Readings:
• Hebrews chapter 11 verse 29.
• Exodus chapter 14.
• Question: Have you ever found yourself in a predicament?
• Answer: I think for everyone in this room the answer is yes! Who hasn’t!
Ill:
We have a lot of word pictures in the English language to describe being in a predicament.
• We hear phrases such as “you sure have painted yourself into a corner,”
• Or; “up against the wall” “in a pickle.” "in a pinch," or "in a jam," or "in a tight squeeze."
• Similar terms are "up a tree," "in a corner," "hard-pressed,"
• The best expression that fits our passage has to be “between a rock and a hard place,”
• Whatever the expression,
• We all have a pretty good idea what’s going on;
• Someone is facing trouble that cannot be easily escaped.
• Predicaments are uncomfortable, nerve-racking, & often threaten to drive us into despair.
In our verse this morning from Hebrews chapter 11:
• Moses and the Israelites are in one big quandary;
• They are caught between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s pursuing army.
• In every sense they are caught “between a rock and a hard place,”
• Humanly speaking they are in an impossible situation;
• But that is humanly speaking – leaving God out of the equation.
Ill:
• They experts said it was physically impossible;
• For a human being to run a mile in four minutes.
• Our bone structure was all wrong,
• The wind resistance was too great,
• Our lung power was inadequate.
• There appeared to be a 101 reasons why it could not be done!
• Then one day (May 6th 1954) a 25yr old Englishman called Roger Bannister;
• Proved that the doctors, the trainers, and the athletes themselves were all wrong.
• And to the unbelief of everybody Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile.
Ill:
View clip. - Youtube or email requesting it.
• And remarkably in the year after that happened;
• Question: Do you know how many other athletes also broke the four-minute mile?
• Answer: 300 hundred other runners (I find that staggering – 300).
• Ill: And in the last 50 years the mile record has been lowered by almost 17 seconds.
• Roger Bannister helped make the impossible possible;
• In a far greater way God would show his people that with him nothing is impossible!
(1). God’s plan (vs 1-2):
“Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon”.
Ill:
• George Bernard Shaw once visited the British sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein in his studio;
• The visiting author noticed a huge block of stone standing in one corner;
• And asked what it was for.
• The sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein replied “I don’t know yet. I’m still making plans.”
• Shaw was astounded.
• “You mean you plan your work. Why, I change my mind several times a day!”
• Epstien replied: “That’s all very well with a four-ounce manuscript,
• But not with a four-ton block of stone.”
Verse 1 makes it very clear that God had a plan for his people:
• In fact verse 18 of the previous chapter (13) tells us that;
• “God led the people…to the Red Sea”.
• Another part of that plan was revealed in verse 1 to Moses:
• God ordered a change in the direction the Hebrew people were travelling.
• Humanly speaking that change would have seemed at best seemed strange;
• And at worst, risky and dangerous even madness!
Ill:
• From their new location the Hebrew people did not enjoy the view:
• Whichever way they looked the outlook was bleak!
• If they looked north they would have seen several massive stone Egyptian fortresses,
• If they looked south all they could see was the barren Egyptian desert called Mizraim.
• If they looked east all they could see was the deep Red Sea.
• If they looked west all they could see was the approaching Egyptian army.
• In other words, God led His people into a geographic cul-de-sac,
• Military speaking it was the most vulnerable spot possible that they could have come to.
Ill:
• It would like you and me being chased by a gang of robbers.
• And a good friend saying; “come this way” only to lead us into a dead end alley!
Note:
• Remember the Hebrew people’s predicament wasn’t an accident;
• Their predicament was not down to a wrong turn or a miscalculation.
• ill: It wasn’t that Moses was a typical man who refused to ask for directions!
• God brought his people to this very spot to teach them an important lesson.
• Because he already knew what was going to happen;
• To paraphrase verses 3-4 of our passage:
“Pharaoh will get word on the grapevine that you Israelites are wandering around the desert aimlessly, and he will think, Aaah there are going up north to Baal-zephon. I’ll trap ‘em there!
