When God's People Is Locked Down: Responses, Reflections, and Responsibilities
A Sermon Message on Exodus 14:1-20
By Dr. Joel A. Tejedo, D.Min.
Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ Exodus 14:3
Introduction
In 2011, my wife and I were gifted a plane ticket by my student to travel to Shanghai and Beijing for 10 days. It was a beautiful ten days of rest, leisure, and prayer time for both of us. But the day that we had to fly back to Manila, we missed our flight and stayed in Beijing airport without enough money to buy our tickets. The thing that added to our worries was the expiration of our visa the next day. We were advised by the Chinese officer to secure our travel itinerary immediately or else we will be penalized or be in jail. It was a very difficult moment in our married life. The planned moment of rest and leisure as a couple now became a "curse." We were wondering and feeling confused about what to do. We were sort of trapped in a place, confused, and wondering what to do!
Have you been in a similar difficult situation? What did you do and how did you respond?
Our journey in life is sometimes parallel to the people of Israel, who came out from Egypt, given a promise to inherit the Promise Land, but in between these journeys, they were "stationed" in a place, a trap, with nowhere to go.
Today's passage shows us the three actors that act when people are trapped or locked down: Pharaoh, the People, and God. Let's examine the responses of these three actors and try to reflect on some of our responsibilities when we are in a very difficult situation.
I. Actor # 1: Pharaoh Called Pi-Hahiroth----A Place of Trap, vv. 1-9.
a. There are different stations on our journey with God. Pi-Hahiroth was the fourth station for the Israelites. God has instructed them to encamp in Pi-Hahiroth for a purpose.
b. How can a wise and a good God who released and rescued His people from the hands of Pharaoh, instructed Moses to encamp at Pi-Hahiroth? What was his purpose?
c. Pi-Hahiroth was the fourth station of the Israelites after they came out from Egypt while Pharaoh was advancing his forces to attack and hem them in.
d. Geographically, if you are in Pi-Hahiroth, you are in between Migdol and the Red Sea. Migdol was a mountain and was perceived historically as a "military outpost" for the Egyptians to watch the coming of their enemies. In front of them is the Red Sea, a formidable body of water that will engulf them if they plan to cross it. The place where they were standing was opposite to Baal Zaphon, a mountain named after the Egyptian god.
e. Pi-Hahiroth means the "end of the river." It was a dead end. It was a dangerous and perilous place for God people. From the perspective of war, Pi- Hahiroth was a strategic place to trap, destroy, annihilate, and massacre your enemies.
f. While we do not like to be at the end of the road, it was God who instructed Moses to encamp in this place.
g. Pharaoh called this place a trap because he knew that he can easily marshall his army to bring back the Israelites to slavery in Egypt.
h. It is interesting to note that Pharaoh's game plan is to trap, ready his army, and pursue them until they are all annihilated.
i. Satan does the same thing. When he sees us wondering, confused, and trapped in a very difficult situation, he pursues to destroy and kill us. He wants us "confused" and trapped in a seemingly impossible situation.
j. Our response is to be armed with God's authority to wage war on Satan because we are serving the Lord of Hosts, whose name is "Faithful and True.' The apostle Peter warned us to be alert and be sober, for the devil is like a roaring lion looking for someone whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5:8.
k. The apostle Paul doesn't want us to be ignorant of Satan's schemes, tactics, or devices, 2 Cor. 2:11. So he commanded us to arm ourselves with spiritual weapons so that we can stand victorious in our trying times, 2 Cor. 10:4, Eph. 6:10-12.
II. Actor # 2: The Skeptic People Called Pi-Hahiroth----A Grave or Cemetery, vv. 10-14.
a. It is interesting to note that after knowing that Pharaoh's army was advancing toward Pi-Hahiroth, the Israelites were terrified, and they panicked.
b. In that passage, they mentioned the word "die" because they thought that Pi-Hahiroth was a "grave" or cemetery for them.
c. Here, they verbalized to Yahweh their fear, complaints, unbelief, anguish, anxiety, and desperation.
d. The emotional tone of their cry and anguish is in the context of overwhelming fear. Pi-Hahiroth for God's people is a place of uncertainty and death. The idea of surviving did not even come to mind as they anticipate the attack of the Egyptians. They were not certain whether they will live and go back to being slaves or die, or whether God will come to their rescue at that time. In desperation, they thought that Pi-Hahiroth was a place for them to die and be buried.
e. BUT God's instruction for them is to "be still" a word in Hebrew that implies "to relax one's grip" or "to let go" of things that are holding or distracting them. In Latin, the word, "be still" is vacate, a word where we get the word "vacation." The whole idea of the word vacate, according to Melba Maggay is to "vacate" "to empty one's responsibility" so that God will take the full responsibility to act on our behalf.
f. In today's world, it is normal for us to release our toxic emotions when situations are bad and not favorable for us. We curse and complain as we blame people for the unfavorable things that are happening to us.
g. Honestly, 2020 for me is the most difficult year in my entire life. I have not seen this kind of global crisis my entire life. So I do not know whether I will survive the onslaught of COVID 19. It is a year of uncertainty.
h. But, despite this terrible crisis, my family and I have chosen to sit, relax in God's presence, and letting God take the full responsibility to act. We have never been stronger as a family since we took the opportunity to stop and vacate our regular activities, devoting our time to listen to what God is saying. In times like this, we have to be still in the presence of God, releasing our fears and let God do what He wants to do.
i. This is the time and the moment to call for solidarity, to encourage one another, and to be united as God's people.
III. Actor # 3: God Has Called Pi-Hahiroth----A Place of Glory, vv. 15-20.
a. Yahweh has declared before and after this spectacular miracle "I will gain glory" over the place where you think you have been trapped. God's perspective over our situation is different from our perspectives. If Pharaoh called it a "trap" and skeptics called it a "grave," God has called it, "glory."
b. The statement, "I will gain glory," was mentioned 3 times by God (vv. 4: 17,18) to indicate that God can bring out the best things in the darkest moments in our life.
c. When God displays his power, He brings light to his people but darkness to those who attack them, v. 20.
d. When God glorifies himself over our situation, He will make a better way, a passage out of nowhere, to show his mighty power and grace (vv. 21, 22, 29).
e. When God glorifies himself over your situation, He will place the confused and wondering spirit into the lives of those people that came to destroy you and fill you with peace, calmness, and mighty victory. Vv. 24-25.
f. When God glorifies himself over your situation, He will fight your battles, v. 25.
Conclusion:
When we heard from the Chinese officer that we have to fix our travel itinerary to fly back to PH the following day or else we will be penalized, we cried to God in silence and asked, "Lord teach us what to do. Have your way O God." While we sat at the corner of Beijing International Airport, I heard the voice of Lord telling me to go to the Internet Cafe of the airport. Then and there, I sent an email to my dear friends. I told them about our situation and asked them if they could buy us a ticket back to PH. I was praying while waiting for God to answer our prayers. An hour later, I received an email from my dear friend from Baguio with the attached ticket in his email, assuring us that there was nothing to worry about. He too experienced a similar situation and he told us that the moment he received my email, he went back to the city and immediately purchased a ticket for us. God's way is better than our ways!
In summary, when God's people are locked down and trapped
1. Satan pursues us in order to destroy us.
2. There are people out there who cast fear in the hearts of God's people calling your situation as place of death and grave
3. BUT remember the God we serve is the God who can glorify himself even in our darkest moment. He is the God that can perform wonders in our time. So be still, do not be afraid, believe and trust him. Amen
