1-24-15. Exodus 13:17-14:14.  The Longer, Difficult Path May Be God’s Way-my devotional

Exodus 13:17-14:14                                     Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 14:13-14                                                 1-25-15

“13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Part 1: Getting The People Prepared For Battle and Victory (13:17-19)

Verses 17-19, “17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” (NIV)

The shortest way from Egypt to Canaan was due east and then north. But God led his people south, toward the Red Sea. He did not send them directly to the Promised Land, because they were not ready to fight the Philistines (13:17b). Instead, God led them by a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud toward the Red Sea.

This was no mistake on God’s part. The Israelites needed strengthening in many ways. They were too weak to fight the Philistines, not knowing how to stand as a nation against the battle hardened Canaanite armies. Not only had they lacked battle experience and cohesiveness as a nation, but their attitude was not conducive to victory. They had lived 400 years as slaves. Imbedded deep within their psyche was what can be called a slave mentality. In order to be born a free nation, that can taste victory and bring glory to God, they had to dispel their slave mentality and embrace all that God had in store for them. And so began their training course at the Red Sea. They would be free, but they needed God’s discipline. Let’s discover what this means.

They had to dispel their slave mentality. What is a slave mentality? A slave mentality is a mentality where one has no ownership of the place they live. They have no vision for themselves or their people because they are forced to work for their “task master’s” vision. They are only trying to survive. They work to avoid pain, eat and rest. In other words, they work to live and live to work. They expect to be provided all of their living essentials, like food and shelter from their slave masters. They have no hope for their kids except to work and survive just like the parents and grandparents have been doing. They don’t know how to fight for anything greater than for a few scraps of personal benefits and a few small pleasures. They do not step up to take ownership or personal responsibility for something, for it is not their own and they are excluded from ownership anyways and always. Their lives are marked with depression, anger, revenge, complaining and deep despair. They allow themselves to be exploited by their task masters, for they have no strength to fight and may even lack the will to fight. The best resistance they can produce is passive, aggressive behavior in an attempt to exert some identity and independence. An early death may be their greatest hope. This is a slave mentality.

Even though the ancient Israelites were full of slave mentality, God wanted to purge them of this, heal their psyches and transform them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God was going teach them how to be strong and noble people who can be a light and inspiration to the rest of the world for the next three Millennia.

But this transformation was not going to be easy. It would require so much training. The beginning of the healing will entail a forty year journey through the desert before they got to Canaan, the Promised Land. Then they would embrace God’s vision for them and take ownership of the mission that God has called them to, to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

They had to learn to fight against the battle hardened Philistines. Let’s face it, no one, and no people group, can fight without going through some hard training. Athletes train really hard. This week, two men climbed the El Capitan Rock face in Yellowstone National Park. They did it with their bare hands and only safety ropes. It took nineteen days. They were battered and broken. They wanted to give up so many times. But they did not. They made it to the summit 1-14-15. President Obama even tweeted them. It was a great victory. But behind that victory was five years of hard training.

Winning at fighting requires losing a lot of battles. The climbers of El Capitan, probably fell innumerous time. Their hands were scraped. But they endured and overcame and won the victory. Likewise, the Israelites needed to go through the desert for forty years in order to be trained like athletes. They needed to win battles but also they needed to loose battles.

They needed to time and struggles to bond together as a people. We call this Communista. Communista occurs when people come together in challenging situations, like sports teams or soldiers in battle. This forms lasting bonds among the participants. The ancient Israelites had formed bonds of brotherhood over the 400 years of slavery, but God wanted to bring them into an even tighter bond through their wanderings in the desert.

The ancient Israelites needed to see and feel God’s almighty power personally. IN bringing them through the Red Sea and into the desert, they would have so many opportunities to experience the power of God. They would see his glory again and again. God would not be some vague, abstract idea, but a living savior and deliverer. They would become aware of God’s living presence amongst them.

The Israelites needed to receive the Law and their identity as a people.  That is why God wanted to meet them at Sinai to give them the Law. This was God’s plan even before they left Egypt. Remember what God said in Exodus 3:12, “And God said, ‘I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.’” To get to Mount Sinai they needed to pass through the Red Sea and begin their 40 year desert pilgrimage.

Every nation needs an identity and the equivalent of the Law. In the USA we have the Constitution, the principles of which are derived from the Bible. The Law given at Mount Sinai is kind of like the constitution. The Ten Commandments given to Moses would be a guide and a unifying agent for a strong nation to be built.

