Exodus 14:19-31
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses.
The Book of Exodus comes from the Latin and Greek words that meant literally to come out. Just as side note, when I say Greek while referring to the Old Testament it is not always a mistake. The Jewish people of Old Testament spoke Hebrew however the books of the Old Testament were translated into Greek before we got the Bible we have in English. That Greek translation of the Old Testament is called the Septuagint or LXX in print. Sometimes in the New Testament scriptures where the author is referencing an OT passage and it doesn’t quite match up word for word, that is why. Pastor why would someone translate that OT into Greek if the people spoke Hebrew. The answer to that question is a question, why do so many people speak English here? Stuff got translated into Greek because Greek was the dominant language at the time. So the Book of Exodus title came from Latin and Greek words that meant the way out, but the Hebrew people called this book something different. The Hebrew name for the Book of Exodus translates into names. Names because in this book the people of God solidify the name of their nation, Israel. In Exodus we learn about the name of their leader Moses, and we learn some of the names of God as God shows up to the people.
God had been talking to Moses at first then started showing himself to the people, while they were still in bondage but the 10 plagues came and Pharaoh finally let the people go, and held on to his word for now. During the plagues Pharaoh kept saying he would free the people but as soon as Pharaoh got some relief he went back to oppressing the people of God. Now Pharaoh has said that the Hebrews can go, and kept his promise long enough for them to pack up and leave. Exodus 13 tells us that a cloud guided them by day and a pillar of fire guided them by night. God moved the cloud, and when the cloud moved, the people moved. They didn’t stay in one place, they moved when God told them to move. I don’t know if some church folk could operate in that mindset these days, the age of we have never done it that way before, the age of keep it the same, the age of I don’t understand why we need to that. When God moved the cloud, the people moved with it. Sometimes the environment changes and uncertainty is scary, but sometimes we have to be comfortable, being uncomfortable. I would imagine that some people who left Egypt, did not have it that bad, or as bad as others, and even if they had it bad, it was safe because it was predictable. God is trying to move us to another place, but are we willing to follow to the cloud?
Are you also willing to follow the cloud when the path is not certain? The route to the promised land was not taken through a straight route, matter of fact the end of chapter 13 says that the cloud did not take them through a particular route because that was Palestine country, and God did not want them having to fight a war, and being trying to start a new life. So they were led by the Red Sea, and just about that time Pharaoh changed his mind and started chasing them again. When Pharaoh came, he came with all of his resources and the people of God started to complain to Moses. Saying, they didn’t have enough graves in Egypt? You brought us out to the desert to die? Mind you Pharaoh is the one trying to hurt them, Moses is the one trying to save them do they speak ill of Pharaoh, no they do not, they clown Moses. Not only do they clown Moses, they speak good about Egypt, saying they never wanted to leave in the first place. I wouldn’t believe this to be true if I hadn’t been working in churches as long as I have watched how some church folk treat one another and how they treat their pastors. I wouldn’t believe this situation was possible if there weren’t churches that would rather close their doors than change their music or invite people from the community into their building for more than community service programs. I wouldn’t believe this passage was true if I didn’t neighborhood after neighborhood change and the church in the neighbor hood look nothing like the neighborhood it sits in. That passage I’m talking about is the start of Exodus 14 if you want to read it later. They speak well of someone who doesn’t have their best interest in mind and long for the one that persecuted them. Sometimes change is scary, sometimes change is hard, are you still willing to follow the cloud? Pharaoh had plenty of resources, and used those resources to come ofter the people go God, and when the going got tough, they turned on one another.
Pharaoh was looking to put them back into slavery, another strange part of the text, but not that strange when I look at our American justice system. The 13th amendment of the United States Constitution, section 1 reads Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Pharaoh was trying to re-enslave these people, because there was a countrywide benefit, and there is one in our own country. Slavery in the US was ended by the civil war but for profit prison has become a major industry and has taken its place. I believe someone should pay their debt to society but why should a corporation be able to sue the state they have a for profit prison in if the prison is not full? Why should I as a 7th grader in Northview Middle School in Indianapolis Indiana have to have a counselor put me in special program because she is scared I am going to end up in prison? When I was in middle school, they had come up with a calculation that if a child was in 7th grade, in a single parent home, and not doing well in Math and Science, they were going to end up in prison. People knew that because that was how these for profit prisons made their money, calculating how full they were going to keep their prisons. If the prison is not full, they sue, then the legal system makes harsher penalties, in some states now, an after school fight between kids is a felony Pharaoh is trying to put you back in slavery.
People get put in jail, making items, doing construction, performing trades, for a company only to get out of jail and not be hired by the same company they were building things for in the prison. Pharaoh is trying to put you back into slavery. People go to jail, serve their time, then get out and are told, you need to find a job or else we will put you back in jail, only to apply for jobs and not get them why? Because they have a record, Pharaoh is trying to put you back into slavery. So I perk up when I hear a politician use phrases like “law and order” or a “war on xyx” because those terms mean that people that look like me are trying to be stuffed back into the jail system to never get out while people get rich off of their work. Pharaoh is trying to put you back into slavery, you need to keep following the cloud.
All of this happens, and the cloud and the angel have now moved to the back of the caravan, to protect the people from Pharaoh and his army. Moses stretched out his hand toward the Red Sea and the sea split allowing the people to walk on dry land. Walk where they have never walked before, in a way they have never walked before. We are in unfamiliar territory now, a divided nation over politics, a pandemic that has made things even more complicated, we have had to learn new vocabulary, operate different. Everything has changed, church has changed, shopping has changed, eating out has changed. Even if you never stopped, I guarantee the store has. You don’t want to wear a mask? Talk through this Plexiglas, you don’t want to social distance, cool carry out only Ma’am and Sir. Life is different. But through all the changes, just like the cloud and the Angel and the pillar stayed with the people of God and was even their rear guard. God will have our backs too. We will walk on dry land in places where there wasn’t any we will be protected and Pharaoh will loose. The text says their wheels were clogged, a better translation is that their wheels were removed. God removed the system and support that allowed them to chase after the people of God trying to put them back in slavery.
They feared the Lord, they learned that the Lord was who he said he was. God told Moses in the burning bush I AM THAT I AM, or I WILL BE WHO I WILL BE, God is here to provide protection, we will see it to the end. Pharaoh’s army drowned in the Red Sea, a play on words some scholars say it was really the Reed Sea, or a Sea of Reeds, but it is also a play on words because it also means in the translations “the sea of the end” the end of pharaoh. The victory was so decisive that even the enemy had to acknowledge the Lord God Almighty. The best thing was that the people of God didn’t do anything to earn the protection and the presence of God, God did it because he loved them. God loves us. God is with us in times of uncertainty, God is with us when the enemy is chasing us, God is with us when he takes the enemies resources away.
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