...stuck in the middle with you."
Exodus 12:41 has to be one of the most amazing verses of the Bible. Listen to that verse, and see if you can catch why I would say that.
“And it came about at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.”
Did you hear it? Do you think I am referring to the fact that prophecy was fulfilled and it was 430 years to the day after coming to Egypt that the Children of Israel were delivered?
Nope. What I’m referring to is the fact that it says “ALL” of them went out.
Because, you see, if all of them went out, that means all of them obeyed the instructions for the Passover and stayed inside obediently until it was time to come out.
That has to be the only time in the history of God’s people that they all, with one accord, obeyed in unity.
Think about it. They whined and grumbled against Moses when he first came to them out of the desert, and here in our text verses we see them whining and grumbling against him again. And they never stop. (kinda sounds like the church, huh?)
But when it came to the first Passover, they obeyed to the letter and were delivered.
Now I happen to think that’s very significant. In fact, I think it was a miracle.
That, I mean literally. I really do believe that God, by His Spirit, brought about the obedience of faith in the entire congregation of Israel so that none would be left behind. I think God did this, so that the type of His deliverance of repentant men from the ’Egypt’ of sin would be fulfilled; and we know that all who believe in Him will be saved.
At this point in their history the congregation of Israel is a type (a foreshadowing) of the New Testament Church, in being delivered out of sin into newness of life, behind a new leader, toward the Promised Land (Heaven).
Unfortunately, it is a perfect type also in that so many believers, rather than entering into God’s intended rest, (that is, resting from their works and resting in His rest -Heb 4:10) wander in a wilderness of testings and failings, legalism, condemnation of self and others, provoking God with their evil unbelief throughout their Christian walk, constantly seeing Him work in their lives; because they are His and He cares for them; but never understanding His ways.
But I want to sharpen the focus today, just to this moment in Israel’s history; one that also typifies the relationship between Christ and His Church; and see what lessons are there for us.
(Read Exodus 14:5-14)
So let’s set the scene. The Israelites are delivered by God’s mighty hand out of Egypt. They don’t come crawling out, or sneaking out at night, or fighting their way valiantly through the Egyptian army, leaving many of their dead behind as they go... ...no; they are delivered by God as they place their faith and trust in His word, and in the shed blood of the Passover lamb which is on their doors. When they leave, they leave in peace, carrying much plunder from Egypt, as the Egyptians themselves come out in the morning to meet them and give them gifts as they go.
“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”
-Rom 8:37
It must have been only a matter of days, going by the information that is given to us in verses 17-20 of Exodus 14, before the entire congregation stood by the waters of the Red Sea.
They have had time to contemplate the recent events that led up to their deliverance, as they walk on the way with the cloud to guide them by day; and with the pillar of fire to guide at night.
They’ve had time to talk about the plagues and how Egypt was devastated by them while they, in the land of Goshen, were not touched.
They’ve had time to reflect on how, true to His word as always, God passed His mighty wing over them when He saw the blood on their doors, and protected them all from the destroying angel as he moved over the land to kill the firstborn.
They’ve had days, and by the estimates of some scholars, more than a week, to breathe the air of freedom. To turn and study the horizon and marvel at a world with no pyramids and no angry taskmasters with whips; and their legs, now clean of the mud and straw, moving one step at a time toward the land God had promised Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph.
But now they are at the Red Sea.
We have here, a snapshot of all mankind. We haven’t changed. We are like them, and all those who came and went from this world between them and us were the same also.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the Bible was written about ancient people and has no relevance for today’s world. It has all the relevance it ever had; and those who apply its truths to their own life will see its relevance more and more.
The first thing I want you to see as we study our snapshot, is that we’re looking at a redeemed people.
They are delivered out of bondage, and they are free. Freedom is not something they look forward to. It is not something they are continuing to work toward. They have been delivered by God’s hand, not their own, and they stand free.
They have been led to the place where they now stand, not by Moses, and not by coincidental wandering, but by God Himself.
If you read the last 6 verses of chapter 13 and the first 2 of chapter 14, you will see that God was very specific in His directions, and led them precisely to this spot, and this time.