Joseph Influenced People Who Lived Generations Later With His Faith. Moses took Joseph’s bones, being faithful to fulfill Joseph’s wish 400 years previous. Look at verse 19, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.” This is taken from Genesis 50:24-25, “Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”  When the ancient Israelites left for Egypt, Moses was careful to take bones of Joseph with him. Joshua later on attended to the burial of the bones.

We can see what was on Joseph’s heart and mind at the end of his life. Joseph was certain about what God had promised his people. He knew the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 15:12-16 which reads, “As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”  Joseph emphasized his belief that God would do what he has promised.

Joseph knew that God is true. He keeps his promises, all of them. If God says it, it will happen. This is our God. He promised to send Jesus into this world to be the Savior of the world. He promised that Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles would be fulfilled. (Lk 21:24) This turn of events occurred in 1967. God promised that Jesus will come again. He promised eternal life in the Kingdom of God for all who believe. This is happening millions of times over. One day we will see our Savior face to face. All of God’s promises will come true in his time and in his way.

Even though Joseph had the glory of Egypt given to him by God, still, his heart was never in Egypt, but in the land of Canaan. That was the land of promise given to Abraham by God. It was the land that a unique and mighty nation would rise up. It would be comprised by a people who belonged exclusively to Jehovah, God Almighty, the God of the Jews. Our God.

I realize that I need keep my eyes on the prize, that is, Christ and his kingdom. Even though I am a citizen of the most prosperous country in the whole world, and I enjoy a life of comfort, ease and convenience that is unparalleled by most people on this planet, I must never love the world so much that I take my eyes off of my Lord Jesus and the Kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33 reads, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” In keeping with this theme, Paul says in Philippians 3:13-15, “13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” We need to strain towards the goal and win the prize that is walking in the right relationship with our God provided for us through the Gospel and spending eternity with Jesus and the family of God. This is the ultimate goal and prize. We need the grace of God to continue walking in the narrow way that leads to eternal life. I pray that the Lord may help me to keep focused on the prize and not get side tracked by all the perks and false hopes given to us by the world.

Joseph knew the importance of his influence to his people. He was thinking of even how his bones could deliver the message of salvation to a people generations off. We need to think about our influence and legacy and how this will promote the glory of Christ and advance his kingdom. How can our lives encourage future generations? How can our bones encourage a future people group? Pray about it. There is a way to be blessing to those who are not even born.

I can also see Moses’ faith in honoring Joseph’s wishes. How easy would it be for him to simply ignore Joseph’s request. It was hard enough navigating the desert wilderness with one’s own belongings, let along carting around an esophagus of old bones. But Moses knew how important holding onto the promises of God were. He knew how important these bones were to the people. His people were keeping those bones safe for generations. It was part of their national and cultural identity He was a good steward of the bones and he cared about the psyche of his people.

So many people want to throw out the old and bring in the new. But from Moses’ example we need to remember lives of faith of servants of God who have gone on before us. I too need to be a good steward of the spiritual heritage passed down to us by our forbearers.

Part 2: Trust The Lord To Guide You In The Best Path (20-22)

God guided his people in the best way and along the best path. Verses 20-22, “20 After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. 21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (NIV)

The three million Israelites were heading out on their journey in the desert. They were very vulnerable. They were in real danger, from the Egyptians, the surrounding nations and from the elements. Satan could have torn the fledgling nation apart. Anything could have happened to them, trying to thwart God from keeping his promises. Indeed, they were like sheep without a shepherd, so God came to their aid.

God not only delivered them by the many plagues and gave them direction in how to proceed, he showed that he was with them in a very tangible way. God led them all along the way, through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

God is always shepherding and leading his people. When we entrust our lives to Jesus, it is not some haphazard entrusting. No. God is with us. Jesus is our Good Shepherd who goes on ahead of us and calls us out by name. He will surely lead us in the best possible way. God led the ancient Israelites along the longer route. Many might have thought, “Why is God leading us this way? Isn’t it quicker and easier to lead us that way?” But the long way with God’s sure leading is shorter than any shortcut we can try to take in life. We need to simply follow the way that God has provided us and trust God, that he is leading us to green pastures and quiet waters.

Jesus promised his disciples that he would be with them to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20 reads, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(NIV) Jesus will go with us, as we journey through this world, all the way to the Kingdom of God. This is his very real promise. Jesus died and rose again. He dwells in believers by the Holy Spirit. He is the Good Shepherd who goes on ahead of the sheep to lead them. He is like the cloud and pillar of fire. Ebenezer! (Thus far the Lord has helped us).

