TITLE: THE FOLLY OF THE WICKED
TEXT: EXODUS 14:1-31
INTRODUCTION:
- We’re continuing our study through the book of Exodus.
- As we look at each passage, we’re asking the question, “What can I learn from this passage about honoring God?”
- Last week, we talked about the importance of taking time to remember.
- We saw that we should remember what God has done for us by being dedicated, by celebrating, and by obeying and following.
- We saw that God gave the Israelites specific instructions for future generations about consecrating the firstborn, how to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and which route he wanted them to take at the beginning of their journey.
- It was the longer route, but God knew what He was doing, and would use this for His glory, as we’ll see today.
- Today, we’re going to look at the folly of the wicked, as Pharaoh and his army foolishly pursue the Israelites.
- When I was a kid, I loved to watch the tv show “Cops” with my father.
- We loved the theme song, “Bad boys, bad boys, whatchya gonna do? Whatchya gonna do when they come for you?!”
- I’ve got some good memories laughing with my dad and my brother as we watched some of the criminals make fools out of themselves on tv.
- There were quite a few times, though, when the criminals ran from the police.
- That’s never a good idea, but it was especially a bad idea when the criminal was leading the cops on a high-speed chase.
- Not only were they endangering the lives of the cops, but they were also endangering the lives of other drivers and pedestrians.
- One of the tactics police officers use to stop these high-speed chases is to throw out spike strips for the vehicle to run over.
- When they run these over, it flattens the tires, which is supposed to disable the vehicle.
- Unfortunately, the driver doesn’t always stop.
- So, we’d be watching the vehicles tires pop, and smoke start to come from the tires as they skidded, but sometimes, they still tried to keep going…
- Sparks would be everywhere as the rims of their tires screeched along the road, the car getting slower and slower.
- Usually, once they couldn’t go any further, they’d jump out of the vehicle and attempt to run…
- It normally ended with 4 or 5 muscular cops tackling the driver and putting the handcuffs on.
- Obviously, it was always an act of sheer folly for the criminal to run from the police in the first place, but as the pursuit kept going, it only got worse and worse for them.
- That’s because the wicked act foolishly when things aren’t going their way.
- That’s where we find Pharaoh and his Army today, acting foolishly, as they once again have second thoughts about letting the Israelites leave.
FIRST: THEY ARE BLINDED BY THEIR ANGER- VS 1-9
- When I lived in Colorado, my family lived in a trailer park.
- My brother was good friends with the kid a couple trailers over from us, named David.
- We used to play together all the time, but David would get upset with me sometimes because I was older than him, and he was better friends with my brother.
- One day, I remember going outside after it snowed and building a snow fort.
- I worked really hard on it and thought it was so cool because it was big and had tunnels.
- I thought I’d get to enjoy it for a while.
- The next day, however, I noticed that the fort had fallen, so my tunnels had caved in.
- I don’t remember why, but I remember thinking, “David did this.”
- So, I angrily yelled as loud as I could, “David!!!!”
- The whole neighborhood could probably hear me.
- So, I stormed over to his house, and knocked on the door forcefully.
- I was ready to give David a piece of my mind.
- Instead, his father answered the door.
- His father was a bit of a rough looking guy, so I was intimidated, but I was so angry about my fort that I decided to tell him what David did.
- I said, “I worked really hard on building a fort yesterday and came out today and it was ruined. I’m pretty sure David did it.”
- So, David’s father told me to hold on a minute, and went to his son’s room to talk to him.
- He came back a few minutes later and told me, “David didn’t do it. I asked him and gave him time to confess, but he says it wasn’t him.”
- Well there wasn’t anything else I could do at that point, so I went home, but I was still angry.
- So, I told my dad what happened, but as I was talking with him, he helped me to realize something…
- That day was warmer than it had been the day before, and the sun was shining.
- My snow fort was not in the shade, so I put 2 and 2 together, and figured out that it was most likely the sun that caved my fort in.
- As you can see, I was blinded by my anger, and I was ready to go give David a piece of my mind, and that would have made things much worse.
- That’s what happens when you let anger control your emotions…you don’t think straight.
- And that’s what we find here with Pharaoh and his army…
- They’re angry about all the plagues that have destroyed their country…
- They’re especially angry that God just took the lives of all the firstborn males in Egypt.
