The story of the Children of Israel and their exodus from Egypt is amazing.
I remember when I was in college and watching from my dorm room the breaking down of the Berlin Wall. For years, since 1961 actually, the German people had lived in bondage to communism. That was symbolized by that horrible wall. and now, it was coming down. I watched with my roommates as the German people shouted with glee, slung sledgehammers, and generally celebrated their newfound freedom.
And watching that, I think I caught a glimpse of how the Children of Isreal might have felt. For over 400 years, they had been in slavery. They had prayed for deliverance but at the same time, they probably felt resigned to that way of life. There was none of them alive who remembered what freedom felt like.
And now it had happened. God had sent a miracle who was named Moses. How many times had the Children of Israel looked at the Red Sea and seen it as a barrier. On the other side of it lay freedom, a land apart from Egypt, a land where they would not have to be under the vicious rule of Pharaoh.
But it was a pipe dream. It was not something that was reality. It was something that they best not think about lest they get discouraged.
But Moes was different. He knew something they didn’t know.
He had the wisdom to call on God.
That was what Moses did all the time. He called out to God. Why? Because he knew that God would be faithful.
He had doubted his own ability, sure, but he never doubted the faithfulness of God.
And time and again, God showed His faithfulness to the Chilren of Israel and at the same time, showed His authority and power.
How?
Glad you asked.
First of all, He showed His faithfulness through the principle of production. He made a way for His people to cross the Red Sea safely.
They came to that barrier one last time. They saw the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh benind them.
Yep... we were wrong. We trusted Moses and look where it got us. There is no freedom. Freedome lies beyond this sea and right now, all we have to look forward to is certain execution. Certain death.
But Moses called out to God.
And God produced a way.
A remarkable way.
By splitting the Red SEa in half.
And allowing them to walk across dry land.
Years ago, a young man named Josh Wooten was in my mother’s fourth grade classroom. They were talking about the story of the Red Sea being split in half. Josh asked my mother "Was it really dry land or was it just soggy".
I can assure you that it was dry land. Because that’s what the Bible says.
Aren’t we that way? How many times have we felt there was no way out. No point in even praying. The worst was inevitable.
"We might as well give up. There is no way we’re going to get out of debt."
I said "I might as well give up. There’s very slim chances I’ll be married. I’m 30. I’m old!"
How about this one: "There is no way that church is going to pay off that debt. They just can’t handle it."
And yet God provided a way.
What was it Jesus said to the Apostles as the storm rocked their boat?
"Why are ye so afraid.. o ye of little faith?"
We sing songs like "Faith Is The Victory" and at VBS, we sung "I Will Trust in God."
Yet when it comes right down to it, we don’t follow through.
The bills are piling up. We just can’t make it. We certainly can’t be expected to tithe. Not with our economic situation.
"Why are ye so afraid.. o ye of little faith?"
We’ve applied for that job several times. We just don’t see how we’re going to get it this time.
"Why are ye so afraid.. o ye of little faith?"
Counseling won’t do any good. Our marriage is going down the tubes. Our life is in disarray. There’s just no way it can get any better!
"Why are ye so afraid.. o ye of little faith?"
Our God created this great big world out of nothing.
You don’t think he can produce a way of escape, an answer for you?
Next, God showed His faithfulness through the principle of protection.
The Children of Israel crossed over the Red Sea on dry land. But as the looked back, they saw the Egyptian army coming at them the same way.
"Well, now we’re done for. Thanks, God. We got all the way across the Red Sea just to be killed. Well, at least we can say we didn’t die in Egypt!"
But then they turned and looked a second time and watched the Egyptian army drown as God closed the waters around them.
My friend Penny sang a song in church one time called "He didn’t bring us this far just to leave us."
God watches over and protects those who are His children.
And He won’t let you down.
"Oh, yeah! Well, where was His protection last year? My family is torn apart."
"Where was His protection last year? Now I’m without a job. And we don’t know how we’re going to make it."
But understand something... while God promises protection, He doesn’t promise that there won’t be hardship. He doesn’t promise there won’t be tears.
But He does promise He’ll walk with us. He’ll get us through. He’ll take us to the other side.
Think back on those crises you went through? Could you have really made it without Jesus?
I think David understood it best and said it best in the 23rd Psalm:
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."
No matter what you’re going through, if you’re a believer, Someone is walking with you. That Someone is Jesus.
So God produced a way, then He protected. But we should also be aware of His provision.
In Exodus 16, the Children of Israel find themselves in the wilderness with nothing to eat.
And how did God handle that?
One morning, the Children of Israel got up find manna (bread from Heaven) all over the ground and quail as well.
God provided. Once again, He did not bring them that far just to leave them.
He had great plans for them and they did not include allowing them to starve to death.
And you know what?
God has great plans for you!
And they don’t include you coming to a miserable end!
He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 that His plans for us are good and not of evil and to give us a hope and a future.
Not to be repetitive (or maybe actually to be repetitive), He doesn’t bring you this far just to leave you.
Those of you who are believers and have been walking in obedience have seen have no doubt seen God’s provision.
That income tax check that was just exactly the amount you needed.
That check that came in the mail that you didn’t know was even coming.
That friend who dropped by at just the right time.
That phone call at just the right moment.
Thank God for coincidence, right?
No, thank God for His mighty provision.
Finally, God is not only a producer, a protector, and a provider. He is also a problem-solver.
The Children of Israel were in a desert. They needed water. But there was none to be found. Nothing around them but dirt and rock.
And oh, yeah... God!
God said Moses, pick up your rod and strike that rock!
Moses did and water came out of the rock.
Because God is a problem solver.
He has an answer for anything we’re going through.
In fact, He is the answer.
A song we used to sing when I was a teenager:
"Jesus is the answer for the world today, Above Him, there is no other. Jesus is the way."
When we look at the Cross, we see one who understands being beaten, we see one who understands being ridiculed, we see one who prayed for a way out, we see one who cried out to God and wondered why He had been forsaken.
We see One who wants to produce a way of escape, one who want sto protect us from the Enemy, one who wants to provide for our needs, and One who is the answer to all our problems.
