Exodus “The story of God’s presence”
Part 7
"We’re in a tight spot! "
Exodus 14:1-15, 21-31
Many years ago when I was younger, thinner and dumber
I had great aspirations of being a world champion bareback rider
I can tell you I had the desire but not the ability
And
I still often feel the pains associated with abusing my body in such a way as bronc riding
I can tell you I got bucked off a lot
Rarely made the buzzer
And got in more than my share of wrecks
One time in particular
I managed to stick my right spur in my bareback riggin on the way off a horse
And I still wear a huge scar on my right knee
And often limp
From that predicament
Have you ever found yourself in a predicament?
We have a lot of word pictures in the English language to describe being in a predicament.
We often hear and use phrases like
“You sure have painted yourself into a corner,”
“Being caught “between a rock and a hard place,”
“Up against the wall”
Or
“In a pickle.”
I love the line from-- Oh brother where art thou—
Where Everett says while they are surrounded by lawman with machine guns while the barn is burning down around them
“We’re in a tight spot”
In our passage for today
Moses and the people of Israel found themselves in “A tight spot”.
The Israelites found themselves trapped between Pharaoh’s Army and the Red Sea.
After the Tenth plague and the death angel’s appearance resulted in the death of all of the first born among the Egyptians, Pharaoh finally allowed the Israelites to go free.
He did not want to
But God had gotten his attention
So he did
Exodus 12:31-33
31 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the LORD as you have requested. 32 Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” 33 All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!
So the Hebrews gathered their stuff and left
God’s word says they left in a hurry
Wrapping their belongings in their clothes
Not waiting for the bread dough to rise
Gathering their things
Their Kids
Their livestock
Even asking the Egyptians for gold and silver and being given those things
And heading out into the dessert
Following God
By Faith
In our human brains we often tend to think in a very narrow way
When we want to go from point A to point B
We chose a direct route
In God’s word we see that that is not how God always works
Sometimes to get to point B
We must go from A to G to S
To get to B
Look at verses 13:17-18
“When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.[a] Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.”
Skipping to Chapter 14:1-4
“Then the LORD gave these instructions to Moses: 2 “Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. 3 Then Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!’ 4 And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you.[a] I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD!” So the Israelites camped there as they were told.”
So to recap just a bit
God told Pharaoh to let his people go
He refused
God sent plagues – increasing in severity – until Pharaoh finally listened
Then God lead the Hebrews from Egypt
But did not take them on a direct route to the land he had promised
They went from point A to point F
Ending up with their backs to the Red Sea
So in the mean time
Old Pharaoh had time to rethink his decision
And he changed his mind
Fear, pride, anger all played a part in his decision
But I truly think greed is what made him go after them
The Hebrew slaves represented great wealth to The Egyptians
Think of all you could accomplish if you had free labor
Letting them go would cause a huge economic struggle for Egypt
Let me remind you their country was already in ruins
Their ranching operations were in dismay- It’s hard to run a productive ranch when all your cows die
Their farming operations in shambles- all the crops ready for harvest destroyed- months before the new crops would be ready
Their fishing operation destroyed- all the fish in the river died in plague #1
And now the very free labor that would be needed to rebuild was walking out
Unopposed
So once again
Pharaoh’s heart became hard
And he went after them with everything he had
Exodus 14:5-9
“When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. “What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?” they asked. 6 So Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. 7 He took with him 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, each with its commander. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so he chased after the people of Israel, who had left with fists raised in defiance. 9 The Egyptians chased after them with all the forces in Pharaoh’s army—all his horses and chariots, his charioteers, and his troops. The Egyptians caught up with the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon.
