Missions Paul

Perhaps the enemy of your life is pressing in hard. It may look like there is no other outcome, and it isn’t what you hoped for. Exodus 15 isn’t just a victory song; it’s a lesson in what happens when human certainty meets divine holiness.

“In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger;  it consumed them like stubble. ⁸ By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood up like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea. ⁹ The enemy boasted, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them. I will divide the spoils; I will gorge myself on them. I will draw my sword and my hand will destroy them.’ ¹⁰ But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. ¹¹ Who among the gods is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15 v 7-11)

See the chilling words of the enemy in v 9. “I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide. I will gorge. I will destroy.”

As this song is sung, that enemy is no more.

Moses wants the people to celebrate that their enemy is defeated.

But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them (v10).

So what is your enemy at the moment? A diagnosis, an accusation, a circumstance that boasts the way Pharaoh’s army boasted? This song reminds us not to allow anyone to be so certain of the outcome in your life.

Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?

Do you see it? Holiness, not just power. God didn’t drown Egypt because He could. He delivered Israel because He is who He is: a God whose holiness moves toward His people rather than away from them.

That’s the shape the cross would later take too, the love of God breathing life into what looked finished.

There are big moments in all our lives when all we can do is sing. It’s not a report that is needed, some deep analysis of what has happened. It’s a testimony in worship. That’s exactly what happens next: a new song rises up from Moses, and the whole nation joins in.

 ^“But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel …” 

And on that day a song was born. A new song coming from within their leader, Moses.

“Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:  “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. “The Lord is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. Your right hand, Lord, was majestic in power. Your right hand, Lord, shattered the enemy.” (Exodus 15 v 1-6)

Some days it is imperative that you sing. It isn’t the right time for discussion and analysis. This is the time for worship, for God has done what only He can do.

Let’s look at what Moses and the people sang.

V 2. “He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has now become his God. He has experienced God for himself. This miraculous story has given him (and the nation) a personal story.

Every generation needs to experience Him and have their own miracles to testify to.

V3 “The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.”

Israel didn’t fight this battle; they stood still and watched God fight it for them. God will fight our battles.

Finally, “Your right hand, Lord.” Not Moses’ hand, nor Israel’s courage (they didn’t have much). The song keeps returning to whose hand did this.

What has God’s right hand done in your life that still deserves a song?

Some outcomes look settled long before they happen. Everyone points to the evidence, and apparently there is only one way it can go. But God can write a different story.

“He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving.” (Exodus 14 v 25)

Have you heard the phrase “to set the wheels in motion”? There are seasons in our life when a series of actions and developments indicates that there is only one course of action. The wheels are in motion. However, never underestimate God. He can remove the wheels! (v25). The inevitable is not always inevitable.

Pharaoh’s chariots were the best technology of the ancient world. Six hundred of them, hand-picked, bearing down on a nation of former slaves trapped between the sea and the sky. Every human calculation said the outcome was fixed. The wheels were in motion, and nothing stops a chariot at full speed.

Except God.

He didn’t need to destroy the chariots. He just jammed the wheels.

Think about what’s bearing down on you right now. The diagnosis that seems certain. The decision that seems already made. The relationship that seems beyond repair. The habit that seems too entrenched to break. It looks inevitable because every visible factor points one direction.

But God can still jam a wheel. It’s too early to panic.

They had a sea in front of them and an army behind them. No way forward and no way back. That is exactly where God wanted them.

 ^“But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 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 mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” (Exodus 14 v 29-31)

Have you noticed what it says? They walked on ‘dry ground’.

Surely it would have been muddy ground? No, it was dry. A small detail, but it reveals God looks at the detail.

Either side of them was the wall of the sea. Chaos held back by the hand of God.

The crescendo of the whole story is the last verse. It was not just a miracle of all miracles. It is what happened to the Israelites. They feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

What is your wall of water? What is chasing you that looks unstoppable? The sea did not move because Israel was brave. It moved because God was faithful, and Moses lifted his staff, and the people kept walking.

Sometimes the only way through is straight through.

So in answer to those two questions, I say to you – walk on.

The Lord who fights for you doesn’t need your permission. He just needs your trust. He doesn’t need you to win the battle, only to keep walking through it.

Today may be another day of battle. Well, if you hold on, keep moving and trust, then it could well be the day of your victory.

“The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. ²⁵ He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” ²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing towardit, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.” (Exodus 14 v 23-28)

The best chariots in the ancient world chasing the people of God. He that is in you, with you, around you, is greater than any enemy that comes at you, in this world.

The enemy knew who jammed the wheels; they knew it was the Lord. Even the enemy recognises the hand and the work of God, and the pursuers become the pursued.

It was at the darkest and most exhausting of hours. “During the last watch of the night”, Israel had walked all night through a wall of water on both sides; it was a long night of walking by faith. Then, at daybreak, God brings judgment.

Sometimes God lets the threat get really close because He wants the deliverance to be undeniable.

The chapter that starts with Israel trapped ends with total deliverance and total judgment. The Egyptians said it themselves before the water covered them: the Lord is fighting for them. That is still true today for you.

