Exodus 14:1-14
Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:08:42
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· 3,438 viewsWorship and Sermon by John Radzikowski
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning church and thank you all for coming to worship with us in Spirit and in Truth.
As you know we are living in time that none of us here have ventured, a time when the Gospel can produce great fruit for the Kingdom of God.
While Covid-19 is spreading, the gospel is spreading at a much more rapid rate.
Therefore, let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith! Amen!!
Prayer
Read Psalm 23 and share a few thoughts
When you read Psalm 23 you can see great blessings in it, until you get to verse 4.
When you read above verse 4 and below it, its all good, but verse 4 brings some perspective, a perspective that we all don’t like to go through, but is necessary in this life and the life to come
Notice, verse 4 says, Yea, though I walk the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: For you are with me! AMEN!
I would like to talk about a group of people called the Israelites that came to this valley.
They came to a dead end, where God brought them to the end of their-selves and caused them to look up because their redemption draweth nigh.
Let us open our Bibles to Exodus 14
Read verses 1-14
A Brief History
A Brief History
The Lord had sent 10 plagues upon Egypt and Pharaoh was like: Take your people, your flocks, and herds Moses and go, get out of my land, be gone! Scholars believe there was about 2 million Israelites that left. Exodus 12:29-33
They were slaves in Egypt for about 430 years. See church Egypt represents the world or is a type of the world, while Pharaoh is a picture of the devil and darkness. Exodus 12:40-41.
God institutes passover regulations and Israel celebrates the First Feast of unleavened bread or the Passover.
This is why they celebrate it:
And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
5. The Lord was leading them by a Pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. The Angel of the Lord would go before them.
The angel of the Lord encampeth Round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
6. So the Egyptians started to realize they made a grave mistake by letting Israelites go because is started to rather quickly impact their economy, so Pharaoh decided he would go after them.
And here is were we pick up the story:
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’
They just celebrated the salvation of the Lord. He delivered them form 430 years of slavery and right away God brings them a trail or a test if you may.
See its important for us to know that the spot the Lord had told them to camp, was some where between and rock and a hard place.
We have a tendency in our lives to take the easiest possible routes to everywhere.
But the easiest way, is not necessarily the best way, or even God’s will for that matter.
So God has them backed in a corner or deliberately in the valley of the shadow of death.
Pi-hahiroth literally means “mouth of the gorges.” Migdol means “tower.”
They were camped in a valley, between 2 mountains with the Red Sea ( sea of reeds at their back)
Can you hear Moses’ advisors must have said, this is not a good idea, the strategy is poor, “If the Egyptians change their minds and pursue us, we would be sitting ducks.”
The only way for them to escape, would be for them to go out the same way they came in.
Israel is at a dead end, they have no where to go, But God had promised Mo that He would come through.
We must remember that God is sovereign over all our trails, He allows them into our lives to mature us, to grow us into the image of his Son
Have you ever been at a dead end? With no where to turn, nobody to turn to but the Lord?
We all like easy street, right? The easier softer way.
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Church, we must learn to yield God’s voice! My sheep hear my voice and follow me. Moses followed God when others whined and complained.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
See with God, this was no dead end, this was the avenue to victory.
Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.
So even though they were at a dead end street, God was working behind the scenes
Because where God guides, he provides
Now some in the church today, will take a verse like this and say God is love, he did not harden Pharaoh’s heart, Pharaoh hardened his own heart., which is true if you read earlier in Exodus:
But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.
There is a good picture here. God pursues people all through life. He sends laborers to share the gospel in word and deed.
He wishes not any should perish, but that all would repent and come into everlasting life.
But here, the text says God hardened Pharaohs heart.
Church, we either accept the gospel or reject the gospel when we here it.
We either accept the teaching at hand or reject the teaching at hand.
Should we reject it, I believe the heart hardens and the next time the gospel is shared, the Word is shared, it makes it more difficult to receive the implanted word which is able to save your soul.
Praise God we are on the other side of the cross
Praise God for the finished work on the cross
Praise God for the Rock of our salvation.
The Egyptians knew they totally messed up, rather rapidly they started having economic problems.
Remember Church, it is believed that their was over 2 million Israelites that exited Egypt. They were slaves, doing all the work.
Can you imagine the impact this would have on an economy?
