(Exodus 13:17-14:31) A Promise Made, A Promise Kept.
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
If we were to characterize the worship of Egypt - We would characterize it as a worship of graven images.
It was a worship characterized by worshiping carved images – idols.
> Slide - goddess Isis, from Egypt.
https://www.ancient-egypt-online.com/isis.html
Recently, on Wednesday nights we watched a missions video the talked about the worship of India.
India’s worship is characterized by worshiping numerous carved images - idols again.
>Slide of Hindu Idol.
Here is a picture of the worship in Hinduism.
https://www.newsgram.com/the-practice-of-idol-worship-in-hinduism/
But what characterizes Christian worship?
If you walk into an average protestant, evangelical church you will find no carved images.
The exact opposite of the rest of history and the rest of the world.
Most of the time the decorations consist of two things -
A cross symbolizing Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection.
And likely Scripture written on the walls.
While both Ancient Egypt and modern Hinduism would involve bowing down to carved images,
We don’t make a long procession of bowing down.
What do we do?
> Slide Picture of the Bible
We encourage people in Scripture.
We sing Scripture.
And we study Scripture.
This stark contrast has lead many to describe Christians as “a people of the book”.
But why are we so focused on the Words of the Bible?
- Partly because the words are capable of making us wise.
and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
But there is another reason?
The Bible is not simply a self help book,
Or a book of wisdom.
I think when we reduce the Bible to just another book of wise sayings,
we missed something important.
Oh, it is the wisest book you will ever read,
but it is also a book of promises.
God promises amazing things to those who believe in Christ.
Promises during difficult times.
Promises of care and compassion.
And most importantly - promises of deliverance … Eternal life in Jesus Christ.
But ,
How do you know God will keep those promises?
How do you know that God has the power to give those promises?
ILLUSTRATION:
I will tell you what, I will make you a promise.
I will promise every single person in this room to make you a billionaire by tomorrow.
Doesn’t that sound nice.
What’s the problem with that promise?
I don’t have the power or the resources to make those promises.
Oh, it would be an awesome promise.
But a promise is worthless,
if it is a promise that can’t be kept.
So I ask-
How do you know God will keep those promises?
How do you know that God has the power to give those promises?
The Red Sea crossing is one of the greatest miracles in our Bible.
It is a miracle meant to amaze our senses.
But the Red Sea Crossing is not just a miracle, but a promises kept.
It was God showing that he has the power and character to keep his promises.
What promises has God made?
(1) The Promises of the LORD:
(a) To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Ge 12:1-3, Ex 2:24-25)
(b) To Moses and and Israel. (Ex 3:7-8, 4:29-31)
(1) The Promises of the LORD:
(1) The Promises of the LORD:
(a) To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Ge 12:1-3, Ex 2:24-25)
(a) To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Ge 12:1-3, Ex 2:24-25)
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
Why?
Because the book of Exodus is about God keeping his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So God has made some pretty big promises to Abraham.
And he passed those on to Isaac and Jacob.
> The Tension in Exodus 1-2 is this questions - Is God going to be faithful to his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
> Israel, his children, are slaves hopelessly trapped in Egypt.
What happened to God’s promises?
But then Exodus 3 and 4 make some more big promises -
(b) To Moses and and Israel. (Ex 3:7-8, 4:29-31)
(b) To Moses and and Israel. (Ex 3:7-8, 4:29-31)
God told Moses:
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Those wonderful promises were told to Israel:
Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.
And through the 10 plagues - the tension has been - Is God going to keep his promises.
Israel struggled with it.
Moses struggled with it.
And it is the ongoing tension that builds up to climax in the Red Sea Crossing.
Let’s consider, whether God kept his promises.
(2) The LORD’s Work in the Exodus:
(2) The LORD’s Work in the Exodus:
CAVEAT:
I realize, Many of you may be very familiar with this section.
Many people know nothing about their Bibles, but they have heard of the Red Sea crossing.
