Summer At Sea: Week 4 Day 3
Exodus 14:5-14
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.
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. 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.”
One of the most fascinating things in Exodus is God’s complete control of everything. God sent Pharaoh after the Israelites, “hardening his heart” (Exodus 14:8). Why? Well, to the Israelites, the Egyptians, their king, and their false gods were the things they feared most. So what does God do? God sets up a perfect situation for Him to go to war for all of them. Notice how yesterday and today we see that they encamped at Pi Hahiroth? That seems normal, but why does the Bible tell us that it was opposite Baal Zephon? Well, Baal Zephon was a mountain dedicated to the wicked false god Baal. Its imposing mountain figure across the vast sea and the impending doom of war behind them were a setup. The Lord of hosts had a plan to bring all that stood against Him and His people to shame; because of this we get these words that echo into our lives today:
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” (Exodus 14:13-14).