Several months ago, we began examining promises God has made to bring our Savior into the world. We have witnessed God’s promises, after the fall in Eden, to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Time and again, we have seen the frailty and failure of men juxtaposed to the strength and faithfulness of God. If we have learned anything from these months of study, we must conclude that God is faithful to keep His promises and that He is very patient in working with people He chooses to carry out His plans.
Today, we come to another of God’s great victories for his people. We will be looking at selected passages in Exodus 13 and 14 about God’s Promised Victory when He sets the Israeli slaves free. https://www.cosdavis.com/gods-new-year-promise/ will provide the background for what we are examining today.
Exodus 12:51 sets the stage for what is about to happen: “And it came about on that same day that the Lord brought the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.”
The slaves have been freed, but the battle is not complete. Pharaoh is a stubborn loser, and he is not finished with his attempt to maintain his power and rule over God’s people. Does this remind you of the need to be watchful about your enemy and trust God to give you victories over him?
Here are some lessons I’ve selected from Exodus, chapters 13 and 14.
God provides protection and guidance for His people.
We have seen God protect and guide Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as they fulfilled their roles in His plan. This is what God does, and we see this again with Moses and the newly freed Israelite people.
God doesn’t always do things the way we would choose to do them, and that’s a good thing. For example, if we were charting the course from Egypt to the Promised Land, we would choose the straightest and closest way to get there. Right? But that is not what God does because He knows what will happen if He does.
Look how God’s mercy shows up in Exodus 13:17: “And it came about when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘” Lest the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt.'”
God realized how vulnerable these people were, and our propensity to remain in or return to a terrible situation rather than risk the challenges of being free. So, He was protecting them from something that could spell disaster for them and put His plan at risk. Do you think God does that for you?
We also see in Exodus 13:21-22 how God guides them through the wilderness with His physical presence. The Lord cared for these people! “…A pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night…that they might travel by day and by night… He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night.”
How do you see God’s protection and guidance at work in your life?
Faith provides the victory over fear.
As mentioned earlier, Pharaoh was a stubborn man. You would have thought he was finished with the Israelites, wanting nothing more to do with them or their God. Not so. Exodus 14:1-14 tells how, after the Israelites fled from Egypt, Pharaoh and his servants “had a change of heart” and chased after them to drive them back into slavery. Pharaoh and his mighty army overtook them at the sea, where God had instructed them to camp and wait. How did the freed slaves respond to their first test in the wilderness?
“And as Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.” Exodus 14:10.
Trusting God and His servant Moses was new to the Israelites, and fear overtook their minds. Why? Because their focus was on Moses, not Moses’ God. So, their fear drives their sarcastic complaints at Moses. “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” v.11.
They weren’t finished with Moses, ” Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” v.12.
Look at how Moses responded to their fear and criticism! ” But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.”
As we will see later, Moses’ faith in God conquered their fears and saved the day. How could He do this? How could he, seeing the threat posed by Pharaoh, tell the people to calm down and watch what God was going to do?
Moses’ personal encounter with God on the mountain and God’s faithfulness in dealing with Pharaoh had convinced him that God was bigger and stronger than any problem they might face.
Where do you turn when life seems overwhelming and threatens to destroy you? Take a lesson from Moses; put your trust in God because faith will overcome your fears—more about this in the next blog.