And yet, may I bring you back to remembrance of this incredible miracle.
This section comes on the heels of 10 incredible plagues.
God has literally has brought
insects,
hail,
darkness,
and the death of every firstborn upon Egypt.
And now Pharaoh is finally letting Israel go
At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where someone was not dead. Then he summoned Moses and Aaron by night and said, “Up, go out from among my people, both you and the people of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as you have said. Take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone, and bless me also!”
And so next, we read how -
(a) The LORD guides Israel by a column of cloud and fire. (Exodus 13:17-22)
(a) The LORD guides Israel by a column of cloud and fire. (Exodus 13:17-22)
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
I would think one of the difficult parts of the Exodus,
is how much of it you’re having to wait on the Lord.
In the wisdom and providence of God,
God does not give Moses the exact coordinates to follow.
Instead they are to look to a column of cloud by day and a column of fire by night.
God literally would guide them exactly down the Path he intended them to Go.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
God is literally leading them.
And it is apparent from this passage,
that the pillar is not simply a sign of God,
>>>>>> But the very presence of the LORD.
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
The presence of the Lord was to guide them in the path that they should go.
But as the last part indicates, it also represents God’s dwelling with his people.
Of course there is great theology about the dwelling place of God.
In general, we could sum up that when God is dwelling among you,
then blessings, power, and protection is with you.
It might be in some ways difficult to wait on God,
but the very indwelling of God among you,
would have been an amazing sight to give you comfort and peace.
But what is the path the Lord wants them to go down?
We might expect God to take the most direct route.
The highway by the sea.
But the Lord has other plans.
- Partly as an act of mercy for Israel.
God recognizes that a direct route would have overwhelmed his people.
- But also partly because -
(b) The LORD prepares a conflict between Israel and Egypt for His Glory. (Exodus 14:1-9)
(b) The LORD prepares a conflict between Israel and Egypt for His Glory. (Exodus 14:1-9)
Generally,
when someone says, you’re looking to pick a fight – it’s a bad thing.
Yet God, is picking fight, but his purposes are holy and righteous.
He continues to work to glorify his name.
He continues to work - so that even the proud Egyptians shall know who the one true living God is.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
God has purposely led them astray.
Rather than take the direct routes, he leads them in the opposite direction of the promised land.
On the outside, I am sure that the Egyptian sister advisors thought Israel was the lost.
These nobody slaves can’t even figure out the right direction to leave Egypt.
However,
Rather than being lost, these people were exactly where they needed to be.
Remember, they don’t have any coordinates.
Literally every step is a step taken to follow the Lord.
They are simply following the column, the pillar, that was the very presence of God.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
What is interesting is that it is not simply Pharaoh’s heart the turns, but also the Egyptian people.
Some of us might have felt like Egypt was unfairly being punished.
It is Pharaoh who keeps heartening his heart, not the people of Egypt.
The people of Egypt should be punished for what Pharaoh is doing.
But what is the truth?
The people of Egypt are just as stubborn and hardhearted as there King.
This nation has just faced the death of every firstborn in all the land,
and yet we immediately see them changing their mind about letting Israel go.
And so Egypt launches a massive pursuit to chase down Ezra.
Egypt sends out the mind boggling 600 chariots after Israel.
Chariots with the super weapons of ancient warfare.
They gave a distinct advantage in speed and range.
Especially against and on organized army of Hebrew slaves.
And why does God pick a fight with Egypt?
To bring glory to his name,
and in mercy continue to help Egypt know who is the only true source of life, and afterlife.
But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—
> When your name is the only name by which an afterlife can be sought,
The most merciful thing you can do is to make know your glory and name known.
> When your name is the only name by which blessings and life can flow,
The most merciful thing you can do is to make know your glory and name known.
But Israel is still fitting into it’s shoes.
They are still learning what it is like to have God’s presence dwelling with them.
