ISRAEL IN THE DESERT

With all the listening to the Lord, repeating what God said to Pharaoh, and  repeating it once again to the Hebrew families, Moses believed he and Aaron were about to leave Egypt with all of the people he had been charged to free...finally. The two could hardly believe it, but they rallied to believe and got busy.


Egypt had succumbed at last as they buried their dead first-borns, although Pharaoh made one last attempt to bring the Israelites to heel, but the people escaped when God intervened.  And that is our story for today.


When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them directly toward the promised land which would have been the road through Philistine country, as the Philistines were not friendly to the Israeli people. Instead, God sent them around by the desert road toward the Red Sea where they camped. The Lord led the way at the front of the people, by night with a pillar of fire, and by day by a pillar of cloud. They were in God's hands. They camped where they were told and moved when they were told, trusting and glad to be free.  Then God led them back to an earlier camp, intersecting  between two campsites making it look as if they were lost, or unsure where to go next, hemmed in by the desert.  The Lord had decided to harden Pharaoh's heart once more and make him pursue the Israelites in order to show the world that only God has the right to Glory.


The Egyptians pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea.  As Pharaoh approached them, the Israelites looked up to see the Egyptians, Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops, overtaking them.  The people did not know God's plan, and they were terrified, shouting and crying, and calling out to the Lord. Moses tried to calm them, "Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see? You will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still."


Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so the people can go through the sea on dry ground.  The  Egyptians will go in after them.  This is how I will gain glory and they will know that I am the Lord."


And that is just what Moses did. The sea opened up for the people to cross over, and the Pharaoh followed with his army.  Then, the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.  Moses did this and at daybreak the sea went back to its place.  No one in Pharaoh's army survived.


The people acknowledged the power of the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses, his servant.   And the people sang a song to the Lord in worship and celebration:  "Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power."


The study in my bible added a bit of interest: "There was no apparent way of escape, but the Lord opened up a dry path through the sea.  Sometimes we find ourselves caught in a problem and see no way out.  Don't panic, God can open up a way." (End of today's story)


Been there; done that!


Jo INMN