November 17, 2007

“THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU!”

Exodus 14-15

Have you ever felt trapped by life’s circumstances? We all have, haven’t we? Maybe you are even feeling trapped this morning by some situation or set of circumstances. We have some expressions in the English language to express this kind of dilemma: “Caught between a rock and hard place. No way forward, no way back. Trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea.”

That last one is especially appropriate to our message this morning, because that is where we find the Israelites as Exodus 14 opens. Last time, following the tenth and final plague, we left the Israelites marching triumphantly out of Egypt. They carried with them the riches of Egypt in a symbolic plundering of the nation they had served as slaves for over 400 years. Call the plunder “back wages.” They marched out in victory. Exodus 13:18 says they went up out of Egypt armed for battle. Literally, they went up in formation. Exodus 14:8 states that they were marching out boldly. The actual phrase states that they went out with raised hand.

If we reconstruct the metaphor of the boxing match, the end of round 11 was the apparent end of the fight. With the great smashing blow of the tenth plague and the death of all the first-born sons of Egypt, Pharaoh is lying flat on his back in the center of the ring, and God and the Israelites are triumphantly leaving the building, celebrating their victory,

The last section of Exodus 13 contains various geographical references which leave the scholars debating and scratching their heads. All we really need to know is that the Israelites do not follow the obvious short route toward Canaan. And as they follow God’s leading, they actually double back, temporarily on their route. And they end up at the edge of a large body of water, described in Hebrew as “yam suph” or “the sea of reeds” Once again, scholars debate at length as to the actual identity of this body of water, whether it is to be identified with the Red Sea as traditionally translated, or whether it is one of the lakes that lay along their route. The only thing that is really relevant to our understanding is that it was a large body of water and presented an absolute block to their forward progress.

Now, at this point, let us go back to the boxing match. Pharaoh is rousing from his knock out blow. He is taking stock of what he has lost, and what it has cost his nation. Plus he is getting reports that the Israelites seem to be wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. Suddenly he shakes himself and releases a cry of rage. “This fight isn’t over yet! Get my armor! Summon my chariot! Gather the army! We’re going after them. We’ll show them who is boss. We’ll show them who has the real power!” And so this unorthodox 12^th round begins as Pharaoh and his forces pursue the Israelites, and find them camped by the sea. The Israelites were literally “trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea.”

What do we do when we are trapped? How do we respond? Let’s look at how the Israelites responded and see if we can see any parallels to our own experience. The first thing they did was panic. We see this in Exodus 14:10: As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified. I like the old King James language here: they were sore afraid. I would be too! They were trapped! There was nowhere to go. The sea in front of them and Pharaoh and his army behind them. What could they do? So they panicked.

The second thing they did was to pray. The last part of verse 10 says that they cried out to Yahweh. Now that is a good thing to do. That is absolutely the right response to make when we find ourselves trapped, with no way out. But we learn from this passage that there is prayer and there is prayer. There is believing prayer, but there is also doubting prayer. We know that the Israelites’ prayer here was not believing prayer because of what they did next.

The third thing they did was to complain and to look for someone to blame for their dilemma. We find this in Exodus 14:11-12: 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. They complained and they blamed Moses. “This is all your fault! We should have known better than to follow you. Look at the awful predicament you have put us in!”

When you think about it, these are three pretty common, almost universal responses to being trapped in a dilemma that seems to have no solution. Panic, pray (but without any real faith) and then complain and find someone to blame. Maybe that’s where you are today.

But here is where we see Moses in his role as a great leader, a spiritual leader, a leader par excellence. He stands before the people, and he challenges them by giving them, in both word and example, another way to respond. His words are recorded in Exodus 14:13-14: Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance Yahweh will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. Yahweh will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

This is the stuff of great leadership. Moses is calling on the people to put their trust and confidence in God. “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm. Watch and see what God will do. Watch his deliverance, his salvation. He will fight for you. There is only one thing required of you. Be still. Literally, be quiet. Stop your complaining and your whining and your blaming. Just be still and watch God work.”

That’s hard to do, isn’t it? It is hard to wait and be still and to watch God work out his plan. It goes against our nature somehow. But that is what God wants us to do. Be still. I ran across this verse in my devotions a number of months ago. It was at a point in time when I was facing a very difficult dilemma. As I read this passage it almost leapt off the page at me and settled in my heart. I memorized it and found myself quoting it numerous times each day to quiet my mind and heart when it would start to race and fret over the dilemma. It served to steady me and keep me focused and calm during a difficult time.