- More than likely, they’re a bunch of emotional wrecks.
- So, as they’re dwelling on these thoughts, God directs the Israelites to turn back in a Southern direction.
- That meant they’d be headed back the way they came, straight back into Egypt.
- On top of that, the spot He led them to was not a very good spot to camp because there was no way to escape if Pharaoh came after them.
- The mountains had them shut in on 2 sides, behind and to their left, and the Red Sea was on the other side, to their front…
- The only way they could have escaped was to their right, which was the way they had just come.
- That spot was overlooked by a garrison of the Egyptian military, the Migdol, which had watchmen.
- They were on the mountain watching Israel’s every move, and they would have alerted Pharaoh of the Israelites vulnerable position.
- So over 2 million people were now trapped by the Egyptian wilderness, but that’s where God wanted them to be…
- It was all a part of His plan!
- He wanted Pharaoh to think that the Israelites were lost and trapped and vulnerable.
- Vs 4 tells us that God was going to harden Pharaoh’s heart once again, and he would pursue them.
- Yet God would use Pharaoh’s stubbornness and foolishness for His own honor.
- Once and for all, He was going to show the Egyptians that He is the One, True God.
- In vs 5, look at what Pharaoh and his servants say…
- “Why have we done this, letting Israel go from serving us?”
- Don’t miss that...
- Pharaoh is asking “why”, which means the ten plagues sent by God did not get his attention or change his heart.
- He still isn’t willing to admit that God had the True Power, and the Ten Plagues were proof of that.
- On top of that, instead of thinking about rebuilding and helping his people to move forward, he’s instead thinking, “Why’d I let them go from serving us?”
- That shows you that Pharaoh still believed the Israelites were his property, not Gods, and he still wasn’t willing to give up the control he thought he had.
- At this point, instead of cutting his losses and moving on, Pharaoh instead gathered his troops, taking 600 of his chariots, and his cavalry, and his foot soldiers.
- Why did he gather such a large army?
- For one thing, the Israelites far outnumbered the Egyptians…remember, there were 600,000 men among the Israelites who were capable of fighting.
- They might not have been an army, but Pharaoh knew they were slaves who didn’t want to go back to slavery, so he brought his military might just in case they wanted to fight.
- I believe another reason he brought such a large army is because he might have believed that he could fight against God.
- After all, the plagues God sent hadn’t destroyed his Army, so perhaps he thought his Army was too powerful for God to fight against.
- On top of that, Pharaoh’s chariots were the most sophisticated military technology available at the time...
- And their battle technique was brilliant…two to four horses pulled the chariot, while three soldiers rode on the chariot.
- One of them was the charioteer who handled the reigns, guiding the horses along…
- Another soldier defended the charioteer, and the third soldier was the combatant, whose main job it was to fight offensively.
- So, Pharaoh had a lot of faith in his army, and he had his own chariot as well…
- It was probably the strongest and most decorated chariot, since he was their leader…
- So, I believe he was trying to show God that he was in control of the battlefield.
- But in all of this, Pharaoh was blinded by his anger.
- What about us as Christians?
- Are there times when we’re blinded by our anger and it causes us to make foolish decisions?
- I believe the answer is yes.
- Ecclesiastes 7:9 says, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.”
- Then, in Proverbs 29:11, we read, “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.”
- We’re also told in Proverbs 15:18, “A wrathful man stirs up strife…”
- As Christians, we’re supposed to be filled with the Spirit.
- The Apostle Paul tells us that the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.
- Anger is not one of the fruits listed.
- However, in Ephesians 4, anger is one of the sins listed that grieves the Holy Spirit, so we’re told to put away all wrath and anger.
- That’s because anger can be very damaging, to us and the people around us.
- Think back to the last time you got really angry.
- Your heart was beating fast.
- Your skin temperature rose, and your face might have turned red.
- Your body tensed up, you might have clenched your fists and your jaw.
- Then, you might have blown up at somebody, yelling at them, saying things you normally wouldn’t say…things you later regretted…
- Or you might have been in your car and started speeding without even realizing it, putting yourself and others in danger.
- Or maybe you punched something or someone, or broke something you didn’t mean to…
- In the heat of the moment, you weren’t thinking straight.
