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Good morning my friends, today is Saturday July 13 and our chapter today contains one of the most famous miracles of our great God, of all time. The Red Sea opening for perhaps 2 million people, fleeing the slavery of Egypt.
May I begin with a question? I wonder how many of us reading Exodus 14 today, believe that we live in the house & neighborhood, where we currently live, because God Himself led us there? Do you have a story about how you moved to where you live, that shows your conviction that you were FOLLOWING the leading of God, to make your home currently where you live?
If you do, then I’m sure there have been many situations or events, which have occurred while you’ve lived there, which are for you the evidence of WHY God led you to live at the address where you live, at this time in the history of that neighborhood. Oh my friends, following God in the practical things of life, like housing, is one of the really exciting aspects of being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, do you agree? These are the kinds of things which separate believers in Jesus from followers of Jesus.
Exodus 14 begins with the clear evidence that God was not only leading the huge tsunami of people fleeing Egypt in the Exodus, but God intentionally positioned them, so they would be stuck between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s pursuing army! Now think about that…God intentionally directed His people into a dead end, with no way out, WITHOUT His miracle! Has that ever happened to you? What did you do in that dead end ally?
WHY would God do that? Look at vs. 4 “…I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” There it is…one of the major motivations for God, in much of what He does here on earth with us, and even in our Universe is… His glory, which He alone deserves, as Creator and Sovereign God, the One and Only.
The Egyptians were famous for grandiose accomplishments. Look at the pyramids, or the sphinx or other amazing construction projects from 4000 years ago, to which modern day pilgrims are still taking voyages, to stand in the desert sand and just be amazed. How did they build these remarkable things with no modern tools or building expertise?
So when God says He is going to gain glory for Himself through Pharaoh and his army, God is making quite a statement…because it would need to be some remarkable feat, even beyond Egyptian capabilities. So how does that pertain to us? In our sophisticated era of technology or transportation or communication or medical advances or space travel. . .how might God impress you and gain glory for Himself…today?
We’ve seen the movies, so it’s not difficult for us to imagine Pharaoh’s chariots and soldiers pursuing the slaves fleeing Egypt. It’s easy for us to imagine their fear, their panic, at the sounds of Pharaoh’s approaching army behind them, and the waves of the Red Sea in front of them! How many times have you found yourself in such situations in your life? By now, you have a ‘panic pattern’ that you’ve developed. It’s how you think and behave, in such ‘stuck between a rock & hard place’ situations, especially if you are the one who put yourself there! What is your ‘panic pattern’?
Look what Moses told the people to do…”Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today…the LORD will fight for you, you need only be still ” (14:13,14)
Ever been there…ever experienced that?
Now watch this, it’s vital: This tsunami of fleeing peoples were in this ‘precarious predicament’, with the Sea before them and Pharaoh’s army behind them because: God led them there! They didn’t wander there by accident, nor did they intentionally go against God’s guidance…God led them there and therefore, would you agree, God was responsible for them there! It was God’s responsibility for what happened to them next, since He led them into the dead end!
God is always working His larger plan and purpose my friends, and remember, the situations of today are built on the journey of all our yesterdays and preparing us for what God knows is tomorrow and beyond.
God had proved His power, His strategic planning, in the plagues and the Passover release from slavery for the Hebrews, His people., He had guided them with a pillar of fire by night, and cloud by day…to the very place where they now stood…stuck. Their panic was understandable, but their predicament was by God’s intention and design. Because He loved them so much He wanted to prove it again, and wanted them to experience another great miracle. Their Red Sea rescue would be a miracle which would give them hope for the rest of their lives, and every generation of their descendants as they told and retold this story.
Several years ago my wife Dawn and I stood on the Golan Heights overlooking the Sea of Galilee with a tour group and our Israeli guide Mike. Looking down on Tiberias and several small Kibutz communities on the shoreline, Mike explained the ’67 & ’73 wars and the miracles of Israel’s survival when attacked by nations around them. I asked Mike, “what is the difference between what God did for the Hebrew slaves in the Exodus 14 Red Sea deliverance, and what God apparently did in both the ’67 & ’73 wars in modern day Israel?”
The differences? Instead of chariots it was tanks and jet planes. Instead of bows and arrows, bullets and bombs. Instead of one Egyptian army, it was several Arab nations all attacking at once from multiple directions! My friends, God is still today doing Exodus 14 style miracles… do you believe that? Have you experienced some?
Do you notice vs. 19 “The angel of God who had been traveling in front of them, withdrew and went behind them…” and God put a cloud between Pharaoh’s army and the fleeing Hebrew slaves, a barrier with light on one side, so the slaves could go on through the Red Sea, and darkness on the other, so the army had to stop their advance! An amazing military strategy, that only God could have done! And who is this “angel of God”?
We know God has a huge army of angels available to Him, and that He sends them here often. We know Gabriel has come with special messages and spoken God’s truth to people like Zechariah and Mary. We know Michael comes to defend God’s people (Daniel 10:13). Could it be this angel is Michael the Archangel?
There is also an unnamed angel who is identified as “The Angel of the LORD” or “The Angel of God” (Genesis 16; Judges 13) who sometimes comes to earth and is considered by those who meet him as the LORD. Many Bible scholars believe this One may be Jesus Christ, in Old Testament appearances, not yet in His human body of course, which He received through His incarnation in Bethlehem. Could it be this was actually Jesus leading & defending the Hebrew slaves?
I know you will read the account of the Red Sea crossing with amazement… it truly is one of the greatest events of all time.
One last thing I’d like you to see friends… vs 30 & 31. “That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in Him and in His servant Moses.”
Egyptian soldier bodies floating on the water, and lots of military debris. The evidence of the power of God unleashed upon Pharaoh’s army, in defense and for the ultimate rescue, of the fleeing slaves. I call it ‘MIRACLE DEBRIS”! I wonder how many of them picked something out of the waves, which they could carry with them and pass on to their grand-kids as evidence that they were actual eye witnesses to this remarkable event?
May I ask…do you have any ‘miracle debris’ in your home? Something tangible? A medical ultra-sound or xray which shows us the undeniable picture of a problem in your body, which then God healed, miraculously, without any human intervention? Or a photograph or an email or a text or anything tangible, that is only explained as evidence of the practical power of God unleashed into your life circumstances. Oh my friends, may I suggest to you… of all the things you may leave to your descendants as your estate, NOTHING will be more significant than your Bible, with all your hand written notes, and your Miracle Debris!
Oh God Almighty, how can we thank you for this Red Sea deliverance of Your people. . . and the Miracle Debris we each have?
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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