Friday, February 8, 2008

Good Morning!

Just wanted to give you a word of warning.... today's passage is a tad bit long. However, there is a reason for that (namely that I needed the whole story). So if you could please just bear with me this one time, I think you'll see the importance of reading the whole passage.

I pray this finds you well and that God blesses you today. If you have some extra time this weekend, check out the links I added to the sidebar. I know you'll like them. And please let me know of any others I should be adding!

Love,
Becky


Get Moving

Then the Lord gave these instructions to Moses: “Order the Israelites to turn back and camp by Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. Camp there along the shore, across from Baal-zephon. Then Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are confused. They are trapped in the wilderness!’ And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after you. I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord!” So the Israelites camped there as they were told. When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelites had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds. “What have we done, letting all those Israelite slaves get away?” they asked. So Pharaoh harnessed his chariot and called up his troops. He took with him 600 of Egypt’s best chariots, along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, each with its commander. The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so he chased after the people of Israel, who had left with fists raised in defiance. The Egyptians chased after them with all the forces in Pharaoh’s army—all his horses and chariots, his charioteers, and his troops. The Egyptians caught up with the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Pi-hahiroth, across from Baal-zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’” But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!" (Exodus 14:1-15, NLT)

I've been thinking about the Israelites a lot lately. I love Old Testament stories because they are so rich in what they teach us. They are all about people with struggles and faults and sins just like my own, and yet God used those people and loved those people and called them His chosen. And He uses their stories to help me to grow and to mold my character. If I choose to listen and learn, that is.

This story was very interesting to me because of how quickly the Israelites' boldness, trust and exuberance turned to immobilizing fear. They started out on such a high as they marched out of their old life of slavery with "fists raised in defiance". They were free! They were headed for the Promised Land!

God was most likely doing a dance right along with them. And He wanted the Egyptians to know once and for all that He was the Lord. He wanted the Israelites in on it too; He wanted to partner with them to let His glory be known to those who had held His people captive for so long. So He told Moses to let His people in on His plan. How fun, right?! Oh no, things were never that easy. In spite of knowing what was coming and why it was happening, the Israelites literally freaked out when they saw Pharaoh and his army. They cried out to God and they cried out to Moses.

I think maybe God got just a wee bit perturbed with their attitude because right in the midst of Moses trying to calm the people down and remind them that God would fight for them, He asks why they're crying out to Him and tells Moses to tell the people to get moving!

The Israelites could have had fun with this little plan of God's if they had only trusted enough to take Him at His word. They could have seen the Egyptians coming and felt a sense of heightened anticipation as they waited to see what God would do. And once He had Moses part the Red Sea, they could have run out to the middle, looked back at the Egyptians, stuck their tongues out with a "Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah," and just dared Pharaoh and his soldiers to come after them, knowing it would be the last move those Egyptians would ever make. Partnering with God could have been so much fun! But instead of experiencing the fun and excitement of the miracle in the moment, they experienced it with fear and did not allow themselves to feel the joy until it was all over. They angered God and cheated themselves all because of a lack of trust.

I wonder how many times in my life I could have experienced the joy of the miracles God brought my way if I had chosen to trust Him and believe Him instead of choosing to fear.

It's an interesting question...