“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.” (Exodus 14:13)
The Israelites plundered the Egyptians and left. They were somewhere between three and four million of them. This left a gigantic gap in the Egyptian labor force. The Israelites had been slaves for 400 years. After Pharoah let them leave, he saw that this was mistake. They needed their Israeli slaves. So, he went after them. “And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.” (Exodus 14:7-9) I know that I have read over the number of Israelites and the number of Pharoah’s army without realizing the enormity of it. He would need that many and maybe more to return four million people to Egypt.
The Israelites had no weapons nor any way to defend themselves. Before them was the sea and behind them Pharaoh’s army. They were trapped. The people were so used to being slaves and a conquered people, they rejected God’s will and wished they’d never left. (Exodus 14:11) But Moses tells them to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.”
Is this a picture of us? When we first came out of the kingdom of darkness, it was a struggle. We didn’t have the Egyptian army after us, but the demons of hell at our heels, taunting and tempting us to go back to our old ways. The Israelites were at a crossroads. They could either see what God would do or give up and return to slavery. And so, the new Christian is at a crossroads. Freedom is so sweet. We grabbed at Jesus, a new life, cleansing and that indescribable joy. We believed or wanted so much to believe this was true, but the circumstances we were in and the world kept telling us it was too good to be true. It was easier to return to darkness. The Israelites could have given up. They wanted to. It would have been easier in their eyes. But Moses pleaded with them.
What is it that will bring God on the scene and change our struggle every time? Surrender is the answer. It’s the surrender to God of our fear, of our inability to do anything and of the impossibility of our situation. We were so used to conniving our way in the darkness to survive, it’s hard to surrender. But we find that we must let go and let God. This morning, I am really burdened by the struggle of people I know in this situation. When we say I can only pray, it sounds so hopeless. But that is not only the only thing I can do, but the best thing I can do. Only the powerful touch of God can change hearts, can change circumstances and can change lives.
In God’s kingdom, we are to serve others. We are to give up the comfort and ease of our lives for others. “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Luke 17:33) And the Lord has given some this gift which draws us to those in need. Like Jesus who spoke to the Samaritan woman, full of sin, we don’t cringe nor draw away from sinful people. We are drawn to deliver them by bringing them the Good News, the Word of God which is alive and powerful to deliver them and the light in their darkness. It is only the Lord Who can deliver them.
We know what happened to the Israelites and the Egyptians. The Lord parted the sea. The Israelites walked on dry land across the sea and escaped. The Egyptian army, 600 of them drowned in the sea. (Exodus 14:19-30) How can we doubt what God can do? It’s not by chance that God sends us to specific people. We bring the light to their darkness. We bring them the weapon they need which if they will pick up and make theirs will deliver them. The Word of God is the sword of the spirit. It can make alive what is dead. Peter wrote, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (1Peter 1:23)
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