How God Deals With Our Enemies and How He Deals With His -- Exodus 15:4-8

--> “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.  The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone.  They right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.  And in the greatness of Thine excellence Thou dost overthrow those who rise up against Thee; Thou dost send forth Thy burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.  And at the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.”
 
Continuing in song, the Children of Israel give us glimpse of God’s capability in dealing with our enemies.  Not only were Pharaoh’s chariots and his army cast into the sea, but the text also says, “the choicest of his officers” were drowned.  Our enemies can put forth their very best – in personnel or efforts or technology – God can still defeat them all and always. (This theme resurfaces many years later in the account of David and Goliath – the very best the Philistines had to offer in their challenge to Israel.)  The Bible goes on to say here in Exodus that the choicest of warriors went “down like a stone” that would never again come to the surface.  When God is the One who truly destroys our enemies, they never resurface.

And then the song turns to pointing out some attributes of God Himself as the warrior.  He has a ‘right’ hand that is majestically powerful.  Perhaps the adjective was selected to impress upon us the fact that no one or no thing has more power, as “majesty” implies the highest in the land.  And with this power, God not only destroys the enemy, but He ‘shatters’ him.  In our English language, we have the range of marring something, or ruining it (from its original state), or destroying it (making it very difficult to repair as when after an accident, a vehicle is rendered to be ‘totaled’ or ‘a complete write off’), and then there’s “shattering” something or making it totally impossible to ever put back together again.  That is what God does with our enemies.

Now knowing how God deals with the enemies of His children is enough to make any sane person not want to go against them.  Something perhaps those who today have no use for the Jewish nation of Israel or for Christians, and who want to eliminate all of us, should well keep in mind.  But even worse than that is how God deals with those who actually are arrogant enough to rise up directly against Him, and to scorn Him personally.  Towards them, the text says, God applies the full force of the “greatness of His excellence” – the ultimate knockout-punch if you like.  The song tells us God emits His “burning anger” towards them and they are “consumed like chaff”.  I looked ‘chaff’ up in the dictionary to get a better idea of its meaning as a noun.  Chaff can mean the husks of corn or other seed separated by winnowing or threshing; or chopped hay and straw used as fodder; or worthless things; or trash.  What came to mind is that they all burn well.  The tie-in of this image of how God deals with His own enemies may well be a prelude of what the rest of Scripture depicts as the fate of all who ultimately reject Him as Lord and Savior.

Finally, God uses His power to suspend at His will the very laws of nature He ordained and controla in order to defeat our enemies.  In the case of the children of Israel, God breathes a blast and causes the waters that are normally subject to gravity, to pile up like a heap on either side of the passageway He opened for His children to cross the Red Sea on.  The “deeps” that otherwise were there due to the depth of the water were no longer visible, for they were “congealed” or solidified (transformed if you like) into a solid upon which Moses led his congregation over.

That is our God.  That is how He deals with your enemies and mine.  And that is how He deals with His own personal enemies.  But you say, “Fine, but God is not dealing with my enemies, He’s letting them make mincemeat out of me right now.”  I am glad you added the “right now” at the end.  And I am sure that the children of Israel felt exactly that way for 400 years (that’s longer than your whole lifetime and mine) while they served as slaves to the Egyptians.  You see God’s timing is not our timing.  You and I wear watches and follow clocks and calendars to give time some sort of order and make it easier for us to communicate.  But God who actually created ‘time’ is not at all ‘bound’ by it.  If we can somehow accept that, then we’ll be better able to realize that what matters is not “biding our time” but rather learning to “bide His time”.

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A Part in Bringing the Enemy Down; Seeing the Dead on the Seashore -- Exodus 14:26-31

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”  So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into (or in respect to) it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.  And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.  But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.  Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  And when Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
 
Earlier that morning, God looked down and made ‘chariot driving’ difficult for the Egyptians (see verse 25 in this same chapter).  In fact, it became so difficult that they started to turn around in desperation, fleeing for their lives, and abandoning their pursuit of the Israelites.  But physical salvation was not to be found that day.

