Day 1101: An almighty God - Exodus 14 vs 24 -31

24-25 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. 27-28 And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30-31 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. Exodus 14:24-31 English Standard Version

It’s those little comments in the Bible that should cause us to see it's truthfulness. We read today that, as He looked down on the Egyptians chasing the Israelites with chariots, God caused their wheels to be clogged. I suspect that this was as they tried to pursue Israel through the parted sea. It made the Egyptians realize that the Lord was fighting for Israel.

And so it was that, at God's command, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Egyptians perished. We read that the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea, while the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being like a wall on their right hand and left. And so the Lord saved Israel that day from being slaves in Egypt. What was the outcome of that huge event? (vs 30-31)

It became a marker in Israel's history. It was a one-off event in which they were brought from slavery, and onto the road that led to the promised land. It caused them to believe in Yahweh, and in His servant Moses. The Psalmist tells how God “in the sight of their fathers, performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.” (Psalm 78:12-13) So too, Christians also look back to a one-off event that we have been told of, which set us free from slavery, and put us on the way to the promised land.

Sadly, we read how quickly Israel forgot God's mighty power. Psalm 106:7-13 says: “Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, didn't consider your wondrous works; they didn't remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make known His mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and He led them through the deep as through a desert. So He saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. But they soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel.”

Israel wasn’t saved because they were better than the Egyptians. Hundreds of years later God says: “On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands. And I said to them, Cast away the detestable things your eyes feast on, every one of you, and don't defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me and were not willing to listen to me. None of them cast away the detestable things their eyes feasted on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.” Ezekiel 20:6-8. Oh may we not be like those who saw God's power, but forgot His works. May we not hanker after anything we've left behind. But let us serve Jesus faithfully as He leads us on to glory.