Exodus 14 - Stand Still and Move Forward!
Exodus 14 speaks about the miracle of the division of the Red Sea. I was wondering why would Pharaoh want to go after Israel after all that he had been through. You would think that he would know by now that it was an exercise that would only produce further grief. But then I realized that Egypt was built on slave labour, and we are talking about 6 million slaves worth of labour! That’s a large part of the workforce that are walking out of Egypt, so Pharaoh once again changes his mind, for purely business considerations. So he gets into his vehicle, alerts 600 of his best officers to pursue the escapees, and a whole heap of others, and there is a car chase (OK chariots) of mammoth proportions to cut them off at the pass before they get over the border.
When Israel is aware of Pharaoh’s fire power, they don’t give Moses a whole lot of co-operation. They are all for going back to Egypt. I love how God chooses ordinary people, not just the super heroes. When it comes to fighting, Israel is poorly trained, inadequately equipped, militarily unprepared and inexperienced, not to mention afraid. Then Moses makes a stand (he is probably afraid also but he trusts in God) and says those famous lines "Do not fear! Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today..."
Then comes a standoff with the Egyptian army on one side, Israel on the other and a pillar of cloud in between. The Egyptians are confused and they lose their driving skills. God says "The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." The rest of the story you know but how about Moses? When the pressure came, he was able to keep the people together and handle the crisis. He didn’t panic. He just led the people back to God.
At one point God says to Moses, "Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward." Moses was apparently praying too much! God wanted him to get on with what He had already told him to do. It’s like that with me sometimes. God has already made things clear in His Word and I am still praying about it. God says "Get on with it! That’s when you will see My deliverance! Get moving! Do something with your faith, don’t just stand there!" That’s when I see the way opening up before me. That’s when the waters part, the impossible happens and the enemy is defeated. Prayer is essential but obedience is just as necessary.
God bless you Church as you stand still and see the salvation of our God and then move forward in obedience to the Lord.
