If We Follow...

 What sea did the Israelites cross? There's controversy! Was it the Reed "Sea", just a marsh? Or was it the Red Sea, much deeper? Preacher Doubter was pulpit supply in an old, Bible-believing, African American church. His text? The Exodus. Soon, he mentioned "crossing the Red Sea." A man shouted, "Praise the Lord! Takin' all them children through deep waters. What a mighty miracle!" But Preacher was too educated to believe in miracles. So, he retorted, "It wasn't a miracle. They were in marshland with the tide going out. Israel crossed in 6" of water." "Praise the Lord!" the man shouted again. "Drownin' all them Egyptians in 6" of water. What a mighty miracle!" Scripture demands more than 6" of water. So do more recent findings in archeology. Let's take a deeper look at Ex 14:19-31. The Exodus began when God led His people out of Egypt, Passover night. They left Rameses & camped. 1st at Succoth (Ex 12:37). Then Etham (Ex 13:20). <1 Kgs 9:26> Then Pi Hahiroth-between Migdol & the Sea (Ex 14:2). Pi Hahiroth = Mouth of the Canyon. Same spot today? Nuweiba, Nuwayba al Muzayyinah (Waters of Moses opening) on Older Maps. Egypt is in hot pursuit. Let's look at our verses. 19aThe angel of God has been traveling in front of Israel's army. God has been Israel's foreguard. When they dead end at the Red Sea, the Angel of God 19bgoes behind them & becomes her rearguard. 19cThe pillar of cloud also moves from in front to stand behind them. The point? The Pillar of Cloud = Angel of God = God! When they run out of room to flee, He 20acomes between the armies of Egypt & Israel. As they follow, God becomes Israel's defender. 20bThrough the night the cloud brings darkness to one side & light to the other. In nature, a cloud can't do both when viewed from side-to-side. Must be another miracle! But it shows how God is. To non-believers, God is darkness, judgment, & curse. But to believers, God is light, salvation & blessing! Can God's dual nature be any clearer? That night, 20cNeither went near the other all night long. God has something else in mind! 21aThen Moses stretches out his hand over the sea. Moses acts. But He's following God. 21bAll night the Lord drives the sea back with a strong east wind & turns it into dry land. Israel is trapped between the devil Egypt and the deep blue sea. So they can escape, God 21cdivides the waters. How wide a channel? To move an estimated 11/2-2M people to the other side in 1 night, the gap needs to be ≥ 1/2 mile wide! As the people follow God, He makes a way where there is no way! All night, 22aThe Israelites go ~7 mi. through the sea on dry ground. 22bA city-wall-sized wall [Hebrew] of water stands on their right & left. <PP slide> City-wall-sized? Navigational charts for the Red Sea's Gulf of Aqaba show depths ≤ 850 feet where they went across. 23The Egyptians, all Pharaoh's horses & chariots & horsemen, pursue them into the sea. Pharaoh watches from shore. 24aDuring the last watch of the night the Lord looks down from the pillar of fire & cloud at the Egyptian army. When God looks, He acts. He 24bthrew the Egyptians into confusion. How so? Terror, for one, when they see the waters part. In addition, 25aGod made the wheels of their chariots come off. They had difficulty driving. (Ya' think?) It isn't lost on the Egyptians, Who did this! Over the last few months, they saw God unleash plague after plague on their land. They've just learned to fear (if not obey) God. They know it was God, not chance. God treated Israelites differently from Egyptians! Not chance. And now? 25bThe Egyptians begin saying, "Let's get away from the Israelites!" They get it. 25c"The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt." If we follow the Lord, He's our champion, too. At daybreak, 26The Lord says to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so the waters may flow back over the Egyptians & their chariots & horsemen." Again, God acts through His faithful servant. 27aMoses stretches out his hand over the sea & it goes back to its place. How long does it take? Well, 27bEgyptians are fleeing back the way they came. But 27cthe Lord swept them into the sea's depths. 28aThe water flowed back & covered the chariots & horsemen. It may not have happened instantly, but it was fast enough to trap the Egyptians. 28aPharaoh's entire army that followed Israelites into the sea perished. Not one survived. Underwater searches show encrusted chariot wheels & human bones. It happened! And it was so great miracle that Israel remembered it forever. 29aThe Israelites went through the sea on dry ground. A wall of water was on their right & on their left. The Lord saved His people. He hasn't yet given the Law. Before God asks anything of His people, He saves them. He still does. 30aThat day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. He did it at daybreak so Israel could see. 30bIsrael saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. They can witness what the Lord did for them. 31aWhen the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord. Godly fear. Respect & obedience. 31bThey put their trust in him & in Moses his servant. Trust. Faith. That's what God has always wanted! That's what He asks of His people. It's what He asks from us, too. What a great story. But what's in it for us? There are several lessons. When we feel like we're between the devil & the deep blue sea, how will we respond? We're always tempted to try to control life. But sooner or later God will bring us to the point of surrender. The lesson: will we keep trying to stay in control till we get hurt? Or will we surrender early? With COVID-19 all around us, we may already feel like we're between the devil & the deep blue sea. The Israelites certainly did. In Ex 14:11, they complained. "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?" There will always be a back to Egypt party. "Things were better when..." If we're following God, it happens. What happens if we keep complaining? Remember how it turned out for Israel? Dancing around a golden calf. If we keep complaining, we're setting up idols, too. Yet, for Israel, Egypt is a weak reed. Israel's support shatters every time she leans on it. Our lesson? Whatever our Egypt is, it too is a weak reed. A false support. Don't turn back to false supports. Resist that temptation. If we follow, God will bring us to the good He plans. If we're following God & we feel like he's led us exactly to the place between the devil & the deep blue sea, don't despair. Instead, let's have hope. Take heart! If God led us there, He has a powerful deliverance in mind for us, too. The more impossible our situation, the more excited we should be at what God will soon do! If we follow God there-if He led us, He'll save us, too, with a great deliverance! What God promises He provides. He never fails. If we follow. Lastly, God uses every circumstance for our good & His glory. That's our hope when we're between the devil & the deep blue sea. Why? In the struggle between good & evil, God wins. Every time. No matter how grim the circumstances, God wins. Victory is His. Always. I'm not saying the Egyptians were all evil & God rejoiced in their death. God loves us all His children, Christian or not. But the evil operating in them to enslave God's people? God will destroy all evil. To the extent that Egyptians refused to turn loose of that evil, they were destroyed with it. In the struggle between good & evil, God wins. Every time. No matter how grim it seems, God wins. Victory is His. Evil seemed to win at the cross. Its win was its final defeat. Victory is ours, too, if we follow. If we let God be in control. That truth is our hope. Let's hang onto it. God will lead His people into wilderness. That's important. But, just as important, when He leads into wilderness, He protects His people from harm. If we follow. God is leading us, too. He's told us the 2 most important laws. Love God. Love our neighbor as ourselves. How? He commanded us to go & make disciples. Reach those He loves with the Good News. Help them to become part of His body. He's led us into this COVID-19 wilderness. Will we follow? Keep on loving others & making disciples? Or will we keep wishing we could return to our pre-COVID Egypt? It's time to get moving. As we follow, God will make a way through the Red Sea that seems to be stopping us! If we follow... If We Follow... - Exodus 14:19-31 Page 1 of 1