The Children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea, the Egyptians were retreating, Moses had safely ended up on the other side and now God tells him to stretch out his hand over the sea behind him and by so doing have the waters return to their original state, the consequence of which would be the destruction of the Egyptians.

Coincidently, I had just been reading the personal account of George W. Bush with respect to his announcing America’s attack on Afghanistan on Sunday, October 7,2001.  “On my orders,” he said, “the United States military has begun strikes against Al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Talban regime in Afghanistan.”  He goes on to write, “I felt the gravity of the decision.  I knew the war would bring death and sorrow.”  And in light of that, I wonder how Moses must have felt.  What has he really thinking at that point?  I know what I would have said.  “God, you accomplished salvation for your people.  We are safe and sound across the Red Sea.  Must we destroy our enemies in such a final and irreversible manner?”  Yet God, the God that saved them, said, “Stretch out your hand.”  And Moses did.

I wonder also if there is a lesson here with respect to our own role in destroying the Enemy.  I do not intend here to solve the age-old dilemma between Christian doves and hawks when it comes to war, although I do have my own personal thoughts on the matter.  But I do want to point out that in this particular case, if there is a lesson to be learned, it is this:  First, make sure that the enemy you are helping to fight is God’s Enemy, not just yours.  Make sure he/she is an enemy that is acting against what God stands for, openly defying His Holiness and authority.  And secondly, make sure that the action you are taking is clearly God’s undeniable orders to you to act in a certain way.  “Moses, stretch out your hand.”  But even though Moses played a key part in what took place, there is no room for any doubt in the fact that it was God who did the saving.

The Bible says that not one Egyptian, not one chariot, not one horse, survived.  God calls every man to forgiveness, righteousness, and ultimately, salvation.  In fact, He gives us many chances.  Pharaoh and his cabinet had at least ten and they rejected each one.  So, when it was time to act in a final manner, God did just that.

There is a sentence in the middle of the passage above (vs. 29) that is a repeat to a great extent of verse 22 earlier.  It speaks of how the sons of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land.  When I read these repetitive accounts in Scripture, I often wonder if there is a real purpose.  I ask myself that even though this is a God-inspired text, written in this case by Moses many years later, whether or not he could have benefitted from a skilled editor.  But in each such case, I land on the side of the argument that says God also inspired the repetition and He has a purpose for it.  If this entire account of a true event had some prophetic parallelism (and I believe it does) to what God’s Children will experience individually throughout history and collectively on the day of Christ’s return, then this particular piece of repetition is clearly intended to reinforce that believers will be treated differently (“But the sons of Israel…”) and that we will have safe passage, protected on all sides, and be safely escorted to eternity with God.  What a day that will be for each of us.

The Bible says, “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”  Not a pleasant sight at all even if these corpses had belonged up to that moment in time to the perpetrators from which the children of Israel were fleeing for their lives.  Those of us who truly value life still find it somewhat disturbing when our enemies are eliminated especially through gruesome deaths.  In light of the recent typhoon in the Philippines that killed thousands, one of our national paper’s yesterday reminded us of the hundredth anniversary of a fatal storm in the Great Lakes and published a picture of dead bodies washed ashore near Goderich, Ontario on the eastern coast of Lake Huron in November 1913.  It caught me by surprise.  We are more used to it these days with the reports from natural disasters and wars coming to us live on television.  But I have to think that there was still some element of shock for the Children of Israel in seeing their enemies lying dead on the seashore.  Perhaps there is coming a day when we will see those that have rejected God dead.  I do not look forward to it at all.  But I also cannot ignore it for my God is indeed a holy God, a righteous God, a God Who gives us many chances to accept His free gift of salvation.  But a time comes when we have rejected once too often.
Clearly, the Israelites recognized that God did the saving that day.  There was no human way possible to explain it otherwise.  Whether it was a miracle or not is not the issue.  The fact is that it was accomplished only by the mighty power of God and His interference with nature.  He delivered on His promises that His people would be set free from their bondage in Egypt and from the Egyptians themselves.  Our job as readers thousands of years later is to focus on that great power of His to save, a power that is ever the same even today.  And as we do, the natural human outcome that we display cannot but be anything different than how the Children of Israel felt after their experience.  The Bible says, “they saw His great power, they feared the Lord (I believe with reverence), and they had great honor and esteem for His chosen servant.”

