A DEEP SALVATION


12: 31 During the night Pharaoh Dudimose summoned Moses and Aaron
"Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites!
Go, worship the LORD as you have requested.
32 Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go.
And also bless me."
Pharaoh was beginning to feel a little pressured by all of those losses, and his gods did not fare so well either. So, bless me, I need a hug.

33 The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country.
They were beginning to get the impression that they would all die. The stupid and stubborn decisions of leadership can have a very negative effect on the general population.

36 The LORD had made the Egyptians favourably disposed to them. They gave them what they asked for. We are not sure when the Israelites asked to borrow things, but it was probably in the middle of night, while the Egyptians were mourning, and afraid that they were going to die, and did not know what was coming next. “Can I have that beautiful dress that I admire so much?

Sure, take it. This grief is too much, I can’t think.

Oh, and can I have the earrings that go with it?

Yeh, whatever.

What about a couple of matching necklaces?

Just take it and leave me alone.

Sure, I was also wondering about that nice china set that you have.

Take whatever you want and leave before we all die.

Should be stay a few more days?

NO! Please take what you want and leave before you kill us.

So the LORD had made the Egyptians favourably disposed to them.

Numbers 33:3,4 states that they marched out boldly in full view of the Egyptians who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them.

Ex. 13: 17 God did not lead them on the road which went through Philistine country, though that was shorter. "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt."

They went prepared for war, but were not prepared for war. They carried with them all of the weapons of war, armed for battle, but they had never fought. They were of a mind to escape, not to conquer. It is very different staying at home and watching God decimate your enemies than participating in the killing yourself. God still was not finished with Egypt, even tho the people did not know it yet.

So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. There were about 2 million, including many other non-Israelites as well as large flocks and herds of livestock.

They travelled fast on a well lit path without glaring sun. There was a pillar of cloud to guide them by day, and a nice big night-light so that they could just keep going. Their dough made and ready for baking, so they did not have to stop long for eating.

Things going good. They got away from Dudimose, had easy travel and lots of money. They didn’t need to use their credit cards, as the Egyptians had been so generous in giving them all that backpay for all those years of serving. The wallet was full, the wardrobe was gorgeous, and they were on the way to the promised land. Three weeks of travelling, and no problems. Life with God was good.



A flat tire - Change of plans

In Chapter 14 God said: “let’s wait for Pharaoh”

What?!! you got to be joking! We just got away. Besides Pharaoh already learned his lesson. Didn’t he?

Turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.
3 Pharaoh will think that 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'

Just pharaoh? I think that everyone who knew of the route was also confused.

4God said “I will harden Dude’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Dude and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD."

But God, Do we have to do this now? Let’s do it next year.

So they turned South and travelled 29 kms. thru a long deep canyon. I am sure that there was a lot of discussion as they walked along.

Why are we going this way? Isn’t this is a dead end?

A vacation on the beach is nice for the kids. We have had a difficult time, we have walked a long way. We have a much longer way to go yet. We could do with a little beach time. Besides, Pharaoh is not going to mess with us again.

Others would be saying: We are moving - let’s get to our new home. We can do our family vacation later. Besides, we are too close to Egypt yet.

As the people arrived at the beach, they noticed that the cloud was in front of them, but so also the red sea. They quickly realized that they would have to go back thru that canyon, back north, and then around the red sea to get to Mt. Sinai. Well, might as well get in a bit of snorkling.

*****

5 When Pharaoh Dudimose was told that the people had fled, Dude and his officials changed their minds and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"
6 So he took his chariot, his army and six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the older models of chariots in Egypt. He set out in pursuit the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.

9 The Egyptians pursued the Israelites and overtook them As they were camping by the sea near Pi Hahiroth.
all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops
thousands of them. An overwhelming force.

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them.
They were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
11 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?
12 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!"

The red sea was 11 kms wide and ½ km deep. There was no escape
the wall of mountains blocked their exit and the Egyptians blocked every small path off the beach.
Israel was facing 600 state of the art chariots plus many conventional chariots, plus troops without number. It was certain death with no hope.

Then 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.
14 The LORD will fight for you;
you need only to be still."

Did Moses believe his own words? Perhaps Moses was thinking “did I really say that?”
We see a bit of Moses’s heart when God says to him: “Why are you crying out to me?”
Instead of acting, Moses is crying inwardly. Moses is quite aware that there is no exit to this situation.

God rebukes him and says “Stop crying” Tell the Israelites to move on. Before Moses has time to ask “where?” God points forward and tells him to divide the water.
16 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. The Egyptians will follow you, but that is all in the plan.

Of course, Moses does not have any alternatives, so he obeys. To give Moses a bit more time, the Shekinah cloud moves behind Israel and separates them from the Egyptians. So as Moses stretched out his staff, a strong wind came up and blew all night. It wasn’t a instantaneous miracle, but it must have been fascinating to watch the water recede and the walls build up. Eventually, the floor of the sea was dry, and the Israelites went thru. Perhaps it was like an aquarium and the kids had fun looking at the fish on the other side of the wall. I am sure the parents tho hustled as fast as they could. Glorious as it was, I am sure it did not feel all that safe with the water walls on each side and the Egyptians behind. As they all reached the other side, the Egyptians entered the path.

God told Moses: I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."

The Egyptians must have been very upset and set on revenge, because no warrior in his right mind would ever go into such a water trench. But they did. All of Dude's horses, chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. Talk about tunnel vision! Just when the night was at it’s darkest, and the Egyptians almost reached the other side, the LORD threw the Egyptian army into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they haddifficulty driving.

Finally, the Egyptians caught on. "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."

Wow - a new thought! And this is news? It is amazing how uncontrolled emotions can completely blind a person to the hand of God. 26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen."

27 at daybreak the sea went back to its place and the Lord drowned all the fleeing Egyptians. Not one of them survived.

God told Moses: I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen." This verse is a bit puzzling, because if they are all dead, how will they know? Perhaps one should insert the phrase “remaining in Egypt” will know that I am the Lord.

30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.
31 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.

Wow. What a salvation:
We thot God was good when he destroyed or humiliated all of those Egyptian gods, but this is incredible.
To control the sea in this manner.
To blind the Egyptians to their immanent death.
To end once and for all the fear of going back into slavery.
To provide all of those new weapons for future wars,
The deliverance is now complete.

Truly, we have a warrior God.


The response:
20 Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.

Sing it again and again:
21 "Sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea."

Conclusion:

Have you crossed your red sea?
Has God set you free from your bondage to sin and death?
Is he your God, or just the god of your fathers?
Can you sing:
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.
He is “My God”.

God is in a rush to get to the land of rest. The destination is far less important than the relationship. Eventually we will get to our promised land, but what a trip of discovery. We often wonder at the detours that come our way, at the impossible situations that we find ourselves in with no way out. God desires two things. One is to be glorified by the lives of those who oppose Him, and two, to show us that He is completely trusty, faithful, and able to deliver us.

Is He your God, or just your father’s God