In the In-Between
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17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
>God has brought His people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and they have traveled away from Egypt. All seems to be going well—the people are free, they’re together, they left Egypt with gold and silver and fine clothing—all seems to be going well.
And then…and then the Lord has them turn back and set up camp by the sea.
This is a strange move from our perspective. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you’re escaping, you keep escaping. You run, fast and far away; you don’t turn back and then sit down for a spell.
This is a strange move:
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.
“Okay, God, what in the world are you doing?”
I’ve been there; I’ve asked some form of that question several times throughout my life; just this week, in fact. “Alright, Lord, what are you doing?”
I like to think I know you well enough and understand the human condition to the extent that I can safely say that you’ve probably wondered, “Alright, Lord, what are you doing?”
A good amount of the time, we may not know or understand what the Lord is doing, but this we do know:
The Lord has a purpose in all He does (14:1-4)
The Lord has a purpose in all He does (14:1-4)
We may not, and likely cannot, grasp all the Lord is doing. His ways are not our ways after all. But we shouldn’t believe that He doesn’t know what He’s doing or that He’s just doing things on a whim.
The Lord has a purpose in all He does.
Where the Israelites and their exodus from Egypt is concerned, the Lord knows which way is best.
Now, by far, the shortest and most direct route to the Promised Land is the Via Maris—the way of the sea (SLIDE). If the people headed north and east out of Egypt and traveled along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, along the coastal highway, they’d make it to their destination in about 2 weeks. It was the most direct route, by far.
But they don’t take the Via Maris; they head south into the wilderness:
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
Contrary to what verse 18 says in the NIV, the Israelites were not ready for battle; they were in no condition to face the Egyptian forces stationed along the Via Maris or the Philistines who, as you know, are formidable enemies.
The Israelites went up out of Egypt, not armed, but merely in some sort of formation. They were in no shape to fight; not ready to wage war.
Knowing all this, God took them a different route—not the shortest route or the most direct route. The Lord led them south, away from the Promised Land, into the wilderness.
“This wasn’t the most obvious way. It wasn’t the shortest way, not the most direct way. But it was the best way because it was God’s way. God knew what His people could handle, and He knew that they needed to take the long way home.” - P.G. Ryken
As the Israelites wandered about along that desert road, we read their recurring doubts about whether God’s way was really the best way.
But God knew what He was doing; He always does. He has a purpose in everything He does.
Whatever God happens to be doing right now, do you believe it’s all for the best?
It may not seem like it, but it is, because the Bible tells us: “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
When we’re tempted to believe that God doesn’t know what he’s doing, we have to remind ourselves that His way is the best way; that the Lord has a purpose in all He does.
>When the Lord has His people turn back and encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-Zephon, it, no doubt, seemed crazy.
One person referred to this detour as “sheer lunacy.”
I prefer “whackadoodle.” It doesn’t make an ounce of sense.
And then we see the Lord’s reasoning. He tells Moses:
3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
The reason the Lord is having His people do this, the reason He’s having them turn back and set-up camp is to gain glory for Himself.
The Lord knows that the news of the Israelites’ turning back will reach Pharaoh, Pharaoh will think, “Silly, Israelites, all confused; now’s our chance to go get them and bring them back”, and Pharaoh will pursue them.
It’s a set-up of sorts. And it’s going to work (because the Lord’s plans always work). It’s going to work and, as He told Moses, the Lord will gain glory for Himself through Moses and His army.
The Lord has a purpose in all He does.
The Lord has a purpose in all He does.
In case you’ve forgotten, the reason the Lord does what He does is, ultimately, for His own glory.
“I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.”
The Lord purposed this for His glory.
I wonder (along with my good friend, John Calvin) if the people had freely and peacefully left Egypt, traveled to Canaan in couple easy weeks, with Pharaoh and the Egyptians sitting quietly at home not bothering anyone—if that’s what happened, would we be talking about it here today?
Would there be a movie about of group of people walking peacefully and without incident from one country to the next?
It wouldn’t be half as exciting as the story of the group of people escaping slavery by the mighty hand of God, being pursued by their captors, trapped by them, only to walk through the sea on dry ground safely to the other side.
Here, as we’ll see, the Israelites are shut-in on every side, overtaken by Pharaoh and his army, seeing nothing but death before them—and then, at the word of God, the sea will open up and let them through.
All of this is part of God’s purposed plan to gain glory for Himself.
In this world and in our lives, we may not understand what God is doing. You can be quite certain the Israelites couldn’t logic-out what the Lord was up to. But we know the Lord has a purpose, whatever He does.
When we don’t understand, all we can say is that we know the Lord is doing this for a purpose.
We might not be able to come up with a good reason, we may have no good category for what He’s doing, but we can say—with full confidence—“In this situation, I don’t understand much, but I know the Lord’s purpose in this is to gain glory for Himself.”
The Lord has a purpose in all He does, even when it seems like the enemy has the upper hand.