So here is where we are today
Pharaoh had relented and let the people go
They had headed out on a roundabout route and ended up in a tight spot
Red Sea behind them
Pharaoh in front with blood in his eye and His whole army with him
I know about right now
If my feet were in their sandals
I would want to R U N N OF T
Skipping to verse 13 of chapter 14
“But Moses told the people “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
I can tell calm was the farthest thing from the Hebrews minds
They like Pharaoh were having second thoughts
They were wishing they had not left
They were scared
And now they were in a situation that seemed hopeless
And Moses says
“Chill out”
I you have spent any time in church at all
You know what happens next
God through Moses parts the Red Sea
The Hebrews walk across to safety on DRY ground
And then God
Removes his hand from the Sea
And
The walls of water cover the Egyptian army
And they quickly become fish food
At the bottom of the Red Sea
I get excited every time I read this story
To hear of the sheer power of my God
To know he fights for me
To know that he will deliver me
Just as he has promised
WOW!
I encourage you to read and study these passages in Exodus
To meditate on them
Talk about them
And ask God to show you how to apply them to your own life
He will !
But in my studies
What I see for us in this great account of God’s power
Are several ways we can apply this passage to our lives?
First
God’s plans don’t always make sense to us
As Pete said in the movie
“that just don’t make no sense”
God could have taken the people on a bee line course to the Promised Land
He could have made Pharaoh let them go
He could have prevented them from becoming slaves in the first place
He could have done this in so many different ways that we could understand
But he did not
Why?
The Bible says
In Isaiah 55:8
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
Often God seems to place His children in positions of extreme difficulty
Putting them in a tight spot
A box canyon
Up against the Red Sea
With no logical way of escape
When we find ourselves in these types of situations
And we all do
We must understand that God sees the big picture
That he does have a plan
That often he is protecting us
Or preparing us, providing for us
And then we must, just as God though Moses told the Hebrews
Stop
Stand still
Watch
Be quiet
Stop trying to fix our own problems
Stop trying to clean up our own messes
And let God fight for us
I can’t tell you the number of times
That I have been wadded up tight over some situation in my life
Or in yours or some problem in the church
And then gave it to God through prayer
I mean really laid it down
And it became a non issue
When it came time to fight
The fight was over
God had already provided the outcome
We don’t always understand his ways. Nor or we supposed to
But
We must in faith accept his ways
Not only are his ways not our ways
Not only are we not able to always understand his ways
But
God always plans ahead
His plans are made in advance
My standard answer to many questions concerning how we are going to accomplish this or that is
I don’t know- I’m making this up as I go
We as humans tend to react to situations in our lives
God responds
Reaction verses responding seems to be a common topic in my life these days
Pharaoh thought the Hebrew were confused when they camped with their backs to the Sea
But God always knew what he was doing
He was not confused
His plan
This plan
This day in history had been set out before the creation of the world
God knew what he would do
And
God knew how he would do it
He knew the results of his actions
We often get ourselves into situations
Messes
Wrecks
We get ourselves in so deep that the wreck or the mess is all we can see
We can’t see the plan
We can’t understand the plan
We can’t see a way out
That is where trust comes in
We must trust that God has a plan and that he knows the plan
That he knows the outcome
We must allow HIM
To fight for us
Many things in this life can cause us to forget to trust God
We often say we trust him but then the enemy comes charging up like that Egyptian army
And trust goes out the window
And
Doubt comes charging in to fill the void
Medical problems
Money problems
Relationship problems
Work problems
Death
I could go on and on
But
It is in these times – The hard times
The tight spots
That we need to Trust God and his plan
Not only does God’s plan sometimes not make sense
And not only does God always have a plan
But
God does not need our help to accomplish his plan, he only needs our obedience
This often hits us right in the grill
In this world and especially in the cowboy culture
We tend to place a lot of value on being able to fix things ourselves
In our ability to get things done
But like it or not
God does not need our help
His plan will succeed with us or without us
And
Often times
We just muck up things when we try to do it on our own
Moses made a huge mess of things when he tried to deliver the Hebrews apart from God
Everyone wanted him dead or gone
And he spent 40 years in the wilderness being prepared to do what God had for him
None of us have the ability on our own to fulfill God’s plans
But when we are obedient
He allows us to be a part of his plan
And
He allows us to receive the blessings that come with it
When their back was up against the wall
Moses did not say
“Here they come guys arm yourselves”
“Prepare for battle”
He did not say “run”
“Hide”
He said
Don’t be afraid
Stand Still
Watch
Be Quiet
In cowboy terms- “Sit down and shut up”
God said through Moses says
I’ve got this, just hold on
God’s plan is often not understandable by us
God always plans ahead
God does not need us to complete his plan
And
Gods plan is not limited by human standards
On their own the Hebrews were toast
By human standards they were done
Backed up against the Sea
No weapons
No boats
Too many people
Too many animals to swim
This to quote Oh brother where art thou again
“What are we gonna to Do”
Listen to me on this point
There is a time to pray
And there is a time to act
When you have prayed
And prayed
And God
Has revealed to you what to do
Prayer time is over
It is time to do it!