As you focus on this short passage of Scripture ask yourself, “Have I seen this great and mighty power and evidence of God’s presence in my life?  In the world?”  And if you have, then ask yourself, “Have I reacted in the way I really should?  Do I have the adoration and commitment to God and His servant, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that I should have?  Have I accepted God’s free gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus?” 

Friends, it is never too late.  God’s angel is before you and your enemies have been kept at bay until now.   But ultimately you get to choose if you are in the group of God’s creations that were represented by the Children of Israel or in the group represented by the Egyptians.  It is my prayer you make the right choice.

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A Curling “Rink’s” Dream Sweeper -- Exodus 14:21-25

--> Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.  And the sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.  Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea.  And it came about at the morning watch, that the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion.  And He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
 
“The Lord swept back the sea.” For those of you who participate in the sport of curling, you might well be saying, “Wow, could we ever use a sweeper like that on our rink!”  This was indeed God working with the forces of nature (wind in this case) that He Himself created to move the water out of the way so His children could escape their enemy on dry ground.  Amazing.

However, before God interacted with nature, He waited on Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea.  God did not need help, but at this point, when it came to the Children of Israel, God wanted two things.  First, He wanted His people to be reminded of who their God-appointed leader was.  Second, He wanted that leader, Moses, to have ultimate trust in, and reliance upon, God.  So, He waited until Moses stretched out his hand over the sea.

The Bible says God swept back the sea using a strong east wind.  And that wind blew all night dividing the waters and separating them with dry land.  The Bible says the waters acted as walls on either side of the cleared passage.  Scientists have been trying to explain this for years.  Some rely on it being a “sea of reeds” and that it was incorrectly interpreted as the Red Sea.  And of course, to them reeds only grow in very shallow water that easily could allow the Israelites to pass.  Okay, but did that equally shallow water cause the drowning of the entire Egyptian army?  Sorry, that argument does not, pardon the pun, “hold water”.  I choose and believe in, as an explanation, the miraculous intervention of God with the nature He created.

I have learned, though not early enough, that taking up a pursuit that was against God’s will, as the Egyptians did, is bound to fail.  There was no way the Egyptians could succeed and there is no way any one of us could succeed when we intentionally go against what we know is the will of God.  Whether you are chasing something immoral, or something for your own pride or ego, even something that would be nice to have but not expedient for you as a Christian, stop for a moment and determine honestly if you have the assurance it is indeed God’s will for your life.  If so, keep at it.  If not, drop it.  Success will only come if God is in it.  Failure and often disaster is bound to result if He is not.  Even if you have all the resources possible to bring it about as Pharaoh had all his horses, all his chariots, and all his horsemen, the pursuit is doomed.  Just ask the Egyptian army pursuing the Israelites.

So how did it come about?  In the morning after the night during which the angel of God and the pillar of cloud prevented the Egyptians from attacking the Israelites, God looked down on the Egyptian army and caused great confusion among them.  He caused their wheels to swerve as they pursued the Israelites making the chariots very difficult to drive and direct.  Realizing the predicament they were in (like wagon trains getting stuck in the muddy ruts of dirt roads), the Egyptians came to two realizations.  First, they had to turn back and flee for their lives.  And second, God was fighting against them on behalf of His children.

