made the foolish
decision to run after the Israelites. To Pharoah, it seemed that Israel was a powerless,
unorganized crowd that did not know where they were going, that Israel was just
a prey for his mighty army. As God had said to Moses, He hardened Pharaoh’s
heart, so he rounded up the best of his army and chased after them. Here it
says that he mobilized 600 of his best chariots, his royal army along with
other chariots. The Egyptians were the first inventors of wheels and chariots, and it is estimated that the
number of chariots amounted to 2000-2500, the most advanced machinery and army
of the time. If this army could do this, then Israel had no chance whatsoever.
They had no weapons and two-thirds of them were women and children. Could they
run away? The Red Sea was in front of them, and the vast Egyptian army, with
their many chariots, was behind them. Even if there was a way to escape, they
could not outrun the chariots. The Egyptians
pursued Israel and soon overtook them as
Israel camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth.
When the
Israelites saw this, they were frightened.
Exodus 14:10-12.
“As
Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians,
marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 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!"
In terror, Israel
cried out loud to the Lord, and poured
out their anger to Moses. As we see in these verses, their greatest fear was the
fear of death — no graves in the Egypt…brought us to the desert to
die…been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. Who else would not have feared death in such a
situation as this? There was practically no way that they could possibly escape from the danger of Egyptian army. It
was a terrifying situation. Who could be
calm and collected in such a situation as this? They cried out to God and
blamed Moses; they ran out of any hope
for living.
They faced
two impossible things to overcome: the mighty Egyptian army and the Red Sea; both of these posed as a death threat. Without
any weapons, together with a million women and children, how could Israel go
against Egypt’s army that had thousands
of charioteers? Could they cross the Red Sea? Could they swim? Could they make
a bridge? Simply both of these dangers were insurmountable forces and both threatened
their lives. Fear of death? Yes, it was a natural response in such a situation
as this.
In this
situation, Moses answered the people:
Exodus 14:13-14.
“Moses answered the 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."
A vast army
was dashing down on them with killing machines. About two million people were
standing frozen in front of them. Defeat was the sure outcome. However, Moses shouted ‘Don’t be afraid! Stand firm! And see
the deliverance the Lord will bring!’
Let’s examine
again how the Israelites were moving on their journey: in front was either a pillar
of fire or cloud, and behind this was Moses, followed by about 2 million people,
spreading out over a mile. As the Israelites heard the rumbling of the Egyptian chariots from behind them,
they looked back and became panicked. While
they were frozen with fear, what was the pillar of cloud doing? Was it standing still or continuing to
lead the way in front of them? And were
the Israelites still following the pillar of cloud?
At this time,
God said to Moses:
“Then
the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites
to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide
the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:15-16).
It seems that
they were frozen in fear and were not
moving on. God told Moses to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the
sea. Should Moses have known to do this? How? Why did Moses not think about
this? When Moses raised his staff and stretched out his hand, plagues came over
Egypt; the water became blood, the dust
became flies, locust came on the wind,
plagues killed people and animals. This reminded them of God’s power. Though
Moses had personally experienced this power, such a thing as dividing the water had never occurred to him
as being a part of God’s plan or thought to be even possible by any stretch of the
imagination! Moses knew and believed that God would deliver them, but he
had no idea how. It was likely that Moses also was lingering and did not know
what to do, also not moving forward
along with the pillar of clouds.
When Moses
stretched out his staff over the sea, the wind blew over it and the sea was
divided into two. The bottom of the sea appeared and it was dry; Israel marched
on. The sea of death turned into a sea
of life, making it possible for Israel to cross. God rebuked Moses: “Why are you crying out to me? Move on!” With
God, there is a way, even in such
situation as being hemmed in by two
deathly forces.
As soon as they got into the sea, the angel,
as well as the clouds, moved to the rear of the crowd. At this critical moment, God showed
His protection from the mighty Egyptian army. God made a barrier between Israel
and the Egyptians. Additionally, God brought darkness to the Egyptians and
light to the Israelites. This happened
all through the night as long as the Egyptian army was chasing Israel. For the Israelites,
the mighty Egyptian army behind them was very unnerving. In such a fearful
situation, God was with them, even as they passed through the sea of death. How
they crossed the sea is pictured in this verse:
Exodus 14:22
“and
the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on
their right and on their left”.
Only God, the
creator of heaven and earth can do such thing. No one, not even Moses, thought
or imagined that this was possible.
As the Israelites
marched on the dry seabed, the Egyptian army followed closely behind them; however,
they did not realize that the pillar of cloud they were trying to get through was the work
of God. To them it looked as if it was just a cloud. But what did God do?
Exodus14:24-25
"During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar
of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed
the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving.”
God was doing
far more than just making a barrier to protect Israel from Egypt. He caused
them a lot of trouble. So many chariots had a hard time moving forward; they
were delayed and even stalled in the middle of the sea bed. As they struggled,
they came back to their senses and realized that the God of Israel was in this;
And
the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is
fighting for them against us."
When the time
was right, Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and the waters flowed back
over the Egyptians, their chariots, and their horse men. Then what happened?
Exodus
14:27-28 “Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea
went back to 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 them survived.”
When they
realized they were in trouble, they turned back in order to go back to the other
side, but the water flowed back on them. The outcome was horrendous; all of
their chariots and horsemen were swept away by the torrent of water, and the
mighty army, the best army of the time, was swallowed up by the sea and was gone in a minute. No one survived! But the Israelites
crossed the sea on dry ground, with none of them missing.
