Lesson 3

The General

A general reviewing the troops. Got the picture in your mind? Rows and rows of uniformed soldiers standing at attention as the general inspects them soldiers and reviews their training. We are the soldiers, and we serve a magnificent General. Splendor and majesty surround Him and His name inspires devotion. Look closer and you will see something else amazing. Our General doesn’t stand at a distance. He lives with His army. He walks with His people. He fights for His soldiers and bids us to be still and experience His power.

Solve the clues and find the answers in the word search below. Think about how God showed His power in a wonderful way as you look for each word from Exodus 14.

F F A T S L H T W X H S

V E J W G O D D A H P T

S W H E A R T S T P D O

D F X R J M T Z E Y L I

I U A G O D F V R U D R

N H O S R E A T S W P A

P O E L A O P F U J Q H

A S M B C L U B M C O C

N W V Z O Y B N M L Z M

L E J F Z M O J D B H N

H V L V A R U G S Z M O

R N U M X A K A K H T Q 

1. He pursued the Israelites with 600 chariots.
2. God used the voice of this man to proclaim deliverance for the Israelites.  
3. Moses raised this in the air and the Red Sea parted.
4. The ______ of the Egyptians were hardened so that they followed Israel and brought glory to God.
5. A pillar of _______ stood between the Israelites and the Egyptian army all night long.
6. God parted the waters of the Red ____ to rescue the Israelites.
7. God provided a path of dry ______ for the Israelites to cross.
8. God made the wheels of the ________________come off so that the Egyptians had difficulty driving.
9. The _______ flowed back over the “Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.”
10. No one from the _______ of Pharaoh survived when the waters closed in on them.

The Rider on the White Horse

Julius settles into the life of a soldier in the Roman army. The training drills continue. Every day he marches and uses the heavy wooden weapons to develop his strength and endurance. Finally, the general calls the soldiers to break camp and set out to face the enemy. The entire unit moves at the word of the general. He directs their path, paces their journey, and protects them from the enemy by altering their course. He pushes them to give more and orders them to set up camp and rest when fatigue overwhelms them. Everything Julius’ unit does is coordinated by the general. No detail goes unnoticed.

Julius is blessed to serve under a general who is capable of more than brilliant military strategy. He has the heart to inspire the loyalty of the men who fight under his command. This general doesn’t separate himself from the fighting men. He fights alongside them. He lives in the same tents and endures the same hardships. He watches over them and infuses them with courage for the battle. It is his leadership that guides Julius’ steps.

Write Ephesians 6:10 below. Circle the name of our General.

As soldiers of the cross, we serve a mighty General. We move at His command. His presence guides our steps and protects us as we journey through enemy territory. He watches over us and provides for our needs. Every aspect of our lives is touched by the sovereignty and care of the General. No piece of our hearts is too small for Him to notice.

Read Revelation 19:11-16.

Describe the rider on the white horse.

The book of Revelation gives us a powerful picture of our General. Everything about Him highlights His majesty and splendor. He is arrayed in might and power, and His glory is dazzling. As the picture unfolds we are allowed to see the heart of our General and an amazing portrait of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Our General is called Faithful and True. As the army of the Lord, we serve a General who is faithful and true. We can depend on His word, trust His leadership, and rely on His promises. He will not waver or change in His love for us. His power will not falter, nor will He ever provide less than what we need to meet the moment. His faithfulness allows our faith to grow deep roots.

Our General is crowned with many crowns. Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We move as soldiers in His army and also live as citizens in His kingdom. He is sovereign. He rules on the thrones of our hearts. As King, we bow before Him and give Him honor and praise. As General, we listen to His voice and heed His commands. As Lord, we experience the joy of living in His presence.

Our General is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. Jesus is the Lamb of God. He lives as our full sacrifice for sin, and His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. The cross stands as the ultimate sign of the battle for men’s souls and the victory Christ bought with His life. His blood purchased our peace and allows us to take a place next to His side.

Our General’s name is the Word of God. Jesus is the full revelation of God to man. He is the Word who was with the Father in the beginning and through whom all things were created for His good pleasure. The Word is God and, when He became flesh, He showed us the glory of the Father. We come to know God through His Word. We learn to live in His presence by spending time with the Word. Our lives are transformed by the power of the Word.

Close your eyes and picture Christ sitting on the throne as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How does this picture help you praise Him more richly? Surrender more fully?

Our General is magnificent in splendor and worthy of our praise and adoration. With eyes like blazing fire, He searches out the enemy and seeks out those whose hearts are turned toward Him. It is a stunning picture of our General as we see Him surrounded by glory and shining brighter than the sun. Jesus, however, does not dwell in a place far away from His soldiers. Like the Roman generals who inspired their troops with their presence, Jesus lived among us and shared our hardships.