That is the goal of the Christian when he or she is in trouble.  Follow the instructions given by God, have full reliance on Him, and live in such a way that the Enemy will flee from you as he realizes that God is fighting on your behalf.  Whether it is your circumstance or that of the children of Israel coming out of Egypt, God does look down and He will not be mocked.  In fact, when we look at what is going on in the world today especially in countries like America that should know and do better when it comes to what God expects, we can be sure that God is looking down and ultimately He will not be mocked.  When the time comes in accordance with His schedule He will act.  But right now, He is simply causing or allowing great confusion to envelope society.  It is during these times, that He provides His clear and direct guidance only to those that seek Him through a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.

And when God causes confusion, our world society keeps going further and further into the mire of hopelessness, losing its bearings, and doomed for an eternity without God because it chose to pursue what God did not want for them.  We are seeing great evidence of that everywhere we look.  Morality, ethics, standards, holiness, integrity, and accountability “have left the building!”

It is my prayer and hope that some (perhaps that includes you) will get the message to stop their “pursuit” before the wheels of their lives swerve into an eternity without God.  They can get out of their circumstances. God is there for them just as He is for those that already love Him and have made His Son their Lord and Master.  It is never too late.  May I suggest that you reach out to Him right now in prayer and then seek out a friend, or a relative, or a pastor/minister that already has that relationship with Him, and say, “I’m ready to yield my life, my will, to Him; will you help me?”  Let God sweep your life clean for eternity.

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[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Children of Israel, “Just Keep Silent.” -- Exodus 14:13-14

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.  The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”
 
As I began to unpack these two little verses, I found them to be full of powerful phrases that deliver some very commanding lessons.

Those of you who have been following my writings know that I never miss an opportunity to reflect on the Bible’s use of the word “but”.  And up until now, if my memory serves me correctly, the emphasis for the most part, has been on the “but God” phrases.  Man wanted to or planned to do one thing, but God had other ideas and that was the end of that.  Here in the beginning of Exodus 14:13 we have the word ‘but’ but this time it is used in conjunction with Moses – But Moses.  Here we have men wanting to do one thing and one man – a man of God mind you – had a different idea.  We will find a number of such characters through the Scriptures and not unlike the fictional characters that go against a trend in many a book, these men of real history become our ‘Biblical heroes’.  I believe God still develops and uses such men and women today.  They are those who go against the trend of secular society.  They do not all become famous by any means, but they make a difference.  And furthermore, they help advance the plan of God for mankind.  And many do not always know of them.  Sometimes they are national presidents like Lincoln or generals like Washington, but more often they are leaders in their small church, or in their business, their classroom, their club or union, or even among their own family.  Sometimes they are men and women just like you and I.
What matters to God and thus to our relationship with Him is that first of all we know when we are to be that leader, and secondly, that we do the right thing when it is time to speak up or act.  Are you there?

In the previous verses we learned that the people became scared when they heard the hooves of the Egyptian horses pulling their armed chariots towards them, but Moses stands out, perhaps alone with only half-hearted moral support from Aaron, and implores them to do just the opposite – “Do not fear!”  Just exactly how does that work?  How do you tell a person that is afraid not to be?  And even if he/she wanted to heed your instruction, how exactly do they go about it?

My 8-year-old grandson is a growing boy.  On thing he has not grown out of just yet however is his fear of being alone on a single floor in the house, or sometimes even in a room.  We have tried to go through various (and vary creative) exercises with him proving that there is nothing to fear, but somehow we have not succeeded in convincing him.  When he is sent to retrieve something (that he himself wants) from the basement or to go upstairs and take a shower, you will often hear him continuously talking to us or singing out loud so we can hear him and thus allow him to sense the connection with others.  Convincing him not to be afraid is not something I have been able to accomplish yet.

