Good morning. As we begin this morning, we are going to start a new series that questions weather or not you would be wet in the Bible passages that we will look at. With the 4th of July just a couple of days away, this morning’s message deal with independence in a way. If you want to go ahead and turn with me to Exodus 14 and hold that spot for a moment.
Woody Allen in addressing a Harvard graduation said, “You have entered a crossroads of life. Down one road is despondency and despair.. down the other road is total annihilation. I sure hope you make the right choice.” Now, I’m confident that Woody Allen was being humorous but he was describing how many people feel sometimes. There can be for all of us periods when we just see no way out, when we feel huge burdens and waves of despair. Well, that’s the story in a nutshell in Exodus 14. The children of Israel came to a dead end at the Red Sea. As you know, for 430 years God’s people had been in bondage in Egypt. God had called Moses and his brother Aaron to be His mouthpiece to tell Pharaoh a message of liberation. God simply said to Pharaoh, “Let My people go.”
Just hours before they were celebrating their release from bondage in Egypt but now emotions have changes and they are in deep trouble. But I don’t want to look at their despair this morning as much as I want us to watch what happens when they placed their trust in God. The Psalmist wrote about this incident in Psalms 22:4-5 and said, “1”
And in Hebrews 11:29 it says, “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”
Before we move on, let’s have a word of prayer
As people living in today’s world, we too face some “Red Seas” in life. So let’s examine how God delivered them and gain some lessons on how we can trust Him to deliver us in the times where we are at a dead end too.
First, The Trap At The Red Sea:
The children of Israel were absolutely trapped between the devil and, in this case, the deep Red Sea. The devil was Pharaoh. The Red Sea, which is not red but the mountains surrounding it have a red tint, was uncrossable by human standards. The Red Sea is over 1200 miles long and in places over a mile deep. Ron Wyatt, a well known archeologist, about 20 years ago, found what many think is the exact spot this event occurred. It is at the Aquaba gulf. Some scuba divers have actually found old chariot wheels & human remains. Here, the Sea is some 5 to 8 miles across and 250-300 feet deep. So, the Israelites are trapped.
But let’s take a moment to look at how the children of Israel got trapped. This wasn’t a military plan, but incredibly it was by God’s design. God could of led the children of Israel on a more direct route to the promised land. A direct route from Egypt to Israel is about 350 miles. Even 2 million people could walk that in 6 to 8 weeks.
But God said that if they went the short route they would encounter the Philistines, who were a fighting people, and the children of Israel were not ready for battle.
So, God took them the long route. But, God took them on this indirect route for 2 reasons. (1) He was going to test their faith. He was going to perform a miracle so that their trust in Him would increase. They were like children and God knew they had some growing up to do, spiritually, before they were ready to enter the promise land. And (2) He wanted to demonstrate His care for them. The children of Israel needed to understand that God had not delivered them from slavery and just left them. He was still there, still protecting them and they could depend totally on Him. So, the indirect route strengthened them and showed God’s care.
The plan was simple: Place the Israelites in such a predicament that it will be impossible for them to escape without His intervention. God’s plan was to deliver His people in such a way that it would be plain to all that He was the One, True, God. Look at the text starting at verse 5 “When the King of Egypt was told that the Israelites had left, he and his officers changed their minds about them. They said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites leave. We have lost our slaves!”
But of course, the Israelites don’t understand God’s design and so they panic which is just a symptom of a lack of trust. Verse 10 says, “When the Israelites saw the king and his army coming after them, they were terrified.”
They responded like most people who feel trapped. They cry out to God. They pray. I mean isn’t that what usually happens when people are at a dead end. They cry out to God, even if they never have interest in Him at any other times in their lives?
Look what else a lack of trust does. Verse 11 “What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? There were plenty of graves for us in Egypt.” They begin to criticize their leader. When panic hits we often look for someone to blame rather than someone to trust. And in doing so, they distort and glamorize the past.
Verse 12 says, “We told you in Egypt, “Leave us alone; we will stay and serve the Egyptians.” Now we will die in the desert.” Now, these people must have developed amnesia or something. Stay in Egypt? Serve the Egyptians? Have they forgotten that for the past 400 plus years they have complained about that situation but as soon as the pressure of bad circumstances comes upon them they distort and glamorize their past. They basically say, “We didn’t have it all that bad in Egypt. We didn’t want to leave in the 1st place!”
Have you ever noticed how people who feel trapped or wronged distort the past? Someone is involved in an extra-marital affair and they say, “You know, I was married for 20 years and I never was happy.” They were never happy? But the Israelites responded like this because they were trapped.
And there are all kinds of things that can trap us today. Sinful habits: for some it seems almost impossible to quit drinking, or gambling, or losing their temper, or stopping that sinful activity that holds them captive. We can feel trapped in dead end relationships, feeling like it’s hopeless. Some may feel trapped in a deteriorating body. Once you knew what it was to be free of pain and to be able to do what you wanted. But now because of an accident or disease or aging your body is not functioning very well. And that can be so discouraging. Maybe you’re trapped by tragic circumstances. And when those kinds of things happen you feel trapped, like the Israelites, you feel hopeless.
But, the important question is: “When we face times in our life where we feel trapped, how do we respond, who do we turn to?” Hopefully it is to God.