- If we’re not careful, we’ll start to let our anger control us, and when we do, things don’t go so well.
- For example, when I was in Iraq, I got really angry at my Chaplain for something.
- Instead of taking a deep breath and praying, or asking for a few moments alone to calm down, I instead blew up at her…
- My Chaplain was a Commissioned Officer in the United States Army with the rank of Captain.
- I was a lowly Private First Class.
- Blowing up was the worst mistake I could have made!
- I swore at her, I turned around and stomped out of her office without being dismissed, and I slammed the door on my way out.
- I got in big trouble for that, and I’ll never forget how much I regretted it after I calmed down.
- I was blinded by my anger and what I did was very foolish, but I couldn’t go back and change it…
- In James 1:20, we’re told, “The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
- May you and I as Christians take that to heart and allow the Holy Spirit to control our words and actions when we’re angry.
SECOND: THEY COMPLAIN AGAINST GOD- VS 10-18
- Mrs. Higgins was an incurable grumbler.
- She grumbled at everything and everyone.
- But at last the village preacher thought he had found something about which she could make no complaint; the old lady's crop of potatoes was the finest for miles around.
- "Ah, for once you must be well pleased," he said, with a beaming smile, as he met her in the village street. "Everyone's saying how splendid your potatoes are this year."
- The old lady scowled at him as she answered: "They're not so bad. But where's the bad ones for feeding the pigs?"
- Sadly, some people will find anything to complain about, even when things are going great in their lives.
- That’s what we find here with the Children of Israel…they’re complaining, but they shouldn’t be.
- Notice in vs 10 that at first, they cried out to the Lord.
- That would have been the right thing to do if they were doing it with a pure heart, but they weren’t.
- They were crying out to Him with complaints, believing He had led them into a trap.
- It’s okay to go to the Lord in prayer when you’re concerned or afraid, but we have no right to shake our fists at Him and complain.
- Maybe in the weakness of our flesh, initially, we might cry out to Him with complaints, but we can’t stay there…
- God deserves better than to be pelted with complaints by us.
- It’s evident that their hearts were not in the right place because after they complained to God, they turned around and started complaining to Moses.
- Maybe that’s because they could see Moses face to face, and couldn’t see God face to face…
- Regardless, their complaint to Moses was a complaint against God, and they should have known better!
- We’re told in the Midrash, an ancient Hebrew commentary on the Old Testament Scriptures, that one group of the Israelites were frantic with despair, and crying out, “Let us cast ourselves into the sea!”
- Another group was saying, “Let us go back to Egypt and submit to slavery!”
- Still another group was willing to fight the enemy.
- So, they were afraid, they were confused, and they were trapped…
- But the problem is that all of this led them to complain.
- Then, not even within one week of being delivered from slavery, they were already looking back, thinking their bondage to Egypt was better than their current situation.
- How soon they forgot!
- In vs 13, Moses responds to the people with confidence.
- “Fear not, stand still! See the salvation of the Lord!”
- Even though Moses was in the same predicament as the Israelites, being in a spot where they were trapped, he never lost his confidence in God.
- He knew God would do something to save them from the Egyptians…he didn’t know what it was yet, but with confidence, he told the people, “God will save us.”
- Don’t miss that part when he says, “Stand still.”
- The people were all trying to figure out what they were going to do, and complaining while they did it…
- But Moses said, “Stand still. We don’t have to do anything. God will fight for us!”
- Notice in vs 15, God says to Moses, “Why are you crying unto Me?”
- This might sound strange, and it might sound like God is scolding Moses, however, that’s not what’s happening.
- The people came to Moses, and Moses immediately told them, “God will take care of us!”
- However, he didn’t know what God was going to do.
- So, he turned to the Lord, probably saying something like, “Okay God, I don’t know how you’re going to do it, but I know you will do something. Please take care of this for us!”
- So, God’s answer basically is, “Okay Moses, now is not the time for prayer, because you already know I’m going to work. Now is the time for action!”
- Charles Spurgeon explains it this way:
- “There is a time for praying, but there is also a time for holy activity. Prayer is adapted for almost every season, yet not prayer alone, for there comes, every now and then, a time when even prayer must take a secondary place.”
- In vs 16, God immediately provides instructions to Moses on what to do.
- “Lift up your rod, stretch out your hands, and divide the waters.”