Recently we lost our newborn grandson just six hours after he was born.  How do we tell his loving mother and father not to be afraid, saying “the next time will be just fine”?  As a matter of fact, how do I tell my wife that?  Or closer to home still, how do I really tell myself that?  Fear is not something that is easily overcome with words – especially the words of another person.  Telling people “not to fear” when they’re afraid is about as helpful as telling someone “because!” when they ask “why?”.  It just does not cut the mustard – it just does not succeed in its intent nor meet the other person’s expectations.

Moses realizes that in order for the Hebrews to “not be afraid”, they need to do something.  So he gives them further instruction.  “Stand by and watch.”  At the time when the people wanted to act, perhaps run or put up white flags, or they wanted someone to fight hard for them because of their fear of death, their leader says, “Stand by and watch.”  Yes, that is correct.  The lesson for us is simple – when our lives are in danger and we have taken the physical, practical means of protection that are ‘humanly’ possible, our job is to then “stand by and watch”.  Are you kidding me?  No.  The secret, however, is in “what” we watch for.

Moses told the Israelites to stand by and watch “the salvation of the Lord”.  In other words, watch how God will do wonders and how you will be saved.  In the case of the Hebrews, we know how the story goes and we will cover that in greater detail further along in our study.  Moses was telling them to have confidence in God’s ability to save. But this instruction can also be applied to how we face our fears.  Do you and I have the confidence that God can save us from whatever befalls us?  Are we in such a relationship with God that whether we live or die physically is less important than the fact that we will live spiritually with Jesus in eternity?  Are we prepared like Paul who tells us, in Romans 12:1, to present our bodies a “living sacrifice” (implying physical death) as our “reasonable act of service and worship” (implying spiritual life)?

And then Moses adds these three words -- “for you today”.  What God would be doing, He would be doing for the Hebrews.  And He would be doing it ‘today’.  You see, when the child of God faces “fear”, God is able to address it “for him/her, today”.  By that, I do not mean to say that my grandson will immediately be able to freely go down to the basement without any lights being on nor do I mean my children will be able to say, “God has told us that our next pregnancy will be perfect.”  I pray it will be, but that is not the guarantee God is giving us.  By God addressing our fear today, for us, we mean that God has the means whereby we can rest assured and safe in His arms, knowing He is with us, knowing He has enabled us to face the past and knowing He will continue to enable us to face the future, no matter what it is, and that one day, all wrongs will be corrected, all illnesses will be healed, all losses will be restored a hundredfold.  Our job is to “stand by and watch.”

Moses told the Hebrews that God was doing this “for them”.  They would never see their enemy again and he adds the word “forever” for emphasis.  Are you there?  Do you have an ‘enemy’?  Is it fear?  Is it some sin?  An addiction?  Whatever or whoever it is, God is able to deal with it or him/her.  Just trust Him and obey Him.  Then stand by and watch.

I love the last sentence of this short passage.  “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”  There seems to be a condition attached, but it is one that makes the process work.  When God fights for us, He expects us to keep silent.  In one sense, that is physically the easiest thing to do.  Technically no effort is required – just breathing.  But for some of us still very much attuned to our old human nature, it is the hardest thing to deliver.  Keeping silent is no easy instruction.  But here is what I have discovered.  If I do not keep silent, God works things out in such a way that I have no choice but to be silent, so He can go about His business.  You see, my “speaking up” and not remaining silent, only delays the desired outcome (humanly speaking) and makes the journey more difficult.  Let’s “keep silent” in these situations.
 
At the time of writing, the whole world is watching and waiting to see what will be done with the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.  Such weapons are seen as totally taboo by almost all of the world’s powers as agreed to after World War I.  Even their limited use approximately a century later does not bode well for the world.  Every effort must be made to ensure that no one will use them again.  But how is that to be done without the shedding of more blood?  God calls us to “stand by and watch”.  I do not say that glibly.  I think we all owe it to mankind to do our part in our sphere of influence to deter evil, but when we have exhausted our human means, as the world seems to have, only God can make the difference.  Better to have Him on board from the start.  Is the message that Moses gave to the Israelites, the message that says “stand by and watch” – is that the message that God has for you and I today – be it in global matters such as Syria, or in a very personal matter that only you and God know about?

