(Exodus 14:30-31) An Awe Dropping Crossing.

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Nathan Sehi

Bethel Baptist Church

Exodus • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago • Presented 4 years ago • 32:26

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INTRODUCTION:

Are Miracles true?

Do Miracles prove the existence of God?

The Red Sea crossing is an amazing story of God keeping his promise and rescuing his people.

It shows unprecedented display of power and strength, literally a miracle.

So many people have doubted the Exodus, because there is nothing in this world that we can compare it too.

Science can’t explain it. >>> that is we can’t a 100% rationalize how it happened.

And so some have called this story a myth or a legend.

But those who would call the Red Sea crossing a myth, or an overstated legend, are ignoring an important fact.

It could be the very hand of God.

A Miracle is by definition is above or outside normal occuring events.

A miracle cannot be fully explained and rationalized And There timing and nature show the events as clearly being from God.

We as Christians don’t expect science to be able to fully and exhaustively explain it.

In fact we know they can’t.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Because it can only be understood as an act of God.<<<<<<<<<<<<<

We admit that the Red Sea cannot be explained,

because it was anything, but natural or normal.

- If it had been normal, there would have been nothing to write about.

The whole point of Moses including this section is for people to realize that this is not an accident.

That it is not a normal, natural event.

It is something beyond rational explanation.

That it was the very hand of God, bending the natural world to his will.

>Slide

“But mere experience, even if prolonged for a million years, cannot tell us whether the thing is possible. Experiment find out what regularly happens in Nature: the norm or rule to which she works. Those who believe in miracles are not denying that there is such a norm or rule: they are only saying that it can be suspended. A miracle is by definition an exception.” (CS Lewis in Miracles, p. 72)

We might ask the question- Do miracles prove the existence of God?

I think this story will teach us - yes.

Like the 10 plagues, yes.

In fact, God intends to prove himself through the Exodus.

The Exodus is purposely evidential.

(Barrowed for Alva McClain, Greatness of the Kingdom)

Exodus 14:4 ESV

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.

The 10 plagues and the Red Sea crossing - were meant to compel belief.

But I think this story teaches us more than just that God exists.

Yes, God intended to demonstrate that he does exist.

But this story demands so much more from us, then merely ascent that God truly exists.

Should miracles only compel us that there is a God?

Or should these miracles compel us to worshipGod?

And the answer to that question - gets to the heart of the Exodus.

God is not simply showing he exists,

But that his existence demands worship.

Consider Israel’s response in Exodus 14:30-31.

Exodus 14:30–31 ESV

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

I exhort us this morning-

The Red Sea crossing should compel us to behold, trust, and follow the LORD.

I will explain why the Red Sea crossing compels us to those three words as we examine Exodus 14:30-31.

Last week, we considered - The LORD’s Work in the Exodus.

God kept his promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,

and ultimately to Moses and Israel.

This week, I want us to consider - How we should respond to the Exodus?

And I would answer this way. -

The Red Sea crossing should compel us to behold, trust, and follow the LORD.

***********************PRAY***************

How should we respond?

To begin with, we ought to -

(1) Behold the Lord.

That is we ought to have an awe or wow about God.

Exodus 14: 30 – 31 is an intentional, summary statement,

about how Israel responded to God’s deliverance at the Red Sea.

- If you recall from last week, Pharoah was sprinting across the desert with the 600 chariots.

- Israel was woefully under equipped and afraid of Pharaoh’s Army.

But what did God do?

He smashed the Red Sea over their heads of the Egyptians.

Exodus 14:26–28 ESV

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.

And what does that summary statement tell us about how Israel responded.

Israel saw two things according to our text.

Exodus 14:30–31 ESV

Israel saw how God saved them from the Egyptians.

And Israel saw the power of God.

You see the two times that Moses uses the word, “saw”, to describe Israel.

They were amazed at the salvation and power of God.

Who can blame them?

ILLUSTRATION:

Even today, as New Testament Christians,

when we think of the Red Sea crossing, we think of God’s power.

You go through the doctrine of Omnipotence, the unlimited power of God, and automatically the Red Sea crossing comes to mind.

God did an amazing miracle, and what does that miracle demand?

I would say that miracle demands an awe of God.

Observe how the text says,

“Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians”

Ordinarily,

the word “saw” is mundane way of saying I watch something happened.

But I would suggest that verse 30 describes Israel as having watched what happened,

but the beginning of verse 31 describes something subtly more important.

They didn’t just watch the power of God at the Red Sea Crossing,

but you could instead translate this as they - perceived, understood, or behold the power of God.

Ex 14:31 seemed oddly redundant,

because it’s actually communicating a different idea then Exodus 14:30.

They perceived, understood, or behold the power of God.

- They beheld or were in awe at the power and salvation of God.

- Essentially, they said – “Wow”.

ILLUSTRATION:

This summer I got to go to Niagara Falls.

And the torrent of water that goes over Niagara Falls is so massive – that it leaves a 50 foot mist all around it.

If you stand on boat next to it - it literally showers you like rain.

You can take a boat ride and check it out.

Some people might call this a spiritual place,

it is a place where there is awesome power.

At Niagara Falls we had just a little bit, of what it means to see the power of water.

And Imagine the midst and crashing of an ocean together.

What is the Niagara Falls, compared to the parting of the Red Sea?

What is Niagara Falls, compared to the crashing of the Red Sea upon the Egyptian Army?

Moses is not simply saying, I saw the power of God.

Moses is saying is that, he was in Awe at the power of God.

And this idea is reinforced by what comes next.

Observe how our text says,

“so the people feared the LORD”

If we were to translate this very rigidly,

we would translate this.

