Crossing the Red Sea

 

Exodus 14:1-9

 

September 2, 2024

 

Crossing the Red Sea

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-zephon; 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.

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was 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 sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

As one who is a follower of the Lord Jesus, much is to be learned about God’s leadership.  Back in chapter thirteen, we know they were very close to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We find that promise to be confirmed to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15,  “And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, 'I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your offspring.  Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

And 430 years in slavery, they were dressed for war, but their hearts and minds were a long way from being warriors.  So, they move around in the wilderness, and now God’s ready to once more show them who is leading them.  You might think they would understand after the 10 plagues and the blood on the doorpost.  But are we that much different than them?  God, who does not change, the culture changes people’s hearts, harden and turn away from God, and they begin to act like they are in charge.  The only thing God desired was that the Egyptians should know that I am the Lord.”   His desire for you and your nations is that you will know He is the Lord.  Do you understand, John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” 

Your Creator loves you and desires to have a relationship with you.

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice