Exodus 14
1The Lord said to Moses, 2"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So the Israelites did this.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9The Egyptians- all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops- pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, "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? 12Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Woah. Read that one more time... The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
But there is an ENTIRE EGYPTIAN ARMY coming at us!
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
THEY HAVE HUNDREDS OF HORSEMEN AND CHARIOTS AND WE ARE DEFENSELESS!
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
I don't think you understand. They are coming to KILL US.
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Can't you SEE?! We can't fight them. We have no chance. You should have just left us in slavery in Egypt.
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
So then what happened? God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians. Not only did He deliver them completely, He did it in the coolest way possible. He told Moses to hold his staff over the sea, and to place it in the sand and the sea would split, forming a wall of water on both sides of them. He would harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they would follow the Israelites into the split sea, and then as soon as the Israelites were safely on the other side, God let the water walls go and drown the entirety of the army. Not a single Egyptian survived.
I get tears in my eyes every single time I read this story. How many times am I like the Israelites? How many times do I face a mountain with doubt and fear and desire nothing more than to run far and fast? All too often. So often I see the big Egyptian army coming for me... be it health issues, loss, grief, anger, stress... and I am ready to high-tail it. I would rather try to handle things, be in action, than sit and listen. Because if I took a minute to be still... maybe I would hear God's voice telling me to simply stay that way. I would hear God telling me that this is His battle, not mine, and I only need to be still and allow Him to fight it. And He will never, ever let me down. How amazing is that? That a God so vast and powerful that He holds the entire world in the palm of his hand, will also stand and fight for little old me.
We have the coolest God ever.
Today I see some pretty big armies facing me, bearing down, trying to steal my strength.
But today, I will not let them win. I will sit quietly in the folds of peace and let God do His amazing work. And I will say thank you.
I hope you do the same.
Love,
Sarah
1The Lord said to Moses, 2"Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.' 4And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." So the Israelites did this.
5When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9The Egyptians- all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops- pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
10As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11They said to Moses, "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? 12Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
13Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."
Woah. Read that one more time... The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
But there is an ENTIRE EGYPTIAN ARMY coming at us!
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
THEY HAVE HUNDREDS OF HORSEMEN AND CHARIOTS AND WE ARE DEFENSELESS!
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
I don't think you understand. They are coming to KILL US.
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Can't you SEE?! We can't fight them. We have no chance. You should have just left us in slavery in Egypt.
...The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
So then what happened? God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians. Not only did He deliver them completely, He did it in the coolest way possible. He told Moses to hold his staff over the sea, and to place it in the sand and the sea would split, forming a wall of water on both sides of them. He would harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they would follow the Israelites into the split sea, and then as soon as the Israelites were safely on the other side, God let the water walls go and drown the entirety of the army. Not a single Egyptian survived.
I get tears in my eyes every single time I read this story. How many times am I like the Israelites? How many times do I face a mountain with doubt and fear and desire nothing more than to run far and fast? All too often. So often I see the big Egyptian army coming for me... be it health issues, loss, grief, anger, stress... and I am ready to high-tail it. I would rather try to handle things, be in action, than sit and listen. Because if I took a minute to be still... maybe I would hear God's voice telling me to simply stay that way. I would hear God telling me that this is His battle, not mine, and I only need to be still and allow Him to fight it. And He will never, ever let me down. How amazing is that? That a God so vast and powerful that He holds the entire world in the palm of his hand, will also stand and fight for little old me.
We have the coolest God ever.
Today I see some pretty big armies facing me, bearing down, trying to steal my strength.
But today, I will not let them win. I will sit quietly in the folds of peace and let God do His amazing work. And I will say thank you.
I hope you do the same.
Love,
Sarah
I don't suppose you read my blog post before you wrote yours today. End of a long day now, I'm glad I read yours before retiring. I didn't run away and I only panicked a little (I think). But He did fight for me and there is peace. Thanks be to God.
ReplyDeleteLove this post and love the reminder. Thanks!
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