- Not only would the waters be divided, but the Israelites wouldn’t get any mud on their sandals because the ground was going to be dry.
- As we saw when we studied each of the plagues, the rod itself didn’t have any special power to do this, and Moses on his own didn’t have special powers.
- God was the One who had the power, and through Moses, God was going to once again show Israel how Awesome and Mighty He truly is!
- In vs 17 and 18, God explains that the Egyptian army will follow the Israelites into the path through the Sea, but God was going to use it for His honor and glory.
- He tells Moses that Egypt will know that He is the Lord.
- At this point, the Egyptians should have already known that, but remember the title of this sermon…the folly of the wicked…
- They foolishly thought that they still had the power and they could still beat God.
- Remember back in Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh asked the question, “Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice to let Israel go?”
- Through this final miracle, God was going to answer that question once and for all.
- I like the way one Jewish Rabbi named Sforno explained it.
- He said, “The Egyptians who remain in Egypt will acknowledge Me as God, for I do not delight in the death of the sinner, but that he should turn from his evil ways and live.”
- So, what about us as Christians?
- Are there times when we complain against God?
- All of us here today would have to say yes.
- If we look at the Greek word for complainer, we see that it means, “one who is discontented with his lot in life.”
- Basically, it means the complainer is a grumbler.
- We’re told in Philippians 2:14-15, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…”
- It is such a blatant sin when we aren’t happy with our current circumstances, so we complain to God and blame Him...we have no right!
- Remember Adam in the Garden, after he sinned, he had the audacity to say to God, “…the woman you put here with me, she gave me the fruit and I ate it.”
- How dare he point his finger at God like that, playing the blame game by complaining about God’s gift to him.
- How about when we complain to God about our finances, or our family, or our health, or our church, or our job…
- Brothers and sisters, you and I should be the most content and happy people in the world because we belong to Jesus!
- We’re on our way to Heaven, and we’re going to be there with God for all of eternity.
- Years ago, the Church of Christ Advocate published a poem called “Grumble-House.”
- “Grumble-House is on the North side of Dismal street.
- It is surrounded by a stone wall, which fails to admit the sunlight of God's Grace.
- It is located near a forest which is haunted by the screech-owls of discontent.
- There are many rodents on the premises which spoil the fruits of the Spirit.
- The lamp of joy is never seen in any of its gloomy rooms.
- Owing to their spirit of heaviness, the inmates of Grumble-house have no garments of Praise; but are clad in the beggarly elements of the world.
- As they have never learned Ephesians 5:19, their only song is like the croaking of a raven; because it does not proceed from hearts overflowing with thankfulness to God for all His goodness and mercy.
- I will not grumble, grunt or growl; Or sit and mope like some old owl:
- Because life's inconvenient things; Do test the strength of soaring wing.
- With which to rise above the roof of Grumble-house; and thus, give proof that I belong to Pleasant-town; And wear a smile, but ne'er a frown.
- Thus, will my aged wrinkled face, reflect my Father's loving grace.”
- May you and I as believers work especially hard to take the word “Complaining” out of our vocabulary.
THIRD: THEY MAKE FOOLISH DECISIONS- VS 19-31
- When I was in High School, the police came to teach us about the dangers of drunk driving.
- They put these goggles called “beer goggles.”
- When we put them on, everything was like a blur, and our vision was completely distorted.
- The idea was to give us an idea what it looks and feels like when you’re drunk.
- They told us to walk in a straight line, which was impossible with these goggles on.
- We lost our balance, some fell over, others walked way off course…
- Then the officer explained that some people actually get behind the wheel of a vehicle when they’re intoxicated like that.
- Sadly, many innocent people have been killed by drunk drivers, and many drunk drivers have also died themselves, all because of their decision to get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
- Obviously, anyone who drives while they’re drunk is making a foolish decision, and they’re not thinking straight.
- It’s the same idea when a wicked person makes a foolish decision to go against God, even though they’ve been warned time and time again…they’re not thinking straight.
- Here in Exodus, that’s what we find with the Egyptian Army, which is about to make a foolish decision that will end up costing them their lives.
- In vs 19 and 20, God sends a clear warning to them to leave Israel alone…
- The Angel of the Lord went behind the Israelites and was between them and the Egyptian army.
