As I was reading Exodus 13-15 this morning I was challenged by Moses' exhortation to his fellow Israelites to always remember how the Lord rescued them from Egypt with "the power of his mighty hand" (13:3). As a matter of fact, he mentions this fact four times (vss. 3, 9, 14, 16 in the NLT)! Clearly, Moses wanted the people to know it was God who was going to deliver them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians!
Even more interesting to me was how this was all said before they had even left Egypt! It's only that we read in vs. 17 "when Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road..." The Israelites hadn't even left and yet Moses was already preparing them to know and remember that it was the LORD who was going to do the delivering.
Interesting too how Moses stressed the importance of teaching these truths to the future generations, "the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders" (Psalm 78:4). In two separate, but related places (vss. 8 and 14), Moses tells the Israelites that there will be plenty of opportunities for the Israelites to explain to their children all the details surrounding the events of the Passover and the deliverance from Egypt. Clearly, God's covenant community is already living out Deuteronomy 6:4-9 where they are exhorted to tell their children God's commands as they are "at home" and "on the road" and "when you are going to bed and when you are getting up."
And speaking of the deliverance of Egypt, when crisis strikes isn't it amazing how quickly they forget about God's mighty hand and how he will deliver them from Egypt!? "As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord..." (14:10) and then they grumbled at Moses, "why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt?" (vs. 11) Whether he told them four times, or fourteen times, you wonder if they would've remembered that God was going to deliver them through "the power of his mighty hand"!?
And then I sense the Holy Spirit say to me, "how often have you known the strength and power and might of the LORD and yet you forget when trials come?" Ah yes, I'm just as guilty as the Israelites! Many of us are!
What probably struck me the most this morning though was the difference in response between Moses and God during this crisis. On the one hand Moses, no doubt speaking in great faith, said to the people in 15:13, "don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today." How true this statement is to our own thoughts and actions. Many times I have thought to myself, "let's wait and see how the Lord will provide." In theory and practice there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that. After all, we see countless scriptures like Psalm 27:14 that says "wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."
But on the other hand we see the LORD's immediate words to Moses in 15:15, "why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through..."
Hmm, interesting...Moses says to stand still and watch...God says to get moving and walk!? How do we reconcile this different approach? Probably, too often, we do nothing in the spiritual guise of "standing still and watching" in faith when in actuality it is really paralysis caused by fear. The better option is to always follow where the Lord leads, "to get moving and walk through" whatever might be going on.
Obviously there is wisdom in "being still and knowing God" (Psalm 46:10) as we pray and seek His face for direction on what to do next. But there also comes a time when actions have to be taken, knowing that God, who promises "to never leave us nor forsake us" (Heb. 13:5; Mt. 28:20; Psalm 23 and Jn. 10:11ff) is guiding us and strengthening us with "the power of his mighty hand" (Ex. 13:3).
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