With God What Possibilities!

In Exodus chapters 13-14, Moses recorded how God freed His people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. After the tenth plague, where firstborn males throughout the land suddenly dropped dead, the Pharaoh finally decided to let the Israelites go. Even as Moses and Aaron quickly guided their people out of the country in battle formation, Egyptians wailed over their inconceivable loss. They readily bestowed livestock and wealth upon the Israelites so that they would get out of Egypt as soon as possible. It appeared that the Egyptians and their Pharaoh had had enough of the Israelites and this mysterious, powerful God they followed.

Appearing as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, God then guided the Israelites on an incredible journey. God could have led them East directly to the Promised Land but He did not. If they had traveled East, most certainly the Philistines would have engaged them in battle. The scripture passage curiously records that God knew the people would change their mind with such a challenge and want to return to Egypt. Even with the southerly route, an examination of any Bible map reveals that they might have avoided bodies of water completely. Yet, God led them where they simply had to cross a sea.

In the meantime, Pharaoh experienced a change of heart once again. Losing the Hebrew workforce posed economic challenges. He simply could not let the Israelites get away with this because it cast doubts about his own power. What kind of “god” and leader would he be if he left the death of all these people including his own firstborn son unchallenged? How could he rule over his people with these lingering doubts about his abilities and power? Underneath it all, he may have sought to avenge the loss of his very own son. The Israelites had not gone far. They appeared to be wandering around in a nearby wilderness. So, Pharaoh gathered his army, chariots, and horses and followed the Israelites to capture them and bring them back.

That placed the escaping Israelites in this horrifying predicament. God had led them right to the edge of the sea with the Egyptian army hot in pursuit. Even an optimist would be forced to admit they were trapped with no discernible way out. We know what happens next, but they did not. Some of the Israelites cowered in fear as they camped on the bank of that Red Sea while others grumbled about the whole situation angrily declaring they would rather return to a known Egypt than die here. That’s when Moses, who once had called himself a poor speaker, opened his mouth and declared this powerful and unforgettable statement in Exodus 14: 13-14. ”Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.” So, as Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, the waters parted and the Israelites walked across the bottom of the sea on dry land. When they had all crossed and the Egyptian army attempted to pursue, Moses once again stretched out his hand and the waters rushed back into place, drowning the entire Egyptian army. This event would forever mark the Israelite people. In subsequent scriptures and writings, they would remember that Red Sea, and, especially, how the Lord had fought for them on their worst day ever, accomplishing for them what they could never have done themselves.

It’s an ancient story that resonates with you and me. We sometimes wonder why God would place us in difficult, impossible situations where we feel stuck and without hope. Yet, remember with me that God knows us better than we know ourselves. He is about to do something big, something we cannot accomplish ourselves. something that will bring Him glory and grow our faith! The God of the Old Testament is still the same God. He is the God who gave His only Son that we might be freed from our sin and that is something that you and I cannot fix ourselves. Right now, this very moment, trust that Jesus is at work in your impossible situation. We cannot even begin to imagine what awesome delight and what amazing victory He is preparing for us!