- This was the pillar of cloud and fire that was mentioned last week, God Himself, probably Jesus, in this cloud.
- For the Israelites, it provided light at night, while at the same time being dark on the other side so the Egyptians couldn’t see through it.
- This was for Israel’s benefit because God was separating the sight of the enemy from His people to give them courage, and it also kept the Egyptians from attacking or from even seeing the Israelite’s camp on the other side.
- By the way, at the same time God is doing this, He’s also separating the sea with a strong east wind and drying the ground so that the Israelites can walk across with no problems.
- It’s absolutely fascinating the way God can effortlessly perform several miracles at the same time…He is All Powerful and Amazing!
- When this pillar appeared between the Egyptians and the Israelites, the Egyptians should have realized that this was a warning from God not to proceed against His people.
- It was a miracle, and they should have heeded the warning!
- In vs 21 and 22, God continues to show His people His Mighty Hand at work at He divided the sea throughout the night with this wind, drying the ground so they could walk on it.
- To understand just how amazing this miracle was, we should look at some estimated numbers, provided by Adam Clarke, about this path.
- One of the spots where it’s believed the Israelites crossed is about 84 feet deep!
- Imagine, walking between two walls of water that went up 84 feet!
- It was also about 12 miles in length, so this was no small path…this was a big path, big enough for over 2 million people plus their flocks and herds to cross!
- So, this wind was a natural wind, but it also had the supernatural power of God, to divide this much water in one path for such a far distance.
- Imagine how much faith it took for the Israelites to cross through that path.
- It really took a lot of faith, and God rewarded their faith by keeping the path open for them.
- This miracle also benefitted the Israelites because Pharaoh and his army could not attack the Israelites from the left or the right side…
- In order to attack them, they would have to follow them out into this path.
- Obviously, that would be a foolish decision because the Egyptians didn’t know how long the walls of water would hold up before they came crashing down.
- Yet in vs 23, we see that they did just that!
- I have to wonder what was going through their minds…after all they’ve seen God do to their land, they should have known this was the work of God and could only end in their defeat.
- Yet they still went out.
- It was a foolish decision, and I believe part of the reason was because they thought they were so powerful and fast with their chariots and horses, and they must have thought they could catch up to the Israelites.
- After all, the Israelites were on foot, so they couldn’t move as fast as the Egyptians.
- But look at what God did in vs 24 and 25…He looked down and troubled them, by taking off their chariot wheels.
- In Psalm 77:16-20, we read a description of what was happening…
- “The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled. The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about. The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook. Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known. You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”
- So, God caused a rainstorm, lightning, thunder, and an earthquake, and it terrified the Egyptians!
- Rabbi JH Hertz describes it this way: “There was a hurricane raging with tornado force, causing the sea to go back, amidst a darkness lit up only by the glare of lightning, as the Lord looked out from the black skies.”
- God’s Mighty Hand at work is such an awesome thing!
- So, the Egyptians were so scared that they attempted to run away back in the direction they came from, saying, “Let us flee from Israel because God fights for them!”, but it was too late.
- The Lord told Moses to stretch forth his hands again, and this time, the waters receded, and Pharaoh and all of his army perished in the midst of the sea.
- Their foolish decision to fight against God caused them all to perish.
- As confirmation of God’s victory, the Israelites saw many of the Egyptians bodies dead on the seashore.
- Their deliverance was real and complete…their enemies were dead.
- Through this amazing miracle, the people feared the Lord and Moses their leader.
CONCLUSION:
- As Christians, we have the same God as our Lord and Savior.
- We can always trust that He will take care of us, and even when our enemies think they have the upper hand, He will prove them wrong.
- In closing, I would encourage you to remember that no enemy, not even Satan himself, will ever be more powerful than our Great God.
- If we belong to Him, we are safe and secure, and even if we’re persecuted or even martyred for His name sake, we are still His, and He still wins.
- So when it seems like there’s no hope and the persecution or the trials are overwhelming, take comfort and remember that you belong to God, and “…neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- If you don’t belong to Jesus, then life will be overwhelming, and trials will be too much to handle.
- Yet Jesus loves you, He died on the cross for the sin of the world, and He will welcome you into His family if you believe and put your trust in Him.
- A relationship with Jesus is the greatest gift in the world…receive His gift today.