We don’t have a pillar or a cloud leading us today, but there is definitely the equivalent. There is the word of God. There is the urgings and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. There are people that God sends into our lives. There are wise and mature Christians who give us words of wisdom at exactly the right moment. There are life circumstances that seem to be shouting at us, “Take this way!” These are all from God. God provides what people need to follow him. He leads us 24/7, all of the time. We just need to turn our radio on and tune into God. Jesus is our pillar of cloud and fire. He is our good shepherd.

God’s leading is the best leading. I have discovered this time and again. I could have immediately went into nursing school at 18 years old, married and tried to raise a family in Manitoba. Then, as I raised my family I could have met Jesus and become a Christian and lived securely until death and I would go to heaven. That would have been the straight path. But Jesus led me along another, longer and more difficult route. There was failure and restoration. There was persecution and struggle upon struggle and decades of sacrifice. I was led to DeKalb Illinois. And here I am, just where Jesus wanted me. It seems like a long and winding path. But through it all Jesus led my family and I along the best path. I am who I am and we are who we are as a family because of God’s leading. I thank God for leading me along the long and hard path. I have learned faith and experienced God’s love and deliverance. I have grown to love and trust the Lord. Now we are poised to make Christ know in Illinois and in Northern Canada. Thank you Lord Jesus my guiding pillar of cloud and fire.

Part 3: God Is Bringing Glory To Himself In His Way and His Time (14:1-9)

Verses 1-9 read, “Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this. 5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen  and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.” (NIV)

Even though the Israelites were freed from their bondage in Egypt and allowed to leave, the Lord was not finished. He wanted to gain glory for himself, over Egypt. (4) God’s glory is revealed when people see his great power and have a deep respect for him. God is glorified when people acknowledge him as the almighty God. He is glorified when his people win victories and Satan is defeated. He is gloried in some of the most difficult and troubling circumstances of life.

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. It was to gain glory for himself.  Exodus 14:5 reads, “When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,’ What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!'” Egypt needed slave labor to continue with its expansion. Pharaoh realized that his lifestyle and grandiose, egocentric plans would be drastically altered without slaves. And so when Pharaoh heard that the Israelites were trapped between the desert and the Red Sea, his heart perked up and a plan was hatched when he saw the possibility of getting them back.. Nothing could change that plan, for Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by greed and pride. The Egyptians were well-equipped with the latest military machines, like chariots and swift horses. So he got in his chariot and took his best troops and sped off in hot pursuit.  He thought that bringing these helpless slaves back would simple. And if he could not bring them back, he would see that they would not live. The situation of the fleeing slaves looked helpless.

The Egyptians were doomed from the start. They were against God’s purpose. God’s purpose was to establish his people as a light on hill for the rest of the world. He wanted to make them into a kingdom of priest and a holy nation. But Pharaoh wanted to keep them enslaved or destroy them. He was going directly against God.

Second, they depended on themselves, their own power and determination and their equipment and horses, and not on God. Their strength was their god as well as a myriad of other idols. When anyone, or any nation depends on their own strength, they are bound to fail, because our own strength and human ingenuity will fail at some point. Anyway, they were fighting against God himself and therefore they could never succeed in their plans.

God had a great and glorious purpose for all that was happening. He was going to bring glory to himself. Why is bringing glory to God so important? It is because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6) and the world needs to know this. Our God is the Creator. He is our Savior, Redeemer and Friend. He is the true light that gives light to the whole world. The world needs to know where to turn for salvation. They need to know where there redemption lies. It is with Jesus and the Gospel. We may think that the ancient Egyptian culture was great and glorious with their pyramids and architecture and military might. But the Egyptians were deceived by their false religion and many idols. They were suffering. The people were enduring injustice. They needed redemption. They needed to know where to look for redemption, and that it is found in Jehovah, the God of the Israelites…the God of the Bible. We know him as Jesus Christ.

I believe that God is bringing glory to himself in this hard world. Our modern world is in a lot pain and suffering. It seems like the entire Middle East is a wreck, with its wars. Europe is discovering that its secular inclusiveness can not save them from a very real danger dwelling among them. How are we to interpret everything? Of course we don’t know the answers. But through all the chaos I believe that the world will know that Jesus is the way the truth and the life. They will know that in the Gospel they will find salvation and redemption. Jesus is gaining glory for himself through the chaos and the strife. He is helping our eyes and our hearts to seek him and his glory.