And in trying to trap you I will trap him!”
Application: Sometimes in our life:
• God will allow his people to be hemmed in by situations,
• Where it is humanly impossible for us to get ourselves out of.
• In other words, sometime in life we find ourselves in situations;
• Where we cannot go forward & we cannot go backward & where we can only look up!
Quote: You mothers advice:
• Mother used to say; “Don’t worry about so-and-so.
• He has to come to the end of himself, and then he’ll learn”
• Many times that is the only way God gets our full attention;
• Many times that is the only way we do learn.
Ill:
• Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of Scotland,
• A sheep would often wander off into the rocks & get into places that they couldn’t get out of.
• The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it,
• And they will jump down ten or twelve feet,
• Trouble is they can’t jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress.
• They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass.
• Surprisingly:
• The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand,
• And then they will put a rope around him,
• And he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death.
• When asked:
• “Why don’t they go down there when the sheep first gets there?”
• He said, “they are so very foolish;
• They would dash right over the precipice and be killed if they did!”
• Ill: Similar to the mothers saying; “Don’t worry about so-and-so.
• He has to come to the end of himself, and then he’ll learn”
• The Hebrew people are brought by God into an impossible situation;
• So that they will learn and important lesson;
• When they can’t God can - all things are possible with God!
(2). The Egyptians’ Pursuit (vs 5-9):
“When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them”
Ill:
• I mentioned earlier about Roger Bannister who On May 6, 1954;
• Became the first man in history to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.
• Within 2 months, John Landy eclipsed the record by 1.4 seconds.
• And on August 7, 1954, the two met together for a historic race.
• Nobody could confidently predict who would win.
• As they moved into the last lap, Landy held the lead.
• It looked as if he would win,
• But as he neared the finish he was haunted by the question, “Where is Bannister?”
• As he turned to look, Bannister took the lead.
• Landy full of regret later told a Time magazine reporter,
• “If I hadn’t looked back, I would have won!”
In our passage Pharaoh ‘looks back’ and soon became full of regret:
• He had lost 2 million slaves when he let Moses and the Hebrews leave Egypt;
• That’s a lot of man power to have to replace!
• As he thought about it he decided to have a change of heart.
• Pharaoh immediately set out after the Israelites with the best of his army;
• And as this raging army rose over the Egyptian horizon,
• With it’s dust from the horses and chariots billowing into the sky.
• All Moses and the Hebrews could do was watch them come closer and closer and closer.
The Hebrews’ Panic (vs 10-14)
Ill:
• Two explorers were on a jungle safari;
• When suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them.
• “Keep calm” the first explorer whispered.
• “Remember what we read in that book on wild animals?
• If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run.”
• “Sure,” replied and his companion.
• “You’ve read the book, and I’ve read the book. But has the lion read the book?”
• The sight of the approaching Egyptian army;
• Struck fear in the hearts of the Hebrews (v. l0a).
• Their first response was to cry out to the Lord to rescue them (v. l0b).
• This was the first time they had collectively done this.
• But when there was no instant answer to their prayers;
• They turned and blamed Moses for getting them into this fix.
• Listen to their stinging and ungrateful words in verses 11-12 (The Message):
"Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen? Didn’t we tell you, ’Leave us alone here in Egypt—we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.’"
• With Pharaoh’s army bearing down on him from one direction;
• And his people’s jabbing accusations coming from the other,
• Moses stood tall-and did what every spiritual leader needs to do;
• He called on the name of the Lord.
• Instead of defending himself against the people’s accusations,
• Moses confidently directed their attention to their delivering God.
In fact he tells the people to do four things:
“But Moses said to the people, "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."
Question: Did you notice what Moses wanted the people to do?
Answer:
• "Do not fear." "Stand by." "See." "Keep silent."
• These are all responses that demonstrate our trust in God during difficult predicaments.
• Unfortunately, though, those four commands;
• Rub against the grain of our natural instincts.
Ill:
• Kids get a bee or a wasp around them and you say; “Keep still”
• The kids wave their arms and run like crazy.