The enemy, at times, seems to have the upper hand (14:5-9)
The enemy, at times, seems to have the upper hand (14:5-9)
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
The enemy, at times, seems to have the upper hand (14:5-9)
The enemy, at times, seems to have the upper hand (14:5-9)
You can almost hear Pharaoh singing about his victory before the battle even takes place: “We are the champions, we are champions.”
This is a no-brainer. The world’s most powerful army with the most advanced military technology (the chariot) against an unarmed assortment of men, women, and children. “Hmmm, I wonder who’s got the upper hand, here?”
Pharaoh has the strategic advantage. In the ANE, the chariot was an enormous advantage; nothing compared. And Pharaoh had 600 excellent chariots in addition to all the other chariots, horsemen, and other troops. He and his army pursue the Israelites and overtake them, as one would expect.
The Israelites were completely vulnerable. They had turned back and were in Egypt’s backyard, surrounded by the desert, with their backs to the sea.
They’re trapped. Anyone could see that. Pharaoh realized his escaped workforce was stuck. Fish in a barrel. “Let’s go get them.”
When Pharaoh & Company show up at the Israelites’ ill-advised camp, they have the clear advantage.
Pharaoh has the upper hand; the Israelites clearly have no idea what they’re doing. So it seems.
All this is part of God’s plan—letting the enemy think he has the advantage.
If this strategy seems familiar, it’s because God used it again when He sent His Son to the cross.
To Satan, it must have seemed like Jesus had no idea what He was doing. He was God the Son, yet He allowed Himself to be handed over to sinful men who crucified Him. That’s crazy; sheer lunacy…whackadoodle!
On the cross, Jesus was so vulnerable that Satan thought he had the strategic advantage. And he pressed his advantage and played into it, hard.
This, of course, was his fatal mistake, because the whole thing was a ruse. The cross was not a defeat for Jesus, but a victory. By His purposeful death, Jesus made atonement (payment) for sin and gained eternal victory over sin, death, and Satan.
In fact, Paul says Jesus made a public spectacle of Satan and his army:
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Here in the desert are God’s people, just hanging out. And it’s brilliant—a strategically brilliant move on God’s part.
Pharaoh hears about the encamped Israelites and gives chase, just as the Lord intends. Pharaoh and his best chariots come within easy striking distance.
The Israelites are in a dangerous and desperate situation, trapped between Pharaoh and the deep blue sea. The enemy of God’s people has the upper hand, clearly.
This is no different than our story. This shows what happens whenever God rescues His people from bondage, slavery to sin.
Satan tries to grab us and hold on to us. We once belonged to him; we were slaves to him as much as the Israelites were slaves to Pharaoh.
And, just like Pharaoh, our enemy will pursue us. He will tempt us and entice us, hoping we’ll give up and turn back. When all else fails, Satan will attempt to overtake us.
It’s a spiritual battle, and Satan never surrenders without a fight. He is powerful (though not all-powerful). He knows us (though he is not all-knowing). He is present (though not ever-present).
When temptations come, when trials pile on, it seems like Satan might just have the upper hand. That might be how it seems, but it’s not how it is.
It might seem like he’s going to win, but he’s merely thrashing about as one who has been defeated. He’s got a little life left in him, but there’s no way he can win. God has already (and long ago) conquered him! Jesus has crushed Satan’s head underneath His foot. We’ve been set free, and Satan has no right to take us back.
The enemy, at times, seems to have the upper hand. And therein lies the battle...
The people of the Lord have to battle between fear and faith (14:10-12)
The people of the Lord have to battle between fear and faith (14:10-12)
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.
The people of the Lord have to battle between fear and faith (14:10-12)
The people of the Lord have to battle between fear and faith (14:10-12)
Instead of looking to God in all of His grace and glory, they looked at their enemies and were sore afraid.
What makes this so disappointing is that they had witnessed God’s wonders—all 10 plagues—not to mention the fact that they had escaped from Egypt only the night before.
They marched out of Egypt boldly—confidently, even defiantly, thumbing their noses at Pharaoh. Yet, at the first sign of danger, they panicked.
Instead of looking up to the Lord, the Israelites looked up and focused on the Egyptians.
Instead of looking to the Lord in faith, they looked to the Egyptians in fear. They were terrified…and that makes sense when we realize they didn’t really believe that God would or could save them. They fully expected to be destroyed by Pharaoh and his army.
For the Israelites, the battle before the battle was between fear and faith. And fear won.
Fearful and terrified, they mocked Moses.
11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
If this wasn’t so sad, it’d be pretty funny. One commentator says this is the beginning of all Jewish comedy (like Seinfeld!).
Their sarcasm has teeth. They rip into the messenger of the One who saved them: “Oh, I see, you want us to die. Nice. Couldn’t have just left us in Egypt? Go ahead, bury us here, plenty of sand.”
The Bible doesn’t record in any previous chapter the Israelites telling Moses to leave them alone, to let them serve the Egyptians.
It’s possible they said that, but we’re not for sure. What’s clear here: the people of the Lord are sulking. Fear has won the day.
This is where the Enemy wants us. He’d much rather have us fearful than faithful.
Fear pleases Satan. Faith pleases the Lord.