There is a reason for strife on a micro level too. A person’s most difficult situations in life are God’s greatest opportunities to bring glory to Christ. God’s children needed to know that their Father God is great in power, and he is on their side. He is leading them through the storm and the blast to the point where people bow their heads and concede that Jesus is Lord. John 1:29, “ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

How did God teach them his great power? In this passage, he sent the fleeing Israelites into a pocket by the Red Sea. He trained the Israelites through life’s circumstances to put their trust in him. He led the ancient Egyptians into a trap so God could reveal his glory through them. God doesn’t want anyone to perish and to suffer. But even though people find themselves in undesirable circumstances that does not mean that their circumstances are hopeless. God can take any situation and turn it around so that he is glorified through it. He will work through it to shout to the whole world that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. All glory and praise belongs to the Creator God. God’s glory will be revealed in the Middle East. God’s glory will be revealed in Europe. God’s glory will be revealed in each and every life circumstance. We just need to know how to respond in the midst of it. That response means coming to Jesus humbly, with hearts full of faith and trust.

Part 4: Get Ready To Stand Firm And Experience God’s Glory (14:10-14)

God was going to teach his people a great lesson…to stand firm and experience deliverance and the glory of God. Exodus 14:10-14 read, “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (NIV)

When the ancient Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming, they were terrified. Read 14:10. “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.”  They thought they were going to die violent deaths or be driven into the ocean to drown. They turned on Moses in anger and despair. They forgot about God’s mighty acts in Egypt.

Their first reaction was terror. The second reaction was to blame the servant of God who led them into the desert. (In a sense this is like blaming God himself). Look at verse 11-12, “They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

They should have realized a universal principle. Freedom does not come without sacrifice. There are some things worth living for and some things worth dying for. Patrick Henry, a great American patriot and Christian, once said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Think about the American Civil War. It took the death of many Americans, in a bloody war, to free the slaves in this country. Think about what God has accomplished through the Gospel. It took the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to free slaves of sin. If we want to enjoy freedom it will require sacrifice. The Israelite slaves had not learned that freedom is more precious than life. But they will.

Moses was facing several “Red Sea’s” himself. Not only was he facing the Egyptian armies with the rest of his people. He was facing the criticism and the rage of his own people. Moses didn’t know what to do, but had had faith and courage and by faith he told them to trust God. Look at verses 13-14, “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.’” You can see true faith when you are placed in trying situations. This is the difference faith makes…calmness, assurance, peace, cool headedness and hope and trust in the Lord no matter what happens. Moses experienced the difference and so can we when we place our faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ our Lord.

God, more often then not, comes through at the very last minute. He waits until we have exhausted our last human effort to save ourselves and then, when we think that all is lost, he comes through in a pinch. Why does living by faith seem like a roller coaster ride? I believe God’s wants us to reach our own limitations so that we despair about our limited “human-ness” and learn to trust in him. We can also experience faith, that, when God does come through and delivers us we will know that he is God. God is glorified. We become stronger and faith and can face the next trial and the next and the next.

We are facing some things in life that seem daunting and foreboding. These things are too hard to face, so hard, that we feel we can not stand our ground. We are convinced that we will meet a miserable end and be driven into a raging sea. Think about these scenarios. What about a student facing impossible exams? What about a troubled marriage? What about a troubled relationship with your kids and friends? What about issues with your job? What about financial woes and health problems? What about diseases that are leading to disability and death? What about sin problems within us, that don’t seem to go away? What about Satan’s persistent attacks? These are just personal Red Seas. What about Red Seas on national and international levels. The list of various “Red Seas” goes on and on. What do we do about them?

Having faith in God is paramount. Let’s examine the basis of Moses’ faith. Look at verses 13-14 again, “Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” God is the Almighty Creator God. He created the universe. He calms the seas. He can raise the dead. He can work in peoples’ hearts, in both believer and non-believer to bring about change. He can affect the outcome of things. He loves us like a Father loves his own children. When we feel that our backs are against the wall, we can trust him to come through for us, and for his glory. There is no need to fear. We need to stand firm. This means don’t run. Don’t make fear your modus operandi (mode of operation). Don’t let go of what God has called you to hold of. Don’t abandon your mission because of fear. Stand firm in your faith and trust in Christ. There we can find peace, trust and assurance in his great love.

Prayer: “Lord, thank you for helping me to stand firm in faith even in the face of enormous Red Sea’s in life. Thank you for teaching me to trust you and glorifying yourself in my life.”

One Word: Stand firm and you will see the glory of God.