“And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore have you dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12. Is not this the word that we did tell 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.”
The text above was written just before the Israelites crossed the Red Sea. They were afraid, because Pharaoh’s army was behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them. Instead of trusting God, they wanted to turn their backs on Him and return to slavery in Egypt. This seems ridiculous to us because we know the outcome, but they didn’t know the outcome at that time. Would we have reacted differently? Would we turn our backs on God after all that He has done for us at Calvary? Why would we turn our backs on God? The Israelites were willing to turn their backs on God, because they knew what they had in Egypt, but they had no idea what lay beyond the Red Sea. They left Egypt in the first place because they wanted to be free of bondage to the Egyptians, and to go to a land that God had prepared for them. We make a mistake when we cling to the failures of the past because we are afraid to go forward in faith into the future. We might turn our backs on God because we prefer the security of the bad that we know to the good that God can do for us. Living a life of faith is about giving up the past and going forward into the future under the leadership of God. The old way of life with its habits and moral lapses gives us false security. What God wants to give us are His blessings and His presence. What is holding you back from going forward in faith? What is making you want to turn your back on Jesus? The Israelites were turning their backs on God because they did not stop and think that God had gotten them to where they were. They had forgotten about the plagues that God brought upon Egypt on their behalf. They had forgotten the joy that they had when they loaded up and left Egypt behind. Satan’s work is to make us forget what God has done for us, and make us think that we were better off in sin’s bondage. The joy of sin is an illusion, because it brings momentary satisfaction, but leaves us with lingering regrets. Just as the Israelites had memory lapses of the really hard times they had in Egypt, we forget the heartache and pain that sin causes in our lives. The amazing thing here is that God did not change His plans for Israel, for He did not turn His back on them. The God who had gotten Israel to where they were would continue to get them where He wanted them to be. Stop and think about your own life and you will realize that God does the same with you. He will not turn His back on you. The Israelites did not turn their backs on God, because Moses gave them a message of hope in Exodus 14:13-14: “And Moses said unto the people. Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show you today: for the Epyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever, 14. The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Just so, we will not turn our backs on the Lord, because we know that He will fight for us that He will go with us, that He will deliver us. He sent Jesus to go before us, to die for us, to rise from the dead for us, to ascend to the right hand of the throne in heaven to insure that we can go forward in faith. Hold your head up, pray and thank God for what He has done for you and march forward in faith. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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