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[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

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It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

But the Hebrews Aren’t So Sure -- Exodus 14:10-12

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.  Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?  Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?  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.”
 
While God’s strategy was working perfectly, the Hebrews weren’t too sure they liked the implications.  As they saw Pharaoh and his vast army of chariots getting closer to its human prey, the Israelites became very frightened.  A natural reaction no matter how strong a faith someone has.   But you have to love the way the next phrase is written, at least in the NASB.  It says, “ . . . so (they) cried out to the Lord.”  As if to say, that’s the time we call out to the Lord.  And that’s absolutely true – as long – as long as it is not the only time you cry out to the Lord.   Sometimes God wants us to cry to Him on behalf of the injustice that befalls others, not just ourselves.  And most often, He desires our cries of joy in praise to Him.   But, our human natures, makes us most likely to remember God more often and more readily when we are frightened.  For the Hebrews this would not be the first time they cried out to God while they were in the wilderness after their fleeing from Egypt.

And I suppose if that were their only action, it would not be too bad, and certainly understandable.  But it was not.  The Hebrews went on to behave like many of us do which I am sure was a disappointment to both God and to those that were doing His bidding.  First they became sarcastic.  Their statement to Moses with respect to available graves in Egypt was pure sarcasm.  As Christians we need to watch our sarcasm.  While it may sound that it is only a matter of the ‘mouth’ since it comes in ‘oral form’, the truth is that it is often a matter of the ‘heart’.  It reflects what we are really feeling in the situation.  Secondly, it disappoints God who loves us and protects us through the storm before us.  Thirdly, it impacts others, both believers and non-believers, who hear us – sometimes hurting them, sometimes helping convince non-believers that they can well do without our kind of faith.

But the grumbling of the Hebrews did not stop at sarcasm.  They took it one step further.  They blamed Moses, God’s agent and their appointed leader.  “Why did you bring us here to die?”  Those who follow someone else’s dream not having adopted it as their own have often repeated that question time and time again through the ages.  I imagine family-members of pioneers said it.   I imagine pilgrims said it.  I imagine soldiers dying overseas have said it.  And so on.  I think it is important that we know what plans and futures we are following.  Do they belong to men or to God?  And have we made them ours?  If not, you are not ready to go because undoubtedly if the future is worth it, there will be challenges ahead and sacrifices will need to be made – sometimes some very costly ones.  But once you make God’s plans for you your very own – then only total obedience and complete trust will see you through safely to the end.  That is the only way to maximize on what God has in store for us.

The Hebrews seem to have forgotten that God, through Moses, was leading them out of their “slavery”.  How soon we forget the horrible circumstances we were in when our passage out gets tough?  I think of individuals who are living with abusive partners.  They decide to leave and make an effort to do so.  But then when things get difficult, they wish they had stayed with the devil they knew.  If we feel that way about our past – about our sins – then I believe we are just not ready to leave them behind.

In fact, the children of Israel told Moses that they had begged him to leave them alone so that they could go one serving the Egyptians in slavery.  Never mind all the feasts they had before leaving.  They were forgotten.  Can you imagine how Moses must have felt when he heard them complaining?  Can you imagine how a father doing his best to move to a new frontier for the betterment of his family would feel in such circumstances when his wife and children begin to curse him for doing so?  Can you imagine how a missionary being obedient to God in going to the mission would feel if his/her parents, siblings, spouse, or children kept expressing their disappointment and/or disgust?  Can you imagine how God Who wants you out of your sin feels when you prefer to stay there?

And then the clincher: “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die here.”  No hope.  Just despair.  No faith.  No trust.  No God in the equation.