Did you catch the end of verse 8?
And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness.
Israel went out with boldness!
Boldness- to lift up to a high elevation, to be high above, to be full of pride
Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is clear to me, that God attempted to bring Pharaoh to the place of repentance, but he refused and the text says, God hardened his heart.
So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
Just imagine! Six-hundred of the latest chariots to be built for warfare and hundreds of other chariots mobilized for battle.
The number of foot soldiers no doubt numbered in the tens of thousands.
But this was not all. Pharaoh mobilized his horsemen and the troops that supported them.
As stated, the army was of enormous size.
A major military campaign was being planned and launched against God’s people, a campaign to capture and enslave and bring them back to Egypt.
And then the armed march began. Pharaoh pursued the Israelites and overtook them where they were camping by the sea
Remember church, the Israelites are at a dead end street. The only way out at least in their eyes is to go out they way they came in. Look at what happens next:
And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
As long as the Israelites kept their eyes on the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, they were walking by faith and no enemy could touch them.
But when they took their eyes off the LORD and looked back and saw that the Egyptians getting nearer, they became frightened and begin to complain.
We can see in the life of Israel that as long as everything was going well, they usually obeyed the Lord and Moses and made progress.
But id there was any trail or discomfort in their circumstances, they immediately began to complain to Moses and to the Lord and asked to go back to Egypt.
However, before we criticize the Jews, perhaps we better examine our own hearts. Israel is a picture of you and of me.
How much disappointment of discomfort does it take to make us unhappy with our current circumstances and God’s will in our lives?
How long does it take for us to begin to stop believing that God is sovereign and on his throne?
How long before we start complain and like the Israelites become full of fear?
Israel took their eyes off of God, and they became afraid.
The text shows us they did not cry out to God, but immediately were full of fear because of what they seen.
They began to panic and forgot
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
God had promised to take them to the promised land, he had not failed them yet, but yet they did not trust His promises.
When we forget that God is in control, that he given us great a precious promises to hold on to, we will begin living in fear.
Fear, he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear in the fire
'Cause fear he is a liar
Throughout the Word of God we can see the people taking their eyes off God and placing them on the circumstances surrounding them. God then shows up and shows who is really in control.
Exodus, Part I (Chapters 1–18) (King James Version) B. The First Crisis of Israel in the Wilderness—Crossing the Red Sea: God’s Great Deliverance, 14:1–31
The people of God felt hopeless and helpless. There they were a defenseless people, including women and children, about to be attacked by the mightiest army on earth. They saw no way of deliverance and were gripped with a deep, intense despair. They blamed and condemned God’s leader. They forgot God’s mighty arm of salvation and deliverance.
Israel was at a dead end.
They had no where to go and the only person that could save them was the Lord.
Three things to learn:
God wants us to see our limitations so that we will stop relying on self. When we rely on self, arrogance comes in or pride, thus we fall, just like Pharaoh.
God will bring us to a dead end in hopes that we surrender to His Lordship and his sovereignty .
God desires us to trust him, he wants us to see who he is.
Let’s look at what God does next:
And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
In the midst of this pandemic over the Covid-19 otherwise known as the coronavirus, God is telling us today, just like Moses told the Israelites over 2000 years ago to not be afraid! For he will protect you, for He will fight for you!
We must starve our fears and feed our faith!
What have you been doing since the media has started blasting us with all this????
I close with a few verses that helps me to understand fear a little better:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
There is a Pharaoh in the land and many are focusing there and full of fear.Let us keep our eyes on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith and be wise as serpents and harmless as dove.
Let us not put our lamps under a bushel, but keep them full of oil because Jesus is coming quickly.
Where are your eyes? Remember, perfect love casts out fear! God is in control!
Prayer
Announcements
Does anyone have any announcements?
Church with the coronavirus situation at hand we should be pressing into God’s Kingdom more now than ever before. The harvest is more ripe, therefore share the Gospel every chance you get. People that don’t know Jesus are asking questions and they need hope! So let us be hope givers this week!
Currently there are two prayer meetings scheduled with soup in between them.
We will be having a board meeting after church today to discuss what is going on around us. Should anything change, we will send an email out to you all. If your not on our email list, please sign up.
Benediction
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
The Lord bless your week!
Your Mission starts now!