He could have had them safely across the Red Sea long before Pharaoh had a chance to repent of letting them go. God could have destroyed Pharaoh and his charioteers as they harnessed up and made ready for the ride. God could have done anything He wanted, to remove this nation far from the reach of any difficulty.
But here they are, (are you seeing the snapshot in your imagination?) standing with the mountains to the North of them, desert and fortified Egyptian cities to the South, an irate Pharaoh rumbling up behind, and the impassible sea in front.
God led them there!
But what is their first response? Is it to trust in God? To look to Moses and ask, “what now would the Lord have us do?” No.
They fear. Verse 10 says they ‘became very frightened’ and their fear made them cry out to the Lord ... but not in faith; in fear!
They trusted God for their deliverance, but not for their circumstances.
Do you see why I said man has never changed?
When David despaired because of his circumstances, he said, “Now I will perish one day by the hand of Saul”. But Saul died on Gilboa and David’s throne was established forever, according to God’s promise.
Elijah hid in a cave and asked to die, fearing the wrath of powerful Jezebel. But the dogs licked her blood, and Elijah was carried by the whirlwind into Heaven.
Believer, on Calvary’s cross, God stood between you and your sin. Why do you doubt that He can also stand between you and your circumstances?
If you have faith that He has brought you up out of Egypt, why can’t you have faith that He can safely keep that which you’ve committed to Him, and carry you through to journey’s end?
It is unbelief that causes us to forget the bondage and anguish of Egypt, and desire to return to it.
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
(Rom 6:20-22)
It is unbelief that makes us forget who it is that guards us day and night.
They had the cloud by day to stand between them and the enemy, and the fire by night to light their way.
We have the cross of Christ standing between us and the enemy; lighting our way forward; what is there to fear...and what circumstances can He not overcome?
“...I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him...”(II Tim 1:12)
Mackintosh said, “Unbelief...leads us to interpret God in the presence of the difficulty, instead of interpreting the difficulty in the presence of God. Faith gets behind the difficulty, and there finds God, in all His faithfulness, love, and power.”
So in our snapshot we get this aerial view of the throngs, milling about and asking each other, ‘what will we do now’? Discouraging each other with words of unbelief. ‘We’ve come all this way, only to die in this wilderness, trapped between the sea and the armies of Egypt!’ Grumbling against the Lord and Moses. “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?”
But look closer at the snapshot. Do you see that one lone man standing between the multitude and the sea? He is a type of Christ. The Deliverer!
And his cry, as always, is ‘DO NOT FEAR’!
Christian, were you on the cross helping Christ redeem you? Were you with Him in the tomb and down into the depths of the earth? Did you hold His hand to help Him rise from the grave; or somehow give Him a boost so that He might ascend to the right hand of the Majesty on High?
He created the world, and you can’t even make a pine needle!
He holds the world together by the word of His power, and you have trouble keeping your bank book from falling apart.
Stop milling about; pacing about; running about; searching for some thing to do that will deliver you from your troubles.
Do you have spiritual goals? You can no more accomplish them by your own hand than you can gather an armload of wind and carry it about.
Stand still! All that has been done for you up to this point has been done without your help, and in most cases, despite your interference.
Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today.
I want you to consider what would have happened, had they chosen any other course.
Had they gone North, they would have come to the rocky crags of the nearby mountains, and any forward movement would have been halted. The enemy would easily have caught up.
Had they gone South, they only would have compounded their troubles, by running into barren desert and settlements filled with loyal subjects of their enemy.
Had they turned back to fight, all would have been quickly lost. They were the product of generations of slaves who had not learned war. They had no weapons. They had no chariots. They were encumbered by possessions and the elderly and the extremely young; they would have run headlong into disaster...and the Lord would not have been with them.
Christians, when you turn any way other than going straight forward with the Lord, you run headlong into like problems. Obstacles that slow your progress, more of the enemy, or back toward the sin from which you were delivered...an evil taskmaster that will beat you down and take all you have, and give you nothing in return but sorrow and weakness and death.