Read Philippians 2:5-11.

How do these verses describe the actions of our General on our behalf?

Our General dwelt among us. Jesus emptied Himself so that He could live as a man. He let go of the brilliance and beauty of heaven so that He could walk dusty roads and experience the full rhythm of human life. He slept, ate, got thirsty, wept, and cried out in pain. John 1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. He literally lived in our tents. He didn’t set Himself up far away and allow us only a brief glimpse. He made His home among us. He walked in our shoes. The King took the very nature of a servant.

Our General shared our hardships. Jesus didn’t come to earth and then stand removed from our suffering. He touched the untouchable. He befriended the lonely. He wiped the tears from the eyes of the broken-hearted. He saw first-hand the ravages of sin and the devastation of the battle that is being waged in the hearts of man. And then He took an unthinkable, mind-boggling, overwhelming step. He took our sin upon Himself. The filth of our guilt rested on His purity. The sordidness of our sin came face to face with His holiness, and He carried it to the cross.

Our General stands with us in the battle. The final picture of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-11 is one a picture of triumph and victory. The Father exalts the Son and gives Him a name that is above all names. The knees of everything on the earth, above the earth, and under the earth fall before Him in confession and praise. Our General understands that we still experience the ravages of war, but He wants us to plant our hearts in the victory that is ours when we stand next to Him. The battle rages, but the war is won. The enemy attacks, but has been ultimately defeated. Jesus doesn’t send us alone into the battle. He stands next to us. He moves with us. He understands the pain we endure. He surrounds us with His peace.

Read Hebrews 4:15-16. What confidence can we have because Jesus is our General?

Following the General

Moses and the Israelites stare at the waters of the Red Sea in amazement. What seemed like a an certain defeat now shouts as a victory and proclaims the triumph of the Lord. God saves His people. Slavery becomes freedom. An army is defeated. A promise waits to be claimed. All because God moves. All because our General stands with us in the middle of battle and directs our eyes, ears, and steps.

As the sun glistens off the waters of the Red Sea, Moses lifts his voice with Miriam’s, and they sing a song of victory that celebrates the power of God.

Read Exodus 15:3. How does Moses describe the Lord?

As Moses sings a victory anthem, he describes God as a warrior. Not a counselor who stands to the side and makes suggestions while we fight. Not a guide who runs at the first sign of trouble. God is a warrior – One who enters the battle and fights for His people. Moses and the Israelites stand on the far side of the Red Sea because God stood before Israel to fight the armies of Egypt. God’s victory allows His people to walk in freedom. God’s movement has changed their lives.

For four hundred years, the Israelites have been slaves in Egypt. Their lives have been defined by labor and their days filled with hopelessness and despair. Days when it has seemed that God is far away and distant. But in every moment of captivity, God’s unfailing love has never wavered. For four hundred years, God has been moving and leading His people. Leading their hearts to call on His name. Leading Moses from Midian to Egypt. Moving to redeem His people. As God sends Moses in to demand that Pharaoh free the Israelites, He moves into battle position. Locust and flies become darts that pierce the shields of the enemy. Frogs and boils are sword thrusts in the armor of the Egyptians. Death takes its toll as God fights for His people. And then the day comes. The Israelites walk out of Egypt a free nation. God has redeemed His people.

What battles has God fought for you? How has He redeemed you?

The powerful story of Israel’s redemption does not end with the final plague. There is still a battle yet to be fought. Pharaoh will not give up his slaves. He pursues the Israelites. But God’s movement is not finished either. In the battle by the Red Sea, we see God is still moving to redeem His people because of His unfailing love.

Read Exodus 15:13 and then Exodus 13:17-14:9.

Where do you see God’s unfailing love toward His people?

Where do you see God’s leadership of His people?

Where do you see God’s strength at work for His people?

Israel’s General walks before them in a pillar of cloud and fire, protecting them, guiding them, and shaping them to be a people who will give Him praise. A pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night point the eyes of the people to the path of God. Where God goes, the people go. Where God stops, the people stop. Every movement of their lives is defined by the movement of God. It is the same for His people today.

How is the Bible our “pillar of cloud and fire”?

Our General still provides clear leadership and direction for His people. The Bible leads us where God wants us to go, helping us see Him, (delete comma) and experience His presence. The Bible helps us avoid places where the enemy lurks and provides light so that we can travel with Him, even when times seem dark. The Bible is our standard of life, because it reveals the movement of God in our lives. God wants us to focus on Him and be guided by His presence.

What distractions take our eyes off of the movement of God?

