Exodus 13:17-14:31

Exodus 13:17-14:31

Exodus 13 closes with the Israelites making their way out of Egypt. There a number of things notice in these closing verses. First, God understood their human nature. He knew that if He led them down the short path, through the land of the Philistines, that if war broke out they would turn back and go to Egypt. So God took them the long way in order to continue to show His power and protect them. It is easy to think that when things do not happen on our timing that God is not with us. We think that God should do things quicker. But it may just be that God is protecting us from some situation that we do not know about. He is making us wait so that we do not get in over our heads. We must learn to never question God in His timing. Also, it is obvious that God did not set them out on this great task and leave them alone. They did not know the way back to the Promised Land, for none of them had ever been there. So God led them physically through a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. We may not have this physical manifestation guiding us each day, but we do have His word, and He still leads us, showing us which way to go in life. Finally, Moses shows obedience to not only God but also to his fathers. Joseph had requested that his bones be taken back to the Promised Land. Now 430 years later, the Israelites were keeping his request, taking his bones with them.

Once they arrived at the Red Sea, God commanded Moses to stay put for a time. He was going to allow Pharaoh to pursue them so that He could ultimately show His glory and power to the Egyptians. It is never easy to wait, and I think it would be extremely difficult to allow God to let my worst enemies pursue me right after I had escaped from them. But God had a heart for the Egyptians as well, and this was one way that He could make His name known to the Egyptians. The people of Israel, however, did not understand God’s plan. Why would He allow them to escape for such a short time and then let them die in the wilderness? They have reason to question God and Moses here for they do not know His plan. Moses answers them well, however, telling them that God is about to make His self known to them and to the Egyptians. They are about to see God’s power first hand when He rescues them from the Egyptians. God promised the Israelites and He promises us that He will always be with us, and He will not give us more than we can bear. For the Israelites, this meant that He would allow them to escape by crossing the Red Sea while they saw their enemies destroyed by the power of God. For us, it can mean many different things. But again, I must stress that we have to learn to trust God in all situations: trust His plans, trust His timing, and trust His power.

They Egyptians immediately noticed God’s power when He provided safe passage for His children. They saw it any more as He began to destroy them in order to protect His children. Likewise, the Israelites learned firsthand what God could do. They saw His power and feared Him greatly. We should never forget God’s power, and we should always fear Him. Fearing the Lord is part of a healthy relationship with Him, for it reminds us of who He truly is, the all-powerful God.

Matt