Where are you right now?  Are you crossing some wilderness having left Egypt behind?  Are you feeling like the Israelites?  Are you a Moses?  Or are you ready to obey and trust?  If you are standing by your very own ‘Red Sea’, I suggest that deciding who you are in light of the circumstances is probably one of the most significant decisions you can possibly make.  I pray that God will enable you to make the right choice, as tough as it may be.

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[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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God’s Strategy Works Perfectly -- Exodus 14:5-9

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”  So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him; and he took six hundred select 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 chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly.  Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, in front of Baalzephon.
 
When we read the phrase, “Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart” we are reminded again of the influence that certain people in authority have over others.  This could be rulers or bosses or parents or teachers.  The responsibility for others is an awesome one.  It is not given to everyone and it comes from God.  It is imperative that we use it wisely and under His direction.  Unfortunately, it can also be greatly misused.

And is it not interesting that what Pharaoh and his own servants were really concerned about was that they lost their personal means of being served through the slavery of the Israelites.  When the responsibility for authority has gone awry, there is often a sense of self-interest or egotism involved.  Here we see the self-interest of both Pharaoh and his servants and in addition, the egotism of Pharaoh.  If we have been granted a role of authority over others, we need to make sure that we check to ensure those two human characteristics are not being felt or exhibited, lest God deal with us in the way He was about to deal with the Egyptians.  And for that matter, in the way He has dealt with every evil leader since then.

To feed their selfishness and Pharaoh’s conceit, Scriptures tell us that Pharaoh got over six hundred chariots ready to go after the Hebrews.  In fact, these were just the “select” chariots. (They must have been souped-up in some form making them superior, or they had won chariot races.  Who knows?)  In addition, the text says he took all the other chariots “of Egypt” with him.  And each group of charioteers driving those vehicles had their own officer to oversee them.  It was a truly impressive posse, being led by their sheriff Pharaoh, to capture the escaped slaves, the children of God.  The Egyptians should have thought it out first and included Him in the equation.

God’s strategy worked perfectly.  Pharaoh allowed his heart to be hardened again.  He pursued the Israelites and found them camping exactly where God had placed them for him to do so.  Several thoughts come to mind here.

First, it always seems to be about the heart.  The text does not say, “God changed what Pharaoh was going to do.”  No, it says, “God hardened the heart of Pharaoh.”  As I study Scripture, I am more convinced that God is keenly interested in our “hearts” – what they are feeling and desiring more than He is in what we do.  That is not to say He will allow us to do anything as long as our hearts are right by Him.  He won’t.  And in fact, when you think about it – when our hearts are right by Him, there is little chance we will do what is unacceptable to God.  When our hearts are right by Him, we will be doing everything we can to please Him.

Second, this brings us to a most interesting dilemma.  Perhaps one that we cannot solve, but let me at least in my attempt to be totally open with you as I write these thoughts, share with you what I had in mind.  Is it possible that while God intends to harden our heart to do evil (as in Pharaoh’s case), we are still able (or perhaps allowed by God) to do the right thing?  That is, is it possible for us to say to God, “No, Lord, I won’t allow you to harden my heart against You.  I will indeed serve You and love You.”?  Put another way could Pharaoh have surprised God?

Okay, I know that puts the discussion on a whole new plain.  God is never surprised.  God is never thwarted in His plans.  Does God still even harden people’s hearts today?  And we do know God does want us to serve and love Him.  This presents a dilemma.

Perhaps the matter can be answered as follows: If God knew that Pharaoh wanted to serve and love Him now, He would not have hardened his heart at this time.  He would have given Pharaoh every opportunity to do just that.  We are left, therefore, with the fact that God is omnipotent and omniscient.  He did what He did with Pharaoh because of what He knew about Pharaoh.  At least that’s my take.  What’s yours?  We may find we would end up in a debate about predestination and I certainly do not want to do so here.

But here is what is more important and to the point:  What does God know about your heart and mine?  And how will that impact how He ultimately relates to, and deals with, us?

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[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting.  And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column.  Ken.

________________________________________________________________________

 

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.