Be Still

Standing on the shores of the Red Sea, the Israelites seem to be in a hopeless situation. God, in His great love, has called them out of slavery in Egypt. He sent them a leader to help them see the movement of God in their lives. He battled the enemy with plagues to redeem them from the Egyptians. But now they stand trapped. The Red Sea is before them and the might of the Egyptian army is advancing from the rear. There seems to be no escape. Though the people are armed for battle, the weapons of a soldier fit uneasily in the hands of a brick maker. They don’t have the strength to fight this battle on their own. And God doesn’t expect them to. In fact, His instructions to the Israelites call them to surrender to the power of God.

Read Exodus 14:10-31.

What three instructions does Moses give the people in verses 13 and 14?

How does God turn what seems like a certain defeat into an opportunity to see His glory?

Don’t underestimate the might of the Egyptian armies. Alongside the Roman legions of the first century, the Egyptian army stands as one of the greatest fighting forces in history. Nations are crushed by the might of her sword. Leaders are held captive by her financial maneuverings. Souls are infected by the religion of Egypt as it spreads to the surrounding nations. Egypt’s might is a good picture of some of the things we face today. We look at the world around us and see the sin that is so much the standard of the world. Satan seems to work in the might of huge corporations and media outlets to physically overwhelm our daily lives. Financial struggles move our focus away from the face of God. Twisted spirituality seeps through our culture, damaging the lives of people we love. We stand with our backs to the wall and see the might of the world as it wreaks havoc on the people around us. We wonder what we can do to fight such a mighty enemy. Fear creeps in, and we cry out for answers. God stands close and calls us to hear His words to His people.

The General’s encouragement: Do not be afraid. God redirects the eyes of the Israelites from fear to faith. Just as the pillar of cloud towers over the Israelites, God’s strength towers over the Egyptian armies and the armies of darkness that we face today. With these words, God reminds us to keep our eyes on Him and not to let fear overwhelm our faith.

How is the fear that the Israelites face a picture of the fears we face today?

The General’s promise: Stand firm and you will see the deliverance. As the Israelites watch see the waters of the Red Sea piled up, they see the power of God. Now is the time to open their eyes to His plan, to hear His voice as He calls them out of Egypt, and to follow Him on the road to the Promised Land. Now is a time to learn that God is bigger than any army or obstacle that we face. The might of others and our own strength do not win battles. Only the power of God is victorious. As the pillar of cloud moves between the Israelites and the Egyptians, God shows us that He stands between us and the enemy. God calls for us to plant ourselves in His shadow and allow Him to fight. Standing firm is the act of spreading our feet apart, squaring our shoulders, and preparing to be unmovable. God calls for us to be unshakeable in the knowledge that He is in control and moving on our behalf. It is the same picture that Paul paints for soldiers in the Lord’s army.

Read Ephesians 6:10-15.

How many times does Paul call us to “stand firm”?

How does seeing God’s movement in our lives help us to stand firm?

The General’s call: Be still. Here is a picture of surrender. Not to the fear of the Egyptian armies. Not to the sin that permeates the world. Here is a picture of surrender to the movement and power of God. He calls us to place ourselves entirely in our General’s hands. As the people move through the Red Sea, God’s might is visible on all sides. The walls of water are God’s protection. The dry ground is God’s provision. Each step is a chance to see God. Being still is our journey through the Red Sea. Our chance to see how God is moving and working in our lives.

Write Psalm 46:10a.

Perhaps nowhere is the call to be still more powerful than when God directs our eyes to the cross. Each week we surrender our hearts to the movement of God in our lives by remembering the power of God in the cross. We gather around the table and remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We proclaim His power over sin and death. We see His movement in our lives today. It is a picture of the transformation that God is working in us right now. The world may attack us with might, money, and immorality, but the battle against sin is not won by our own strength. God calls us to be still and rejoice in the truth that Jesus fought for our souls and won the battle on the cross.

Read Ephesians 2:8. In what way is the Lord’s Supper a time to be still and honor the fact that the Lord fights for us?

As the people stand on the other side of the Red Sea, they look with wide-eyed amazement at the destruction of their enemies. Their General has conquered. The song of Moses and Miriam remind us of God’s great purpose. In Exodus 15:13 they sing, “In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” God is calling us to be guided by His hand. Our King longs for us to be confident in His presence. Our General wants us to stand firm in His shadow and be still in His movement.

How does being still allow you to more richly experience God’s presence?

Answers:

#. Pharaoh (Exodus 14:5-7)

1. Moses (Exodus 14:13)
2. Staff (Exodus 14:16)
3. Hearts (Exodus 14:17)
4. Cloud (Exodus 14:19)
5. Sea (Exodus 14:21)
6. Ground (Exodus 14:22)
7. Chariots (Exodus 14:25)
8. Waters (Exodus 14:26)
9. Army (Exodus 14:28)