Exodus chapter 14 reminds us of our weakness and God’s faithfulness. The chapter begins with God directing the nation of Israel to turn back and camp by the sea. God tells Moses, “Pharaoh will think the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion… he will pursue them, but I will gain glory for myself… Pharaoh… will know that I am the Lord“. And we read simply, “the Israelites did this“. Meanwhile, back in Egypt, Pharaoh is stewing, “What have we done? We have lost their services“. We then read, “He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots in Egypt” and pursued Israel. Imagine, with the death and destruction all around him, all Pharaoh can think of is getting back what God took from him. “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching on them.” Notice Israel’s reaction, “They were terrified and cried out“. They complained to Moses, “Where there no graves in Egypt? What have you done bringing us out of Egypt? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians then to die in the desert!” What a picture of what is happening to us as believers. Satan has been defeated, yet he desires to get back what God took from him (that’s you and I). When faced with life’s pressures, some believers remember their old lives, yet forget the misery. How many new believers have backslidden at the first sign of attack? But Notice Moses’ exhortation, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still“.
God tell Moses to “stretch out your hand over the sea and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring“. As always seems to be the case, when we act in faith, God works His will (not the other way around). God declares, “the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground… The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord“. Next, we are given such a powerful picture, “the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel… went behind them… coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel“. Jesus Christ alone stands between our lives and destruction. On our own, we cannot fight against the armies of Satan, but by God’s grace He sent a Savior to stand before us. Satan is the enemy, the accuser, the deceiver, but Jesus Christ is God. 1 Peter 2:25, calls Jesus “the shepherd and guardian of your souls“. Notice Israel is not rescued because of their righteousness, but because of God’s faithfulness- God always keeps His word. God sent a strong east wind that “drove back the sea and turned it into dry land“. Then the Lord threw the Egyptian army into confusion and even “made the wheels of their chariots to come off“. The Egyptians knew their fight was futile and shouted, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt“. Are the wheels falling off your chariot these days? Make sure you are not fighting against the Lord.
Finally God tells Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea again, and at daybreak, “The sea went back to its place… and covered the chariots and horsemen- the entire army of Pharaoh… not one of them survived“. Don’t miss the point that God could have done this without Moses, but God desires to work through willing hearts. The people were saved and their faith was restored because of one man stretching out his hand in faith. What wonder does God want to work through your life today? Stretch out your hand in faith.