“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid (flat scared), and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11. And they said to Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12. Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”
My journey through the Bible led me once again to the “Red Sea Experience” of the Israelites. Because of the death of the firstborn of Egypt, they were allowed to leave Egypt after 430 years of bondage. They should be happy, right? They were happy to leave, but when Pharaoh pursued them, they thought differently. Assuming that you know something about the Israelites flight from Egypt, let me share with you my thoughts as I read about it this morning. Each time I read about this, I have to rethink my own opinion. I think, “What is wrong with these people, after all of the miracles that got them out of Egypt, surely they knew that God would deliver them.” But when I put myself in their place, I realize that it’s not that simple. I know the whole story, but they are living it one moment at the time. When I look at it this way, I am not so hard on the Israelites. I would have to be there in order to know how I would react. Sadly, I might join the majority and fuss at Moses and Aaron. (Oh, come on, lighten up. You would probably do the same put in their situation.) The lesson for us is that we live one moment at the time and we have to trust that the next moments will see the hand of God at work. What the Israelites did not realize was that God already knew what He was going to do. Now, there is a revelation that we need to grasp. In His sovereignty, Almighty God already knew that He would divide the Red Sea for them and that they would go through on “dry ground” to the other side, and that Pharaoh’s army was doomed. While we live one moment at the time, God knows the whole story of our lives. He knows what He is going to do. We need to trust that what God will do will be in our best interests and will mean victory for us in one way or the other. We often come to our own “Red Seas” and wonder what will happen. That’s because, like the Israelites, we are human beings with human minds and human frailties. God has no frailties, there is nothing that He does not know and nothing that He cannot do, and we just have to trust that. God knows that there is life beyond the “Red Seas,” and we just need to trust that – or Him. We might wonder what would have happened if God had not divided the Red Sea for the Israelites? I need to grasp this truth for my life as do you. If God had not divided the Red Sea, He would have had another plan that would have worked out to their victory. I realize that God has not always “divided my Red Seas,” and I imagine that you do too. Sometimes I have had to go through the devastations of life. I have just had to meet “Pharaoh’s Army” head on and know that, even in my discomfort, God was at work, that God already knew the outcome. I am trying to grasp the real wonder of this even as I write about it for you. We just need to realize that whatever life brings, God is sovereign, and that He does not worry and fret over our situation. God knows what we need in our lives and we need to accept that and praise Him for His sovereignty – and in His sovereignty. The whole “Red Sea story” is about what God knows and what God does. We need to incorporate this truth into our lives and trust that His almighty hand is at work in our lives. Let’s return once again to the promise of Deuteronomy 33:27a: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…” Bro. Joe
1 Comment
Margaret M Jones
12/1/2015 08:37:48 am
Amen
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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