When Israel see’s the Egyptian Army,
(c) Israel Fears Pharoah More than God. (Exodus 14:10-18)
(c) Israel Fears Pharoah More than God. (Exodus 14:10-18)
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
I think we can understand their fear.
ILLUSTRATION:
In 1989, an unidentified man stood alone in defiance and blocking a column of Chinese tanks.
This remains a lasting image one for much of the world of the events.
He is now renowned as the “Tiananmen Square Tank Man.”
https://www.history.com/topics/china/tiananmen-square
> It amazes us, because a bold and dangerous move.
> An Unarmed man against a column of tanks.
We can understand the fear, that an ill equipped Israel of men, women, and children would have at the sight of 600 Egyptian Chariots.
And further, they are trapped.
Their is no escaping because they trapped by the edge of the Red Sea.
Egypt looks like they are going to hopelessly pick them off one by one.
But as much as we can rationalize the fear,
we must also rationalize that they have a promise of deliverance from God.
Observe Moses’s words.
They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Moses at points in the Exodus has been afraid and timid.
But Moses here gives a powerful statement to Israel.
He tells them at all they have to do is be silent,
and watch God save them from the Egyptians.
This is not say that we should stop thinking, and let God.
But that we should believe God, and trust him.
For consider what comes next,
One of the most amazing miracles in the Bible - the Parting of the Red Sea.
(d) God Shields and Protects Israel through the Red Sea Crossing. (Exodus 14:19-23)
(d) God Shields and Protects Israel through the Red Sea Crossing. (Exodus 14:19-23)
God’s protection first began with God’s pillar standing betwen Israel and Egypt.
Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
On one side, the pillar was a light for Israel.
On the other side, the pillar stood in the way and cast darkness upon Egypt.
God’s very presence is separating and shielding Israel from attack.
The vulnerable can’t be touched.
The powerful are powerless to stop it.
And then, Moses at the Instruction of the LORD parts the Red Sea.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
Which part do I talk about here.
They walk on dry ground.
What an amazing miracle.
>>Where there was once ocean, there instantly is dry ground.
>>>>> Not soggy, muddy ground - But dry ground.
The waters stood as walls on each side.
This made it it impossible for the chariots to get around the Pillar and attack Israel on the left or right.
God is deliberately, with his very own presence, and incredible miracle - shielding and protecting Israel.
All they had to do was walk on dry ground through the Red Sea.
And finally, we read how -
(e) God Mightily Saves and Delivers Israel from Egypt. (Exodus 14:24-29)
(e) God Mightily Saves and Delivers Israel from Egypt. (Exodus 14:24-29)
God takes an incredible army of 600 chariots,
and completely destroys them.
It is the most one sided battle in human history.
The Egyptians never even had a chance.
And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Ex 14:28-29 gives us a bold comparison.
The Egyptians are utterly destroyed,
And Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry ground.
In other words, God delivers Israel from slavery in Egypt.
So did God keep his promises?
Oh yah. And in a big way.
The Crossing of the Red Sea marked part of the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham.
The Crossing of the Red Sea also marked the fulfillment of God’s promises to Moses and Israel to deliver them from Egypt.
CONCLUSION:
So I asked you earlier -
How do you know God will keep the promises in our Bible?
How do you know that God has the power to keep those promises?
Because God kept his promise to Abraham and Moses.
> The Red Sea crossing should demonstrate to us that God is faithful.
> The Red Sea crossing should demonstrate to us that God certainly has the power to keep his promises.
“Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.
If you are wondering,
Does God really have the power to save me?
Yah.
Does God really have the power to transform my life?
Yah.
Does God really have the power to protect me?
Yah.
Does God really promise every blessing available to me?
Yah.
And the list could go on.
There are hundreds of promises.
God promises amazing things to those who believe in Christ.
Promises during difficult times.
Promises of care and compassion.
And most importantly - promises of deliverance … Eternal life in Jesus Christ.
I challenge you,
We ought to look to our Bibles and behold the wondrous promises of God.
We ought to look to our Bibles and behold the wondrous promises of God.