Hope When we Cannot See a Way Through — Exodus 14

There is a sense of security and peace in circumstances which are visibly certain, concrete, and expected. Even with surprises that are good there is an unspoken desire that we can stand firm in knowing that what happens next is predictable. King Solomon wisely shared, “That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and that was true the day he wrote it, and it is true now. How then can we look at circumstances now with a lens that even in uncertainty God has a plan? A great perspective to take is the lesson learned by the Israelites in Exodus 14. 

God’s Authority Prior to the Red Sea 

The Israelites had finally escaped a four-hundred-year enslavement by the Egyptians and were on their way to the Promised Land. This exodus had not been without great pushback and an even greater response from the One True God. In fact, the Israelites had experienced the protective hand of the Lord ten times as plagues struck Egypt. Pharoah, the ruler of Egypt, refused the command of God through His chosen messenger, Moses repeatedly. Ten plagues ensued upon Egypt all in forms exposing and symbolizing that their idols and gods were not like Yahweh, and the One True God held all true power and Authority. The Bible Project seeks to explain God’s purpose in saying, “I (Yahweh) will rescue the oppressed and I'm doing something with this people Israel. And Israel will know my name and the nations will know my name." And these 10 plagues are a showdown of the powers. Yahweh and his power versus the king of Egypt and his gods and their powers.” The climax of the 10 is reached at Passover when finally, Pharaoh complies and agrees to let God’s people go. We can conclude that the Israelites to a point must have thought at this point they were indeed, “home free” but God was not finished, nor was He without a plan to bring about His desire in full completion for His people. 

God Foresees Difficulties Before We Do but He Can Use Them 

In route to Israel, the Promised Land, the people group would now find themselves at a seemingly impossible conundrum comprised of geographical and human factors. We are told in Exodus 14:1-5 that this was the intent of the Lord, not a surprise: 

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.” Exodus 14:1-5 NASB

God not only foresaw that this difficulty would arise, He authored it to come to pass. God was not finished after the Ten Plagues, He was just getting started. This is an important concept for us to hold firm to, for we often think that God’s provision, protection, authority, and grace runs out at some point. Perhaps you have found yourself in a line of thinking that He will only act on your behalf or help you to a certain extent, but His mercy will subside, and you will be left to fend for yourself. This is a line of thinking that the enemy plants to stir doubt, dissension, and distrust of the Lord. In fact, what is true is the exact opposite. Lest we forget the words of in Lamentations 3:22-23, 

“The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end,
For His compassions do not fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”

God indeed knows what lies ahead in the journey, even if we do not. Do not mistake hardships and calamities to be outside God’s Divine Will either, for there will be times that He not only allows circumstances in which you will be, “between a rock and a hard place” but He may Author such things to reveal as a testimony of His hand in your life. 

Hard Situations Can Glorify God 

God had hardened Pharoah’s heart, which means He moved within Pharaoh to become bitter and cross in what had just occurred to his nation and to his own family line. This invoked Pharoah to send out his fiercest army to attack the people that had been released, the ones who had also been spared from the plagues that beset everyone else in Egypt. With great force the army raged forward, and the Israelites were forlorn with fear. It is here that the Israelites question God’s goodness and character. We see this in Exodus 14:10-13, 

“As Pharaoh approached, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were coming after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 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? 12 Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness!”

It is so easy to judge the Israelites here for we know how the story ends, but how often do we take on the same exact viewpoint of skepticism towards the Lord in our own lives and circumstances? How often do we see God do great and powerful things, just as the people of Israel had, and then throw ourselves to the ground in despair at the next meeting of challenge? But their story was not over, and our story is not either. Hard situations can be used by God to glorify God. 

In the next breath it is here that Moses stands firm, exclaiming, 

“13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will perform for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again, ever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, while you keep silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

Moses knew that God had a plan, even if he could not calculate precisely how God was going to do it. This is where faith without seeing plays a role in life. Even if you cannot see exactly how God is going to do something, it does not mean that you should automatically conclude that He will not act. 

God has the Final Word 

The Israelites stood at the banks of the Red Sea watching as the most powerful army in the entire world approached forward. We can have no doubt they shook in fear, doubt, and confusion but then God acted in a way that thousands of years later we are still praising His Name for such an act. Exodus 14:21-30 tells us, 

“Then Moses reached out with 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, and the waters were divided. 22 So 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 and on their left. 23 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. 24 But at the morning watch, 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. 25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians each said, “Let me flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.” 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out with your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” 27 So Moses reached out with his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing [r]right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. 29 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 and on their left. 30 So the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 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.” 

The parting of the Red Sea is a miracle still being proclaimed, celebrated, and remembered even in this day in age. For what looked like certain death by the sword or by drowning by the people of Israel was then remarkably changed into one of the greatest testimonies the world has ever seen. This is something we too can rejoice in and find security in as well. 

Security in God 

God may not always part the Red Seas in your life, but He will always be there to be your security. We must trust that even if we cannot guess or predict the complexities of life, that we can rest securely in the Author of life: God. Don’t underestimate what He is doing or what He plans to do in even the most perilous of circumstances, for your own banks of the Red Sea experience may just be one of the greatest stories of your life that will encourage generations to come. 

References:

The Bible Project

NASB Holy Bible