Exodus 14:16
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! 16 Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.”
Literally God told Moses stop praying and start moving.
He said
I have told you what to do
Showed you what to do
Prepared you for what you must do
Just do it
You see
When you have prayed
And sought Godly counsel
And read your Bible
And received answers
And the answers you get are all lining up
Stop asking the questions and act on those answers
God had already told them he would fight for them and now he shows them the way
Exodus 14:21-22
1 Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the LORD opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. 22 So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!
Moses on God’s command
Raised his hand
And the wind blew hard enough to split the Sea
In fact it blew hard enough to dry up the bottom of the ocean
Have you ever tried to drive a tractor or ride a horse or even walk through a place that has been underwater for any length of time?
If so you know
It takes a while
Weeks sometimes even months for that land to dry up
The bible says that the Hebrews walked across on dry ground
Not mud
Not muck
Dry ground
That is amazing to me
This is not humanly possible or even imaginable
But God is not limited by human standards
They crossed the Sea on Dry ground – that my friend is fact
Then Pharaoh and his army made a big mistake
The rode into the Sea in their chariots and on their horses
Exodus 14:23-28
Then the Egyptians—all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and charioteers—chased them into the middle of the sea. 24 But just before dawn the LORD looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion. 25 He twisted[b] their chariot wheels, making their chariots difficult to drive. “Let’s get out of here—away from these Israelites!” the Egyptians shouted. “The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26 When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the LORD said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.” 27 So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived.
God did all the fighting that was necessary
It was part of the plan
What I need you to see and understand this morning is that coming to the Red Sea
Being in a tight spot was just as big a part of God’s plan as was the deliverance
The path to the Sea was just as important as the crossing
God does indeed have a plan for each of us
Our part in the plan is dependent on our obedience
I come back to this topic on a regular basis
Obedience to God’s word is how we receive the blessings from God
God’s plans are not always understandable
I wish I could answer all of the why does this happen questions I receive
I can’t
I can’t answer all the whys in my own life
Or in yours
But
I know that God does have a plan
And that it is a good plan
I know because God’s word tells in me Jeremiah 29:11 that his plan for my and your life is a plan of protection’ and plan
A plan to give you hope and a future
A plan of provision
And plan of blessings
I know that God has laid out a plan for my life
I know that he knows what it is
I trust that he is not making this up as we go
This gives me comfort and hope
But it also gives me peace and joy
I am learning in spite of my hard head
Hearing in spite of sometimes not listening
To allow God to work in my life
To stop trying to do things my own way
Learning to
Stop
And
Listen
And
Watch
And
Shut up long enough to see God’s plan for my life unfold
It is a good plan
And it brings joy and contentment to my life
I am also learning that when the praying is done and the answers are given
To get up
Move out
Act in faith and complete confidence
That his plan is the right plan
As I have already said
God does have a plan
He has a plan for each of us
And
His plan starts with Jesus Christ
God created all people and he loves all people
But not all people will be saved
As we covered last week only those who accept the blood of Jesus and apply the blood of Jesus will be saved
This is step one of God plan for everyone
Salvation
Moving from unforgiven to forgiven
Lost to found
You see
There are two types of people in the world
Lost sinners and saved sinners
What makes the difference?
The difference is accepting the plan
God’s plan of redemption
His plan of restoration
His plan of salvation
Close from the heart
Pray