The second thing that we can learn from the story of the Red Sea, is about The Deliverance Of God:
Well, God intervened in this impossible situation and provided an all time unexplainable phenomenon. Moses gave 3 principles that helped the Israelites then and will help us today cope in times of discouragement and despair. They can be found in verses 13 and 14. Verses 13 and 14 say, “..Moses answered, Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the LORD save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again after today. You only need to remain calm; the LORD will fight for you.”
First, “Don’t be afraid.” In other words, refuse to panic. He said, “Stand still” & “You only need to remain calm.” Now, that is a tough assignment sometimes isn’t it? When we are faced with impossible situations we tend to withdraw, back out or look for some way to manipulate our situation in order to escape. The instructions are: Stand firm in the Lord.. be still.. remain calm. He’s saying, don’t panic.
The Lord will fight for you if you’ll just wait. Felix Noalla was a persecuted man of God and one time while fleeing his enemies he crawled into a cave, to hide and he prayed for safety. And a spider came and spun a web over the small entrance to that cave. And when the troops came up to the cave entrance they saw the spider web and figured no one had been there. Later Noalla wrote: “Where God is, a web is like a wall. Where God is not, a wall is like a web.”
Well, God spun a wall between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Verses 19-20 tells us that instead of fire, the cloud came between the Egyptians and the Israelites and cast Pharaoh in darkness. But the bottom line is that God made it impossible for Pharaoh’s army to get to His people. So when you face despair remember what Moses said, “Don’t be afraid.. Stand still.. remain calm.” Realize that there are some situations where you just have to say: “There’s nothing I can do to correct this. I’m not going to panic but wait and stand firm in the Lord.”
While Pharaoh is confused, God delivers. Verse 21 says, “All that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind, making the sea become dry ground. The water was split, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry land, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”
Second, God told him in verse 15 to tell the people to “Keep Moving.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Command the Israelites to start moving.” He said this even though their way was blocked by the sea. But even after it opened up it must have been terrifying walking between a wall of probably 250 to 300 feet of water on either side.
Well, moving forward is risky and uncomfortable for us yet today. We don’t want to risk being alone so we hold onto that relationship that we know is wrong. We don’t want to risk insecurity so we hold onto a lifestyle or a job that is running us in the ground and stealing our spiritual growth. We don’t want to make a mistake so we don’t move. Somebody once said, “A lot of people no longer hope for the best. They just hope to avoid the worst.”
But this verse tells us that we are to keep going, keep moving forward when you believe it is God’s will. I’ve found that trust usually involves risk. So we need to trust God, and then keep on moving in the direction that He leads us. the Israelites did this, they trusted, and then crossed on dry land.
Then all of a sudden God gives Pharaoh a straight shot at the Israelites. Verse 23 “Then all the king’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers followed them into the sea..” But God causes the wheels of the chariots to fall off and then in verse 26 He tells Moses to stretch his hands back over the sea and this 250 –300 foot wall of water crashes down on the army, and verse 28 ends simply and sadly. It says, “Not one of them survived.”
Then look at verses 30-31 “So that day the Lord saved the Israelites from the Egyptians, and the Israelites saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore. When the Israelites saw the great power the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they trusted Him and His servant Moses.”
If you read on into Exodus 15:1-2 it says, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, because he is worthy of great honor. He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea. The Lord gives me strength and makes me sing; he has saved me. He is my God, and I will praise him.”
So, here’s the 3rd principle: When Victory Is Realized, Give God The Credit. There is always a tendency once we have been delivered to forget the deliverer. How many people do you know who in a period of despair cry out, “God, help me.” But then when everything works out they don’t give the Lord any credit. For example, someone says to you, “You’ve got such good children.” You respond, “Well, we’ve just raised our kids the best we know how.” But the victory really belongs to the Lord.
When your prayers are answered, your business prospers, your health is good, your kids are doing well, give God the thanks that He deserves. Don’t brag about your accomplishments. It takes trust to remain calm, it takes courage to move forward and it takes humility to give credit where credit is due.
As I begin to wrap things up this morning, There Are 2 Lessons To Learn:
Now this account was not recorded simply for our amazement. But like Romans 15:4 tells us: “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope.” So, I want us to see 2 very practical insights from this incident before we leave.
First, Trials always require trust:
Place your complete dependence on God. Nothing could have looked more desperate than the trap the Israelites were in. But in a few hours they were delivered and the enemy was slain. God occasionally allows us, not makes us, but allows us to be in “down” situations so we will turn to Him. Like the man who said, “I didn’t realize that God was all I needed until God was all I had.” Remember that our problems are God’s opportunities. And then trust Him and He will guide you out of your circumstances in a way that He sees fit.
Second, Depending on God will produce ultimate victory although the rewards may not always be immediate:
The Israelites just had to wait overnight and then their gloom turned to gladness. I’ve got to be honest with you, it doesn’t always turn around that quickly. But God promises in the end that if we will depend on Him He will give us the ultimate victory, even if we have to wait until Heaven. It seems to me that the ultimate test of our faith is when the Sea isn’t parted overnight. I think the gold medal of faith in eternity will be given to those individuals who trust God’s goodness and grace even when their sea is never parted on this earth. So the other point that we need to apply from today’s passage is that depending on God will give us the ultimate victory, even if we don’t see it right now.
As I close I would like to read a poem by an Anonymous writer. It says:
“When Moses and his people from Egypt’s land did flee,
Their enemies behind them, and in front of them the sea,
God raised the waters like a wall and opened up the way,
And the God who lived in Moses’ time is just the same today.”
Let’s Pray |
