The Apple Of God's Eye Series

The Lord Finishes; You Shall See

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 14:30-31)

Do you read the ending of a novel or view the end of a video first, and then only catch the rest of the story in-between? Some people like this no-surprise, less-guessing and low-pressure approach. My brother is one of them. It drove my father up the wall.

Whenever my father would rent a multi-series video when we were young, my brother would get his way by convincing my father to part with the last tape of the series. After waiting patiently for everyone to finish viewing the first episode he would take the first and the last episode of the series into his own room to enjoy them. Missing the twists and turns of the story, not knowing who was happy or unhappy in between and how everybody made or lost their fortune, as it usually happens, did not bother him. All he cared about was who the characters were, who died, who survived and who triumphed.

However, often there was a problem. My brother was a procrastinator. He often kept the final episode even if the rest of the family had caught up to him and was nagging him for the concluding episode. He would either hide the last episode or lock his room until he had finished. It drove us crazy, especially my father who had friends waiting in suspense for the conclusion. Some of the friends shared in the rental!

God is an expert at finishing well. He’ll never leave things undone, half-done or nearly done. Israel realized that when they saw the ending (14:30-31). There was a reason behind all the running, chasing and screaming in the chapter. He wanted the Israelites to know that He was peerless, personal and powerful. God’s last words to Moses before the Red Sea crossing was this: “The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen” (Ex 14:18). None is like God in His promise, His glory and His ways. As Moses, Miriam and the others would sing in the next chapter, “Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (15:11)

Israel also understood that God was personal. Israel saw for herself the Egyptians who were lying dead on the shore (Ex 14:30). They understood that God did everything for their benefit and grasped the idea of God’s desire for a permanent personal relationship with them as a people. He discovered, delivered and developed Israel for a special relationship with Him. God’s love for His people is fierce and unending.

Finally, God is powerful. God’s power was not mean to awe and shock. 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 14:31). The last verb of the last verse of chapter 14 spells the intent of God: that Israel “believed” or trusted in the Lord (Ex 14:31). The first time this word “believe” or “trust” occurs in the Bible is in Genesis 15:6, referring to the first person to believe in the Lord, and that person was none other than Abraham their forefather: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6). God wanted Israel to believe in Him, no less than what He required from Abraham.