• On this occasion God wanted his people to do the exact opposite of their human nature;
• He wanted them to show confidence in Him,
• He wanted them to face their dilemma,
• Keep quiet and watch Him work,
• So that he could turn their panic into peace;
Ill:
• God does not keep us from fearful situations;
• But he is with us in our difficult times;
• And he takes us through difficult times;
• So that he is glorified and we are strengthened and matured in our faith!
The Lord’s Protection (vs 19-28):
• With their backs against the sea;
• And the world’s most powerful army charging closer and closer,
• God once again worked through His servant Moses to miraculously deliver His people.
Ill:
• “Nine year old Joey was asked by his mother;
• What he had learned in Sunday School that day.
• ‘Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind the enemy lines;
• On a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
• When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge,
• And all the people walked across safely.
• He used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters and call in an air strike.
• They sent in bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved.’
• ‘Now, Joey, is that REALLY what your teacher taught you?’ his mother asked.
• ‘Well, no, Mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!’
• From start to finish this book reminds us that we worship the God of the impossible:
• Throughout the Bible we have a miracle working God;
• Throughout Church history we have a miracle working God;
• Many here can testify to ‘miracles’ that have happened in their own lives.
IN THESE TEN VERSES (VERSES 15-25) GOD DOES 4 THINGS:
• First in verse 15:
• He commands Moses and the people to move forward.
• Now with an ocean before them;
• Moses salutes and gets his troops together ready to march.
• Second in verse 19-20:
• God moves the cloud from above them to behind them.
• This prevented the Egyptians from finding and capturing the people;
• But it also stopped the Hebrews looking back and quacking with fear at the enemy.
• Third in verses 21:
• God opened up a path through the sea.
Ill:
• Many people skim over that verse,
• And assume that the Hebrews walked onto the sea bed as soon as the waters parted.
• But that’s not how it happened – read it again!
• They watched all night as God sent a powerful wind to dry up the muddy bottom.
• Fourth in verses 24-25:
• God brought confusion among the Egyptians.
• When Pharaoh saw the Hebrews escaping, he resumed his pursuit, chasing them;
• "Following them into the sea" (v. 23).
• As the Egyptian army drew closer to the Hebrew people verse 22 tells us;
• The Lord tripped them up by causing the wheels to fall off some of the chariots.
• Ill: One of the first traffic jams in history!
• This event is both triumphant and tragic;
• Triumphant because the people of God have been delivered;
• Tragic because thousands of Egyptians lost their lives.
The Hebrews’ Praise (vs 31))
“And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.”
• It must have been a sobering sight;
• As the bodies and weapons of those strong Egyptian soldiers were washed up on the shore.
• It was a visual reminder to the Hebrews;
• That they could NEVER have never escaped without the Lord’s intervention!
• They had seen His awesome power.
• In return they now sang His praises:
Ill:
Chapter 15 verses 1-2:
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :
"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him
Ill:
Gladys Aylward, was a missionary to China more than fifty years ago,
• She was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yangcheng.
• But she could not leave her work behind.
• With only one assistant,
• She led more than a hundred orphans over the mountains toward Free China.
• Hollywood made a film of her dramatic life;
• It stared Ingrid Bergman and was called; “The Inn of Sixth Happiness”.
• In their book "The Hidden Price of Greatness,"
• Ray Besson and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker tell what happened on that journey:
• During Gladys’s harrowing journey out of war-torn Yangcheng;
• She grappled with despair as never before.
• After passing a sleepless night,
• She faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety.
• A 13-year-old girl in the group;
• Reminded her of the story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.
• Gladys cried in desperation; "But I am not Moses,"
• The girl said; "Of course you aren’t, but Jehovah is still God."
• If you know the story against great odds;
• Gladys and the orphans made it through to safety,
• They proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel,
• God is still God, and we can trust in him.
• When the situation seem impossible,
• Just remember to have a personal confidence in God,
• Practice obedience to God,
• And understand that God has a purpose in all the experiences we have with Him’.
