“Stand Still and SEE the Lord’s Salvation” Exodus 14:1-31
Dr. Gary M. Barker
One of the greatest displays of God’s supernatural deliverance of His people Israel was their being set free from slavery thru the miraculous display of God’s omnipotence in the 10 Plagues. The entire nation departed from Egypt being led by Moses as he marches toward the promised land of Canaan. The Lord led Moses with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). The Lord led His people to the Red Sea near Migdol where they set up camp. Unbeknown to Moses and Israel, Pharaoh changes his mind about letting the Jews depart from Egypt and decides to pursue and recapture them and return Israel to Egypt as slaves (Exodus 14:1-9). Pharaoh brought his army together with 600 chariots and rode off with haste to overtake and recapture the fleeing Israelites. When Pharaoh and his army got near to the encamped Israelites and they could see the large army in pursuit, they became extremely afraid and cried to the Lord. The people falsely accused Moses of delivering them from slavery to only bring them into the wilderness so that they could die by the hand of Pharaoh. They told Moses that he should have left them alone in Egypt because it would have been better to serve as slaves than die in the wilderness. What foolish and slanderous ideas expressed in fear (Exodus 14:10-12). The people seemed to constantly forget that the Lord Jehovah was with them. Moses comes to the rescue as their fearless leader. Moses assures the people that the Lord will deliver and fight for them. The Lord instructs Moses to lift up his rod toward the sea and it would divide, making it possible to cross the sea on dry ground (Exodus14:13-16). Moses obeyed God and the sea divided and people walked across it. The Lord went from being ahead of the people to being behind the people in order to prevent Pharaoh’s army from harming anyone. As the people go across on dry ground, Pharaoh’s army pursued them with the walls of the sea on both sides of them. After the people got safely across to the other side, God caused the water to return and Pharaoh’s entire army was destroyed (Exodus14:17-29). In Exodus 14:30-31, several things are written by Moses: 1) The Lord saved Israel from being destroyed; 2) The Israelites saw all the dead Egyptians who were their enemies laying on the sea shore; 3) Israel, after seeing this great miracle, feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and His servant Moses. The Lord again displayed His great love and care for His people. God will always rescue and aide believers who TRUST in Him.
Lessons to Be Learned:
- God desires to RELIEVE His people from their fears and distresses.
- God desires that His people live by FAITH and not panic when difficult circumstances occur: Philippians 4:6.
- God desires to manifest HIS ALMIGHTY POWER in order to deliver His people from seeming impossible problems.
Principle:
God’s power is displayed in proportion to our Faith. Greater the faith, greater will be the display of God’s power. Hebrews: 11:6.