In this battle, it’s not that we need to muster more courage. The opposite of fear is not courage; it’s faith. The Good News is not: “Be brave; have courage!”
The Good News is: “Put your faith in the Lord, and be still.”
The battle is between fear and faith, then and now. The people of the Lord are not alone in this battle; our Lord, gracious and good, continually gives His people assurance of this.
The Lord assures His people, over and again (14:13-14)
The Lord assures His people, over and again (14:13-14)
The Lord assures His people (often through a messenger, i.e. Moses). Here Moses steps up and gives some of most direct and comforting assurance found anywhere in the OT:
13 Moses answered the people, “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. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
The Lord assures His people, over and again (14:13-14)
The Lord assures His people, over and again (14:13-14)
It sounds comforting, and it is. But it’s also a bit of rebuke, a “snap out of it”-loving-slap-to-the-face kind of rebuke.
Don’t be afraid, I’m told, is a special kind of Hebrew negation—a negative imperative. Moses is rebuking them, telling them that they had no right to be afraid because they had no reason to fear.
All they needed to do was to stand their ground, quietly waiting to see what God would do.
“Keep your feet planted right here in the desert sand, and watch…watch…just watch and see how the Deliverer will deliver you.”
Militarily, this is terrible advice. But there it is (end of v. 14): Be still.
When you have someone to do all the fighting for you, be still is really good advice. The Lord was with them to save them. He was their warrior.
In this battle, they were not soldiers. They were mere spectators.
“Fear not. Stand firm. Be still.” Three commands.
“You will see deliverance. You will never see the Egyptians again. The Lord will fight for you.” Three assurances.
Oh, how the Lord assures His people!
Christianity is not about something that we can do to become better people; it’s about what Christ has done through the cross and the empty tomb. Jesus has accomplished everything necessary for our salvation. He is the One who atoned for sin, who has turned aside God’s wrath, who offers perfect righteousness in exchange for our filthy rags, and the One who will lead us into resurrected life.
Don’t be afraid. Stand firm. Be still.
The Lord is Deliverer. He has bested our foe. Our God fights for us.
There’s no greater assurance than hearing the Lord say to us: “You have no reason to be afraid. I have delivered you. Jesus has conquered sin and death and Satan. Stand firm, be still, and watch me work.”
>Here in the Exodus saga, the Israelites aren’t where they were and they’re not yet where they’re going; they’re in the in-between. I suppose the same could be said for you and me.
We’ve not arrived. And, thankfully, because of Jesus, we are not where we were.
We, too, are in the in-between.
We are where we don’t always know or understand the ways of the Lord, where Satan seems to have the upper hand, where we have to battle between fear and faith.
But here, in the in-between we have these same assurances from our Lord, who changeth not.
When I worked for the financial advisory firm in KC, we had to repeat several times a day: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Just because this mutual fund or index has done well in the past doesn’t mean it’ll do anything in the future; it might, but we can’t (and won’t) guarantee it.”
We know who the Lord is and what He does, how He operates, because we have an account of how He has operated in the past and throughout history. For Him, past performance is a rock-solid indication of future performance.
Who He was then is who He is now. What He did then, He does today.
Take these truths and bank your life on them. In the In-Between:
The Lord will lead us (13:17-18, 21)
The Lord will lead us (13:17-18, 21)
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
The Lord will lead us (13:17-18, 21)
The Lord will lead us (13:17-18, 21)
The Lord led the people along the best way. And He went ahead of them to guide them.
The Lord will lead us, taking us by the hand, guiding us all the way home.
Sometimes ’mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, o’er troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.
He leadeth me, and He will you. He’s holding onto you, leading and guiding you in the in-between.
The Lord will help us (13:19)
The Lord will help us (13:19)
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”
The Lord will help us (13:19)
The Lord will help us (13:19)
This is something Joseph knew well and believed was true for God’s people down through the ages.
God came to Joseph’s aid over and over—through betrayal and slavery and prison and famine, the Lord was helping Joseph.
At the very end of Genesis, before Joseph died, He assured his brothers that the Lord would help them. Somehow, over all the years in slavery, the people remembered this promise of God’s help.
It was true for Joseph. It’s true for the Israelites as they leave Egypt. And it’s true for me and you: the Lord will help us here in the in-between.
The Lord will be with us (13:20-22)
The Lord will be with us (13:20-22)
20 After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
The Lord will be with us (13:20-22)
The Lord will be with us (13:20-22)
This is one of the coolest parts of the story, if you ask me. A pillar of cloud and fire that travels ahead of the people, guiding them and giving them light for their journey. And then we read the pillar didn’t ever leave its place in front of the people.
The Lord was with His people for the duration of their time in the wilderness—leading and lighting the way.
It’d be pretty sweet to have a pillar of cloud/fire leading us around, I must admit. But friends, we have something better still: the Triune God with us all the time. God the Father holding us and the whole world in His hands; God the Son, keeping us and praying for us; God the Holy Spirit living in us, comforting, convicting, counseling us.
The Lord is with His people—this is true.
“Lord, as we wander the in-between, we pray you would lead us; guide us; be with us. For your glory and our good.”