The mighty
army posed as a threat for Israel; it
was the source and cause of their fear. Israel shouted “Was it because there
were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” (v11). But that death threat was totally and
completely removed, thrown into the Red
Sea. The Red Sea opened its mouth and swallowed them up. Again, it was an
unthinkable, impossible thing to
imagine. The next day, Israel saw many lying dead on the shore. It was a dismal
fate for Egyptian army, the best army of the time.
When Israel
saw this with their own eyes, what did they understand?
Exodus
14:31 “And when the Israelites saw the
mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared
the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.”
This mighty army, the best army of that time,
which the Israelites were so afraid of, was totally destroyed by God’s power. In
this way, God removed both of Israel’s causes for fear - the Red Sea and the mighty army of Egypt.
Then why did
God throw Israel into such an unnerving situation? Was it necessary? Why? There
are three reasons that we can find in the passage:
1.
“But
I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the
Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.”
(v4b)
2.
“Moses
answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will
bring you today.” (v13)
3.
“And
when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the
Egyptians, the people feared the LORD
and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” (v31)
Through these
mighty acts, God wanted to achieve three things:
First, it was to bring Him glory. The God of Israel was not like the gods
of other nations. HE is the mighty and only true God. Pharaoh’s army was one of
the best of that time; many nations feared them. However, despite their power and
might, this army was totally annihilated by the God of Israel. The news spread wide to all the neighboring
nations. Let the power of the world know who God is, His power, will, and care for His chosen Israel.
No matter how mighty an army a kingdom has, they cannot compete with God. The
world’s powers will challenge God’s power and His people, because they are
proud and unwilling to acknowledge the God
of heaven and earth. But no worldly
power can stand against God, YHWH.
Second, God wanted Israel to see the deliverance that He would provide. Israel was literally facing death. If
God was not with them, then there was no way they could get out; they would
either die by Egyptian swords or taken
back to slavery in Egypt again.
There were two formidable enemies that posed a threat: the mighty Egyptian army
and the Red Sea.
God made a dry path through the Red Sea and removed threat. He also buried the Egyptian army in the sea. God removed both threats. Only God
Almighty could do this.
In the process, God was very close to
them; He stood between Israel and Egypt’s mighty army. He caused trouble
for them to prevent them making any further move against Israel’s march.
God protects His people even the worst conditions , even by dividing a sea.
Third,
Israel saw God’s mighty hand at work.
When He struck down the Egyptian firstborns, they did not see how it happened.
They only saw the outcome of the angel of death’s attack—crying in every family
in Egypt and the burial of thousands of dead bodies. But at this time, the
Israelites themselves were in real danger, and in that danger, they witnessed God’s
work. They saw how the army was
swallowed up by the sea and how the Red Sea was divided by the wind. They
walked on the dry seabed; they literally
walked in the depths of that miracle!
Think about the wall of water on both sides as they walked through the Red Sea!
God worked through all of these experiences so that Israel might fear Him.
It amounts to the experience of resurrection. As I mentioned, Israel was as
good as dead, being hemmed in between the sea and the Egyptian army. However,
God made a passage that led them out of the death trap. It was a demonstration
of His will and power to deliver them,
even from the power of death. As we noted earlier, the main fear that
Israel had was the fear of death. But at the end, this experience resulted in a similar
kind of experience to resurrection from
the dead. When one overcomes the power of death, there is nothing that one cannot overcome. This
was what God wanted to convey and impart
to the Israelites’ hearts. So do not
fear, but trust in God!
What
does this tell us?
It
is interesting that God created the Father-firstborn son relationship with
Israel through the Passover. Paul says something similar about the believers in Romans 8:32.
“He
who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not
also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Jesus
bought us with his blood and we have become his children, just as God saved Israel
from the angel of death at Passover. Soon after saving them in this way, God
let Israel face a dreadful situation. Yet God showed them that He was still with
them, even through such life-threatening situation. God is the protector of our
life and journey toward His kingdom.
“Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in
all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:35-9 NIV)
Israel
had just begun their journey to the Promised Land. At the outset of this
journey, God demonstrated His total protection and love for His people. This
protection in love was not based on how Israel behaved. I am sure that, among
the two million Jews, there were many who were far worse than us, but God did
not point them out. God protected them all. What did God want to convey to Israel? In the
journey that followed, He would protect them, no matter what happened. If God
rescued them from the power of death, then what was there that he could not save them from? Nothing!
Once
in the past, we began our life with Christ. Since then, we are on a journey, a journey
of life as well as a journey toward God’s kingdom. Have you experienced
anything comparable to Israel’s
experience with the Red Sea? This event was God’s handiwork. Israel was thrown
into a dire situation —facing death. Why did God do that? Was it necessary for
Israel? Absolutely! In God’s perspective, it was indeed necessary for Israel to go through in order that they might become
be His people and enter into the land of God’s promise.
Our
lives are rife with problems; some of which feel like as great a crisis as the Red
Sea event was for Israel. However, we have to remember that God is leading and
He is with us in our real lives.
God
set up this situation because He chose you as one of His children and because wants
you to enter His kingdom. So, life-threatening situations are, after all, God’s
design for our lives so that we may know His mighty power and love for His children. So what do we have to
do? Fear, crying out, and blaming Moses?
Or we can move on in faith; no mighty
army or Red Sea is insurmountable for us!
Exodus
14:15 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell
the Israelites to move on.”
Move
on into the Red Sea and see God’s mighty work!
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