But consider this also, Christian;
When you go forward on your own, not waiting for the Lord and His time, you march straight into a sea of insurmountable difficulty and soon you and your efforts will be swept away; nothing gained.
What was Moses’ word of encouragement to them? The same as Christ’s to us.
‘THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU WHILE YOU KEEP SILENT.”
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly;”
(Rom 5:6)
“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”
(Col 2:15)
If you have believed in the shed blood of our Passover lamb, the Lord’s Christ, to deliver you from the power and penalty of sin, and if you have entered into newness of life with Him, then you have been brought out and wherever He leads you, He stands with you.
You may be encompassed on every side with seemingly insurmountable difficulties; impassible obstacles; enemies roundabout...but the One who set you free now goes before you, and is with you.
And the Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.
Another thing I want you to consider is that they are told what they should see, and what they would not see.
Stand still and ‘...see the salvation of the Lord...for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.”
Please observe that in order to set their eyes on the salvation He was about to accomplish, they needed to take their eyes off of the problem. They could not be gazing North at the mountains, or South into the expanses of the desert, or back at the cloud of dust being raised by the enemy’s snorting chargers. In order to see the Lord’s salvation they had to be facing forward, in the direction He had led them, not concentrating on the waves that the flesh showed them, but on the deliverance the Spirit showed them.
What they were not to see again, was the enemy. Moses made the promise that the Lord would fight for them, and this promise was kept. See verse 25 of Exodus 14:
“And He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, ‘Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians’.”
Christian, keep your focus forward. Don’t look to the left or the right, because nothing lies in wait for you there but the obstacles of disobedience.
Don’t look back, because Egypt is laid waste and the enemy is already defeated; and there is nothing back there anymore that is either useful to you, or master over you. If your attention is projected forward toward the goal, ...if you only have eyes for Jesus... you will see His salvation over and over again as He prepares the way for you.
The last thing I want to bring to your attention today, takes us back to the early verses of this chapter, and my earlier comments.
God was very specific in His directions, and led them precisely to this spot, and this time.
Why? Why not deliver them quickly and safely out of any chance of further confrontation with Pharaoh?
The answer lies in verses 3 and 4:
“For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord”
The Lord had led them South, and then back North; almost to the place where they had left from.
I’m sure they were even then beginning to grumble amongst themselves; wondering if Moses knew where he was going or what he was doing.
But we see here in verse 4 that God had a plan. He was deliberately making it appear to Pharaoh that the freed slaves were wandering without direction, lost in the wilderness, so he’d pursue after them.
Why? “...and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord”
That’s why.
We often cannot understand what the Lord is doing in our lives; why He is leading the way He is.
We grumble because we think we’re desiring to do His will, but making no progress...and do not seem to have His help in it.
We stress out because we think time and money and other resources are being wasted; but we’re praying, and searching the scriptures, and going to Christian brothers and sisters for counsel...
...Christian brothers and sisters who are every bit as clueless as we...
...but the Lord was with them, even then!
Isn’t it already written for us in the 21st verse of chapter 13:
“...the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light...”?
The Lord is with you also, believer.
You needn’t know, every step of the way, why you are where you are, or where the Lord is leading.
If you have repented of sin and placed your faith in Christ’s shed blood and followed your new Leader out of ‘Egypt’ into a new life, rest assured that He is with you, He continues to guide you, He will constantly be your salvation to complete the work He has begun,...
...but most importantly, remember that His purpose is that through what He has done for and in you, His name will be honored, and in the end all who see, believing and unbelieving alike, will know that He is Lord.
“Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)
Fear not, believer. You’ve trusted Him to deliver you; to stand between you and your sin; now trust Him to stand between you and your circumstances. Focus forward and see, not the enemy...not the obstacles...but His deliverance through every stormy sea of your life. And in the end you will stand with Him on the other side, singing the song of the Lord’s redeemed.
“In Thy lovingkindness Thou hast led the people whom Thou hast redeemed;
In Thy strength Thou hast guided them to Thy holy habitation.” (15:13)
