TUESDAY 26 October 2021 “Red Sea Tunnel” Exodus 14:13-22

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Our war heroes recount to us great stories of deliverance when all hope seemed lost. Perhaps you hold tightly to a precious memory when suddenly you were rescued from a desperate situation in which you felt there was no hope. Maybe you are alive today because of a miracle which saved your life. Today, let’s join Moses and 1 million people in what may be the greatest deliverance of all time.

Yesterday I left you standing among a throng of fleeing Hebrew slaves who felt all hope was quickly vanishing. They’d only been out of Egypt a few days, and now pursuing them was the fastest, most vicious army on planet earth at that time, the chariots of Egypt! Pharaoh had changed his mind, again. He could not rebuild devastated Egypt without this workforce of Hebrew slaves, so he rallied hundreds of his fastest and best chariots, pursued and found the Hebrews camped in a very precarious place. They are trapped with the Red Sea on one side and Pharaoh’s approaching army on the other.

What makes it all so unbelievable to these Israelites is that God had delivered them out of Egypt with His mighty plagues of destruction, and then God had led them by day with a cloud and by night with a pillar of fire. They had not come to this place to make camp along the Red Sea by accident! They weren’t lost. They were following carefully, the leading of God, but suddenly they were trapped! Had God led them into this trap intentionally? Why would God do that? Their hope of living in freedom has turned to terror as they believed they would be slaughtered or shackled and returned to the mud pits of slavery in Egypt.

But Moses had sent this word through the camp that has left everyone stunned: “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. The LORD will fight for you, you need only be still.“ (Ex. 14:13,14) From a logical human perspective, it made no sense… it was ludicrous. No army in the world could survive the fast and vicious chariot cavalry of Egypt. These slaves had few weapons and no chariots. They were defenseless, helpless and quickly becoming hopeless.

But they did have two things from which some hope could be awakened. First, they had the fresh memories of those powerful plagues which had ravaged Egypt, while God had protected the Hebrews and the area where they lived, Goshen. Neither the infestation of flies, nor the plague which killed livestock, nor the epidemic of boils, nor the great hail storm, nor the swarms of locusts, not even the thick 3 day darkness were permitted to touch them in Goshen. Somehow God had allowed these terrible plagues to devastate Egypt, but God had protected Goshen and those who lived there. Each plague had been worse than the one before, and thus each protection of God seemed even more powerful than the last time!

This was especially and vividly seen when the angel of death came through but God had given the Hebrews instructions on how to protect themselves with the blood of the lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would ‘passover‘ and do them no harm. The memories of God’s protection from all these horrific things was a spring of fresh hope for those Hebrews who were willing to remember with gratitude and praise. For those who rejected those memories as past history and doubted God could protect them this time, they fell into deep despair.

Secondly, in front and above this vast moving city of fleeing Hebrews was a huge cloud both protecting them from the hot sun, and guiding them in their journey. That cloud was the tangible evidence of the presence of God with His people and that provided hope for those who believed God’s promise that He would deliver them out of Egypt and into a new land. (Ex. 3:7-9)

So, let me ask you my friends, can you make the application to your own life? When you find yourself in a precarious, frightening situation, where you feel extremely vulnerable or even helpless, do you have some memories of God’s great work in your past which you can hold onto as proof of God’s power and His great love for you? Can you hold tightly to the truth that this same God rescuing these Hebrew slaves, is the God who made you and has sustained your life to this moment and loves you greatly, and is watching over your life?

Secondly, as you look around, is there anything like that cloud in Exodus 14 that gives you tangible proof that God is sovereign over all, is watching over you and is directly involved in your life situation today? If nothing else, stand in front of a mirror and look deeply into your own eyes… God made them! Do you believe that? Watch yourself breathe… God is giving you every breath! God is involved in your life with every breath, keeping you alive and fully aware of all that is happening in your life situations, today.

The record tells us God gave Moses specific, remarkable instructions: “Tell the Israelites to move on! Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so the Israelites can go THROUGH the sea on dry ground!” (Ex. 14:15,16) Have you noticed that God rarely duplicates His miracles? Nothing like this had ever happened in history, nor has it happened since. There’s a lesson here friends. Don’t expect or demand that God work in your life as you read He has done in the past, or as you see God working in other people. Let God work UNIQUELY in your life and your life situations! Because you are a unique person.

Now watch how God once again PROTECTED His people and PROVIDED an escape out of the danger: “Then the angel of God who had been traveling in front of the Israelites withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them coming between the army of Egypt and the Israelites. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long… and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry ground. The waters divided and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” (Ex. 14:19-22)

You’ve seen it depicted in movies and read about this remarkable event in books. But I urge you to step into this experience with me, but be careful you don’t get run over by 1 million people rushing THROUGH the water tunnel to safety! Look at that huge thick cloud forming a barrier wall behind us. We can’t see Pharaoh’s army, only a great cloud! We can’t hear the shouts of that army because the wind is so strong where we stand. And out there, over the water, do you see it? It’s like a tornado funnel cutting a path through the sea and piling up walls of water on the right and left, and drying out the sand sea bottom so people and carts and animals will be able to run through the tunnel to safety!

Nothing like this has ever been seen by any human eyes. So let’s go… who will be first to rush forward into the water tunnel? Who will trust God enough? Will He really hold back the water walls so we can ALL pass through? Do we see it is the very same power that sent the hail storm, and the locusts, that is now opening a way forward through the sea? YES, we can trust God, so let’s go… don’t wait, the path to freedom is open before us. Listen to the shouts of celebration all around us and the surge of humanity and animals rushing forward. . . but watch out so you don’t get run over!

So how long do you suppose it would take 1 million people to rush through this miracle highway in the sea? Was the tunnel highway 500 or 1000 yards or maybe a full mile wide so thousands of people a minute could move forward? How was the sea bottom dry and solid enough so the carts didn’t get stuck? I doubt any of us can imagine the combination of euphoria and hysteria as these people experienced this greatest escape in history!

Sometimes when we find ourselves in frightening situations we want it to be over so quickly we miss what God has done. So for that reason, let’s just stand here, about midway from one shoreline to the other, with a big wall of water on both sides, and watch the throng of people and carts and animals rush by us to freedom. Look at their faces, listen to their shouts of joy. Reach down and pick up a handful of sea bottom and put it in your pocket. Years from now you’ll want to tell your grandchildren about this day and show them that hand full of sea bottom and explain where you got it and how it was you were standing in the middle of the Red Sea with 1 million people rushing by you to freedom! And while you watch this unbelievable scene, I urge you to think back to a time when God saved you from disaster. . . and thank Him right now! Here’s a song to help us praise our God of miracles! Do you know HIM? Have you experienced HIS deliverance?

Today’s Scripture is Exodus 14:13-22.

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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

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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