Rigid Translation:

Then the LORD saved Israel that day from the Hand of the Egyptians.

Then Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Then Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians.

Then the people feared the LORD .

Then the believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

A consequence of perceiving the power of God,

was that they feared the Lord.

But what does it mean to fear the LORD?

This idea of fear isn’t that they were terrified of God.

There are times that is what fear means.

And we should an appropriate respect for the almighty.

This the idea that they had reverence for who God is.

“and the people [reverently] feared the Lord” (Amplified Bible - AMP)

- They were in awe of who God was.

We ought to look at the Red Sea Crossing, and behold, in awe, the majestic power of God.

And in case you don’t think that is important, consider what C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity.

Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do Epilogue

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

Paul Tripp said this, in his book titled Awe.

Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do Preface

I wrote this book for me because I came to see that I was wired for awe, that awe of something sits at the bottom of everything I say and do. But I wasn’t just wired for awe. I was wired for awe of God. No other awe satisfies the soul. No other awe can give my heart the peace, rest, and security that it seeks. I came to see that I needed to trace awe of God down to the most mundane of human decisions and activities.

May I say it this way,

a Christianity without awe is a Christianity that is dead and empty.

I hope you stand here today and the Red Sea Crossing reminds you to be at awe at the power of God.

Secondly, we ought to -

(2) Trust the Lord.

Exodus 14:31 ESV

Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Let’s go back to a rigid translation,

Rigid Translation:

Then Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians.

Then the people feared the LORD .

Then they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Directly following their awe of God, was their belief in God.

> The Hebrew word translated “belief” can also be translated as “faith” or “trust”.

Chart for word “belief” in the ESV

The ESV generally translates this word as Belief, trust, or faith.

> In this particular instance,

I think”belief” makes sense.

They have come to believe in Yahweh.

> But again, there “belief” is more than an ascent that the LORD is the true God.

It means they are trusting the Lord to guide them.

Consider for example these translations.

I just want to make sure you understand this is not my weird translation,

but an honest accounting of the words.

Translations of “believed” -

AMP: and the people [reverently] feared the Lord and trusted in (relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord and to His servant Moses.

EEC: And so the people feared Yahweh, and they believed and trusted in Yahweh and in his servant Moses.

WBC: So the people were in awe of Yahweh—and in consequence, they put their trust in Yahweh and in Moses, his servant.

NAC: the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

Moses is saying,

Israel saw their deliverance from Egypt,

They perceived the power of God,

And in turn, they put their trust in the LORD.

The Lord became the God that they placed their hope and faith in.

- They would no longer look to the gods of Egypt for help, healing, and prosperity.

- But they would cry out to the God who hears their prayers and has the power to answer them.

I ask you,

who do you hope in?

This world is full of remedies for everything.

If you are out of work - you have unemployment insurance.

If you are sick - you have doctors.

If you need more money - you can work an extra job, or get loan.

If you are bored - there are services, clubs, and people to entertain you.

But are any of those real remedies?

Or mere band aides to the real problems of life.

Who do you hope in?

Who do you call out to for help?

The LORD, and the LORD Alone, should be worthy of our trust.

We may not always be able to see our deliverance.

In Exodus 5, Israel could not imagine their deliverance.

But God was true to his word,

And the Red Sea Crossing should remind us to trust God through dark waters of life.

Even when we can see our deliverance, we should remember to trust in God.

And thirdly, I believe our text teaches us - We ought to

(3) Follow the Will of the Lord.

So far, we’ve observed in this text how Israel has responded to the Red Sea crossing.

They have been in awe of who God is.

They put their trust and faith in the Lord.

But I also believe this text teaches us that they were committed to following the will of the LORD.

I think we can miss the significance of what Exodus 14:31, if we read it in isolation from the rest of the book of Exodus.

Why does it matter, that Israel is in awe of God’s salvation and power?

Why does it matter that Israel put their trust in the Lord in response to God’s salvation and power?

And I think it matters - because it becomes the foundation, for Israel following the will of God.

Exodus 3:8, 3:17, 6:4, 6:15, 13:5, 13:11 - all teach that God plans for Israel to conquer the land of the Canaanites.

The promised land.

The first step of that - Is God delivering Israel from Egypt.

So when Israel fears the Lord, and Believes in the Lord and His servant Moses.

What they are saying is - I will follow your will.

Whatever you say, I will trust and follow.

The Red Sea crossing should compel Israel to follow the Lord.

There history doesn’t always match their faith here.

But the right response to the Red Sea crossing - is to follow God with reverence and trust.

Can you describe yourself

- as truly a follower of God?

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ is to be his follower.

Are you following the teachings of Christ?

Or is there an area you holding back on?

Is there an area I don’t want to give up, or surrender?

A sin, a fear, … maybe even a calling?

I challenge us, the Red Sea Crossing should teach us to follow the Lord.

Whatever that will is.

The Exodus was probably very scary to go through.

But the Red Sea crossing teaches us to follow God - even when it is scary and hard.

CONCLUSION:

So I submit to you -

The Red Sea crossing should compel us to behold, trust, and follow the LORD.

Sermons by the Late Rev. Charles Wesley Sermon XII

do we not, most of us, halt between two opinions? do we not endeavour to do service to two masters? and is it not the frequent practice of the generality of Christians to compound between God and the world? to contrive how to serve God, without renouncing the service of the world, the flesh, and the devil? Do we not see many, who make loud professions of their zeal for religion, still anxious for the good things of this life? In short, may we not truly say that while we all pretend to be true worshippers of God, we do every one in particular, at some seasons, set up his idols in his heart, and divide his religious worship between that and his God?