Introduction:
A. Have you ever heard the phrase: “between the devil and the deep blue sea”?
1. Wikipedia says that the phrase “between the devil and the deep blue sea” is an idiom meaning a dilemma—i.e., to choose between two undesirable situations (equivalent to "between a rock and a hard place").
2. The phrase was turned into a popular song in 1932 that was originally recorded by Cab Calloway and is now considered a standard, with recordings by many artists, such as George Harrison (Beatles fame), Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, just to name a few.
3. So we are calling today’s sermon “Between the Devil and the Deep Red Sea” because we are going to look at the predicament God’s people found themselves in when Moses led them out of Egypt.
B. Have you ever been in a predicament? I’m sure you have.
1. We Americans use a number of words and phrases to describe a predicament.
2. We might say we are “in a pinch” or “in a jam” or “in a pickle” or “in a corner.”
3. We might say we are “between a rock and a hard place” or “up against the wall” or “up a tree.”
4. Here’s an apt description of a predicament: A predicament occurs when a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice finds himself in need of medical attention. Now that’s a predicament.
5. Our predicaments might be related to our families (our parents, siblings, mates or children), or they might be related to our jobs, our health, our friends, or even our church.
6. We can learn some helpful things about how to deal with our predicaments from seeing how Moses and the Israelites dealt with theirs.
I. The Story
A. We noted last week, that the plagues had finally softened pharaoh’s heart enough that he allowed the children of Israel to leave.
1. The final plague, the death of the firstborn, was the straw that broke the camel’s back, just as God had said it would.
2. Pharaoh begged them to leave, and as the Israelites left, they did as God commanded, and asked their Egyptian neighbors for silver and gold, and ended up plundering Egypt by the amount they were given.
3. I can’t help but picturing the Israelites struttin’ their stuff a bit as they left – after all, God had protected them from the devastation of many of the plagues, and now they were leaving and were rich beyond comparison.
B. Keep in mind that not one of the Israelites who were leaving in the Exodus had ever lived as a free person, nor had they lived anywhere but Egypt.
1. There was much that God needed to teach them, so let’s turn to Exodus 13 and 14 and see how God taught them their first lesson.
C. The Bible says:
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle…
20 After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Ex. 13:17-18; 20-22)
1. Let’s notice a couple of things.
2. First, notice that God led the Israelites to the Red Sea.
a. God’s people are going to get into their predicament because God put them in it.
b. Their predicament wasn’t an accident, or a wrong turn, or a miscalculation, rather it was on purpose – God’s purpose!
3. The other thing I want us to notice was the way that God led them.
a. God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
b. Pretty incredible, wouldn’t you say? How would you like God to lead you like that?
4. Imagine how much easier it would be for us if God lead us like that today!
a. Need to know what job to take, or what house to buy? Just wait and see where the cloud settles.
b. Need to know who to marry? Just look to see if there’s a little cloud hovering six inches over his or her head.
5. So that’s how simple it was for the Israelites when it came to following God’s leading out of Egypt.
6. The pillar of fire at night and the pillowy cloud during the day led them to the Red Sea and then put on the brakes.
a. So that’s where they went and stopped.
7. Why would God want to lead them there? Exodus 14 answers that question.
D. The Bible says: 1 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. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this. (Ex. 14:1-4)
1. Before the Exodus, the Israelites had lived in the land of Goshen, in a locality called Raamses.
2. When the Exodus occurred, the Israelites left Raamses and traveled as far south as Etham. It was there they camped.
3. And that is apparently where the Lord spoke to Moses and gave him the message we just read, “Go up as far as Baal Zephon.”
4. In other words, “I want you to backtrack. Retrace the steps you just took, back up to the north a ways.”
5. The trouble was, Baal Zephon formed a perfect geographical cul-de-sac; a dead end street.
a. Just to the north stood some formidable Egyptian fortresses.
b. To the south lay the vast Egyptian desert.
c. To the west lay the strength of Egyptian population.
d. To the east lay the Red Sea.
6. Have you got the picture? I’m sure they felt a little like this picture on screen.
a. They couldn’t go north, because there were strong enemy fortresses. They couldn’t go to the south, it was the desert. They couldn’t go to the west, Egypt was there, and they couldn’t go to the east, that was the Red Sea.
b. They literally had nowhere to go – they were boxed in.
c. This was like turning down a dead-end street when you’re begin chased by thieves.
7. Humanly speaking, this was a very foolish decision, but keep in mind it was God who had brought them to this very spot.
8. The trap that was being laid was not for Moses and the Israelites, but was for the Egyptians.
E. Now the plot begins to thicken. The Bible says: 5 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. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. (Ex. 14:5-9)
1. Let’s try to get a feel for the situation.
2. Imagine being one among 2 million people in the Hebrew camp.
3. You have left Egypt and traveled to this cul-de-sac in the wilderness.
4. But all of the sudden you hear something in the distance. Thunder? You look to the sky, but it is clear.
5. Then you look to the horizon and see a cloud of dust drawing near, and you realize that rumbling isn’t thunder, it’s horses and chariots – thousands of them.
