Feb 3: Exodus 13-15

Feb 3, Exodus 13-15

Exodus 13. So, God just brought the Israelites out of bondage and slavery in Egypt. Historians suggest that there was well over a million people in this exodus! That is a long way from the 70 that Abraham had started with… Here in chapter 13 God is calling the Israelites to be faithful (this time through the sacraments of passover and the feast of unleavened bread) - but this something God will continue to do throughout the entire Old Testament and up to today. For the reminders, God is requiring from this point forward that God wants all the firstborn males consecrated (to set apart for service to the Lord as they were spared in the tenth plague to Him and all of the the first born animals sacrificed to Him - these are both a remembrance of what God has just done for them. At first it seems out of place that Moses, the author of this book, would not continue on with the details of the journey and this experience. Nope - he pauses and tells us about consecration and sacrifices. This is actually not out of place at all - this is a great practical reminder that we are to remember what the Lord has done and remember what the Lord wants of us. Verse 9 is where God sets the priorities for the Israelites to never forget what God has done for them by His mighty hand - not anybody else’s or consequential events (modern scientists blame the plagues on cosmic storms or ‘coincidence’ - but you and I know that coincidence is when God remains anonymous and that God controls all the weather and bugs!). 

Then we learn about the pillars of cloud to guide them during the day and pillars of fire that God provided for the Israelites to guide them at night. God took them the long way to protect them from the Philistines (which would have been the shorter route), but God was potentially protecting them, as the way back to Egypt would have been easier. This way, the Lord makes returning to their former life, more of an obstacle to get there. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. That is just one of many ways that God protects and provides for His people, never forget these stories - we can lean on them when we feel isolated and abandoned, because we are not!

Exodus 14. God then tells Moses to instruct the Israelites to set up camp next to the Red Sea. God further explains to Moses that He is going to again harden Pharaoh’s heart and that God will get glory over Pharaoh and all his peoples… and this is exactly what happens. Pharaoh, King of Egypt, is told that the Israelites fled (which he knew about), and he has a change of ‘heart.’ So he loads up all the best chariots and his entire army and pursues the Israelites with impressive force. As you can imagine, this caused some incredible drama back at the Red Sea campout. The Israelites have just seen the mighty hand of God removing them from bondage, and they are being led by pillars of fire - and yet they are pretty much focused on the army behind them and the big body of water in front of them, blocking their escape route. I am sure you have done the same thing, as God pulls you out of one issue, but instead of marveling what He has done, your too busy focused on the new issue at hand... Anyhow, back to the story. They are freaking out and calling for Moses and he basically tells them to shut up and watch God work. God tells Moses to get the people going - Moses needs to use his staff and stretch his hand out over the sea to divide it - basically the Israelites are going to get a front row seat to witnessing the Glory of God and the power of His mighty hand again. Remember here - God’s purpose is to save the Israelites - but more so to show His power to Pharaoh and His superiority over the false gods of Egypt -  there is no God like Yahweh. But, God is in control of all of these things (for our own lives when things make no sense, God is doing a lot more behind the scenes than you can see…). Back to the Red Sea - Then the angel of God who was going before the Israelites moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, blocking the Egyptians from the Israelites.  Moses stretches out his hand and the staff that God gave him and waters literally parted. The million plus people walked across the floor of the ocean on dry ground. The Egyptians come in after them to kill them and God closes the water up on them, as the Israelites went out on to the other side, as the Egyptians army force all drowned. I love this in verse 25 - “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” Amen to that! There is another verse in the Bible that we will see later that states, "If the Lord is for us, who can be against us?" Yes, he does fight for the Israelites and He fights for us too. All the Egyptians in there are killed as Moses obeyed God and put out his staff again and the water closed up. The people of Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses (14:31). 

Exodus 15 is a proper celebration song to the Lord! Moses reminds the Israelites and us of God’s power and might, and that the Lord is a man of war. And that Yahweh is His Name (verse 3). We also see that in verse 11, there are no other gods like the god of the Bible. They might try to be awesome and great, but no one can stand up to the great strength of the God of the Bible. We also get to see a little bit more about who God is and His great love He has for us as His people, as in verse 13, and that the Lord is a God that redeems His people will be a major theme, both in the Bible and in all of our lives. We also get to see one of the first women who leads, who is his sister Miriam. Her song is a good reminder to praise God for his mightiness and power. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! But before get to a happy ever after ending, we find that it isn't 3 days before they start to not like the desert. These people whom were just saved from Egypt, don't like the bitter water. Oh, how we as people can be annoying sometimes. Here God does all these amazing things, and we can't even finish the chapter without reading about how unthankful humans are sometimes. But God, in His unfailing, unending love, not only gives them water, but promises that he won't let the people have any diseases if they obey and serve Him faithfully. Well. We will see how that plays out. But for now. They are all resting by an oasis, awaiting for the next journey. 

To sum it all up:

• God is all powerful and he orchestrates all things, including our lives. Most of the time, He is working behind the scenes of our lives and working everything out for those who love Him. 
• Coincidence is when God remains anonymous - He is behind all things.
• God can do things that we wouldn't even dream about.