There’s a difference between the first time God asks you to obey and the tenth. That’s where Moses stood at the Red Sea. Maybe you’re not new to obeying God. The question is whether you’ll do it again, now that the sea in front of you is bigger than anything you’ve faced.

“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” (Exodus 14 v 21-22)

Moses stretched out his hand. Pause for a moment. Remind yourself of these verses we read weeks ago.

“Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. (Exodus 4 v 2)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.’” (Exodus 8 v 5)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,’ and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats.” (Exodus 8 v 16)

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” (Exodus 10 v 21)

So when, in v16 of this chapter, the Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand, it was something Moses had come to understand.

This act of obedience while the biggest army in the region closed in behind him and a wall of water stood in front.

God didn’t part the sea before Moses moved, but as Moses moved.

They walked through a wall of water on the right, a wall of water on the left, and dry ground under their feet in between.

Egypt was still coming, and the sea was still there. Can you picture it?

The problem was still there, chasing them from behind, with no path in front. Moses stretched out his hand, and Israel walked straight through the middle of it.

The threat wasn’t removed, but a road was created right through it.

God can do it again for your situation. He can make a road where there is no road.

We’ve all been chased at some point in our childhood, even in our adulthood! A particular fear is attached to the experience. Of course, some are facing this experience, which is far more than a childhood game. But 1 John 4 v 4 says: “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”.

In a couple of verses, we see how God had already moved before they even realised it. His move was their protection.

^“ Then the angel of God, who had been travelling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (Exodus 14 v 19-20)

We all know the feeling of the enemy pressing in hard. We wonder if we will be caught, overtaken and destroyed.

These 2 verses describe a God who has got your back. You don’t have to keep checking over your shoulder.

God stands in the gap and protects you even when you are sleeping.

God doesn’t ask you to defend yourself but to trust that the one who has been guiding you for years will also guard you when it is needed.

Remember the old hymn, ‘Because He lives’? Jesus Christ is alive, and because of this, your future is not to be feared, whatever future that is. The God who has already conquered doesn’t need you to win the battle. He needs you to trust him with it.

God stood between His people and everything that threatened them, and He didn’t move until morning came.

He hasn’t changed.

Do you know the feeling of running out of options? Then you know the Israelites’ experience here. The Red Sea is in front of them, and behind them is the army of Pharaoh. There isn’t a third option; this is it.

 ^“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.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” (Exodus 14 v 10-18)

When we’re frightened and wonder whether we’ll survive, we often look for someone to blame for leading us here. Moses gets it in the neck from the same people he had rescued.

Already the people are thinking of returning to be slaves. “Better to be a slave …” Really? Fear often gives short memories.

Now look at v13-15 again.

Which is it? Standing firm or moving on?!

I believe we can be still and move. Stillness is the posture of trust. It is walking without panicking. They would be about to do something quite miraculous, and it needed steady legs.

The glory of God would be seen through what He does to the enemies. Another way of saying it is this: the enemy becomes the stage for God’s glory. What looks like the end becomes the place where God is most clearly seen.

Are you between a sea and an army right now? With no third option in sight.

Don’t just stand there, but don’t just run either. Be still enough to trust and move enough to obey. Watch what He does with the very thing that terrifies you.

If you’re hemmed in right now, desert on one side, sea on the other and something bearing down behind you, it might not be because you’ve wandered off course. It might be because you’re exactly where God put you.

The place with no way out is where God specialises.

“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, horsemenand troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. 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. “ (Exodus 14 v 1-10)

God doesn’t always lead you away from trouble.

Israel is free, and Egypt is behind them. Then God says: turn back. Camp at Pi Hahiroth, hemmed in by desert, mountains, and sea. It looks like Moses got the map wrong.

It wasn’t a mistake. It was a trap that God set Himself.

“Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'” The plan was to let Pharaoh think they were lost.

Why? So Egypt would know, once and for all, that the Lord is God.

Six hundred of Egypt’s best chariots and horses, an overwhelming force, bearing down on a people with nowhere to run. Sea in front and the enemy behind, oh, and mountains on either side.

That’s the exact position God placed them in.

Maybe that is how you describe your situation today? In verse 10, we all recognise these words: “They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.” Before the miracle, there is usually a fearful cry. Today you may not be stomping the ground in faith. Instead, you may be shaking with fear of what is and what might be. It’s okay; God can work with either attitude.

Could you describe a situation you are in as a ‘waiting period’?

Not every delay is a denial; sometimes it’s direction we need to trust.

“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.” 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.” (Exodus 13 v 17-22)

God didn’t choose the short way. His wisdom is always greater than ours. The shortest route would mean war with the Philistines, and His freed ones were not yet an army.

There are times in your life when things take a long time, and the only explanation is that you or ‘they’ are not ready yet.

The longer way isn’t always punishment; sometimes it’s protection. So, if you are waiting for something to happen, trust that God sees the whole terrain of possibilities, and though you cannot see the reason now, the longer route is the right way.

Two more things: Joseph died without seeing the Promised Land; it is possible to die with faith, believing in something not yet seen. Secondly, notice who is leading this generation out of Egypt. It isn’t Moses; it is the God of Joseph. Our constant God spanning the generations, the same yesterday, today and forever.