The rest of the chapter narrates one of the best known stories in the Bible and in all of literature. The first thing God did was to put himself in between the Israelites and their enemies. Look at verse 19: Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. The end of chapter 13 introduced the pillar of God’s presence into the text. It was a pillar of cloud by day, and it became a pillar of fire by night. It was the visible sign of God’s presence, and it was his means of guiding them. When the pillar moved, they moved. They could travel by night or day. This pillar never left them for all the years they were to travel through the wilderness. Typically this pillar was positioned in front of the people to lead them forward. But on this occasion it moved behind them and took up position between the people and the forces of Pharaoh. It gave light to the Israelites, but darkness to the Egyptians.

Then Moses, at God’s command, stretched his rod out over the sea, and all that night a mighty wind blew and literally split or divided the sea in two, piling up the water on each side like a solid wall, with dry ground between. The Israelites, with all their possessions were able to pass through the sea on dry ground. I am not exactly sure what the pillar of cloud and fire did at that point as the text doesn’t tell us. Did it move through the sea with them as their rear guard as they passed through? Or did it hold the Egyptians at bay until all the Israelites had passed through the sea? I am not sure. But at some point, it moved, because the Egyptians were able to see the sea, and the path through the midst of the sea that the Israelites had used. We’re told in Exodus 14:23: The Egyptians pursued them and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.

At that point, two things happened. First we are told that Yahweh looked down on them from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw them into confusion. The wheels of their chariots bogged down, jammed, fell off. They found themselves mired in the sea bed. At that point, they knew they were in trouble and tried to flee. They cried out to one another: “Let’s get away from the Israelites! Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt.” But as they attempted to flee, Moses, from the far shore, stretched out his rod once again, and those two massive walls of water collapsed as the waters of the sea rushed back to their normal levels. Not one of the Egyptian forces who had entered the sea survived. The Israelites saw the Egyptians only one more time, as their corpses washed up on the shore. Did Pharaoh enter the sea with his army to be destroyed along with them? Or did he watch with horror from the far shore as his army was destroyed? The text does not tell us. But either way, this fight is over. Round 12 is the final knock out blow. Yahweh is the champion!

As Israel’s champion, let us briefly review what Yahweh did for them. First of all, he led them and gave them guidance. He was in the pillar to guide them by day and by night. At times, he seemed to be leading them in circles. It was he that led them into what appeared to be a trap from which there was no escape. But he knew what he was doing. He had a plan. He was their guide.

Second, he protected them. He sent his cloud to stand between them and their enemy. Nothing and no one could touch them as long as he stood between them and the Egyptians.

Third, he opened a way for them to move forward. God is able to make a way where there is no way. God, with his powerful breath, could split the sea and lead them through on dry land.

Fourth, he wiped out the enemy that pursued them. There is a military phrase that I hear in the movies a lot: “Watch my back.” That day, God was watching Israel’s back. It was a wonderful act of deliverance.

That is the kind of God we have. I believe that he is performing all four of those functions constantly for every one of his children. He is guiding, he is protecting us while we wait for our deliverance, he is opening a way forward and he stands ready to protect us from the enemies that try to attack us from behind.

But why did God do it? This is important! Did he do it because the Israelites were in trouble? Because they needed God to rescue them? Well, yes, in part. But the Bible is always God centered and not man centered. The text here tells us clearly that God had a deeper and more profound purpose in his actions that day. In fact, this is so fundamental to the story that it is repeated three times.

In 14:4: But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.

It is there again in 14:17-18: And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I gain glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and his horsemen.

There it is: I will gain glory. Or as the King James Version translates it, “I will get me honor.”  All of God’s acts, both in history and in eternity, are ultimately for his own glory. “That the Israelites, and the Egyptians, and ultimately the whole world may know that I am Yahweh.”

This leads us to a very important perspective and profound life principle for us to take away from this passage: Life’s impossibilities are God’s opportunities to display his glory. When you and I are in a dilemma, when we are caught in a trap from which we can see no way out, we need to remember this truth. Life’s impossibilities are God’s opportunities to display his glory.

God’s glory is clearly on display in the hymn of praise that Moses recorded for us in the first 18 verses of chapter 15. We don’t have time to look at it in detail. But look at God’s character and glory that is reflected in those verses:

He is highly exalted (he has triumphed gloriously) (15:1)

Yahweh is my strength…he has become my salvation (15:2)

Yahweh is a warrior. Yahweh is his name. (15:3)

Your right hand, O Yahweh, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O Yahweh, shattered the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty, you threw down those who opposed you. (15:6-7)

Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? (15:11)

Yahweh will reign forever and ever. (15:18)

Life’s impossibilities are God’s opportunities to display his glory.

We know it’s an Old Testament principle. But is it a New Testament principle as well? Is it a truth for us to rest in today? Turn with me to II Corinthians 1:8-11. As I read this, listen for the echoes of the events of Exodus 14:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

It’s the same truth, isn’t it? The same principle is declared in the New Testament. Life’s impossibilities are God’s opportunities to display his glory. Are you willing to trust him? Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of Yahweh which he will work for you today... Yahweh will fight for you and you have only to be still.