6. The word spreads quickly in the camp, “Pharaoh’s coming. We are going to be massacred.”
F. The Bible says: 10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Ex. 14:10-12)
1. Do you think you would have reacted the way they did?
2. I wonder what they said when they cried out to the Lord. Whatever it was, they immediately began to look for someone to blame.
3. Moses was the logical target, and they started with the “I told you so’s”
G. But let’s not be too hard on them.
1. Their experience with Moses and with God was somewhat limited.
2. And humanly speaking, predicaments are very challenging experiences.
3. If we stay in a predicament long enough, we will begin to question our faith.
4. Not only will we question our faith, we will often turn on those who have tried to help us.
H. I’m impressed, that on this occasion, none of this seemed to throw Moses off his game.
1. Look at his amazing response – the Bible says: 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Ex. 14:13-14)
2. I’m sure that some of this seemed like nonsense to the people, but Moses’ words were right on: “Don’t be afraid. Stand still. Keep Quiet. Watch the Lord Work.”
3. How’s that for a prescription for people facing an inescapable predicament?
4. When God puts us in a tight spot, that’s when we should pause and look for the way God is going to uniquely work.
I. So what happened? The Israelites did exactly what Moses had instructed, and God came through again.
1. Let’s read the exciting conclusion of the story - the Bible says: 15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 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. (Ex. 14:15-31)
1. Isn’t it amazing what God did?
2. God moved the cloud from in front of them to behind them to protect them.
3. God opened a path through the sea for them to escape.
4. God brought confusion to the Egyptians as they pursued them.
5. God closed the waters over the Egyptians and they all perished.
a. Not a single Egyptian lived through God’s ambush, and not a single Hebrew was hurt.
6. If you find yourself feeling bad for the Egyptians, keep in mind the fact that they had enslaved God’s people for over 400 years and they killed babies by throwing them into the Nile. God’s judgment was just.
a. Historical records indicate that the Egyptians did not frequent this place for 17 years after this devastating event took place.
7. Isn’t it amazing what God can accomplish without any assistance?
8. We are told that God’s people learned a valuable lesson – They feared the Lord and they put their trust in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
II. The Application
A. What lessons can we learn from this part of the story to help when we face our own predicaments?
B. Lesson #1: Realize that God means for you to be right where you are.
1. If you are in a predicament, then God has either brought you to this point, or has allowed you to be in this circumstance.
2. Nothing happens in our lives without God’s knowledge and God’s allowance.
C. Lesson #2: When hemmed in on all sides, the only place to look is up.
1. That’s why God hems us in sometimes to make us look up.
2. Another way to say it might be: “Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.”
3. I like the Veggie Tales song: “God is bigger than the Boogie man.” The chorus goes like this: “God is bigger than the boogie man. He's bigger than Godzilla and the monsters on TV. Oh, God is bigger than the boogie man, And he's watching out for you and me.”
D. Lesson #3: Red Seas open and close at the Lord’s command, and not until.
1. We must keep our eyes on the Lord, staying calm and confident.
2. We must give God time to work.
3. And if the Lord is going to get the glory, then we must allow Him to do the fighting.
4. We must trust God to deliver us in His own unique way – which will usually surprise us.
E. Lesson #4: Don’t forget to praise the Lord, before, during and after the predicament.
1. After the Israelites came through the sea, they sang the song of Moses and Miriam.
2. Here’s a sampling: (Ex. 15:1-2)
“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.
3. God is God, and God is good, no matter what.
4. No matter what we face, or how long we face it, God is with us and He is worthy of praise.
5. Let’s learn to praise Him before we are hemmed in at the Red Sea, while we are hemmed in, and after we have passed through the sea.
6. Let’s learn to praise the Lord all the time!
Conclusion:
A. So are you in a predicament right now? Are you between the devil and the deep red sea?
1. Do you feel cornered, up against the wall, and between a rock and a hard place? If so, then do not despair, your predicament is according to God’s design.
2. God has much to teach us and bring us through.
3. We must realize that coming to the Red Sea is just as much a part of God’s plan as crossing it.
4. But we must do what Moses commanded the Israelites: “Don’t be afraid. Stand still. Keep Quiet. Watch the Lord Work.”
5. God is bigger than the boogie man. God can make a way, where there seems to be no way. God is able, more than able.
6. Our job is to trust - to keep our eyes on the Lord.
7. Don’t be afraid. Stand still. Keep quiet. Watch the Lord work!
8. To God be the glory!
Resources:
Moses: A Man of Selfless Dedication, by Charles Swindoll, Word Publishing, 1999
Red Sea Rules, Sermon by Daniel DeVilder, SermonCentral.com
