The Children of Israel have been through about 400 years of separation from the promised land of Canaan. They have seen the wisdom of Joseph as he protected the Israelites from famine and gave them a place of favor in Egypt. Then, everything went south and they fell into disfavor with Pharaoh and were pressed into slavery. God brought Moses to Egypt to lead them out after God sent ten horrific plagues upon Egypt and convinced Pharaoh to let them go.
Now, the children of Israel are in the Wilderness near the Red Sea. God proclaimed that He would gain honor over Pharaoh and his army, that “the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” Sure enough, Pharaoh hardened his heart, and pursued the Israelites and overtook them. When the Hebrews saw the army of Pharaoh, they immediately became afraid. They began to berate Moses, and accused him of bringing them into the wilderness to die. It was then that Moses uttered some of the most-quoted words in the Old Testament:
Exodus 14:13 (NKJV) 13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
He told them that God would fight for them! After this bold statement, God told Moses to stop crying out, and do something. Stretch out your hand and divide the sea. Then God would destroy Egypt by bringing the sea back over them, which He did. An interesting thing happened during this time: the presence of the Holy Spirit, the pillar, stood between the Israelites and the Egyptians. God’s presence protected Israel from Egypt all night until they had passed over the Sea on dry land. Then, the pillar moved, and the Egyptians followed them into the Sea. Once they got in the midst of the Sea, God instructed Moses to stretch his hand over the Sea and cause it to go back on the Egyptians. And God overthrew the Egyptians by covering them with the Sea.
God drew the Egyptians into a confrontation, allowed them to enter the Sea, then took the wheels off their chariots, and drowned them in the Sea. In the midst of this triumph, the children of Israel feared and thought they were about to die. After ten plagues, a miraculous deliverance, and signs and wonders, where did this unbelief and fear come from? We could ask ourselves the same question. Where does our fear come from? From where does our doubt and delusion come? We must find a way to overcome the fear and doubt that tries to overtake us in the midst of tragedy or unexpected stress and rise up to a place of faith that overcomes the world. Jesus is our Savior. The Holy Spirit is our pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day. Trust in Him and we will overcome!
Devoted To You 