Saved for God’s Glory
D. L. Moody sums up 120 years of Moses’ life this way: “Moses spent forty years thinking he was somebody; then he spent forty years on the backside of the desert realizing he was nobody; finally, he spent the last forty years of his life learning what God can do with a nobody!” From somebody to nobody, then to God’s body. God displays his glory and makes his name great by saving his people out of bondage and making them holy – God’s body, God’s holy people. In Psalm 50:15, God says “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” The theme of Exodus is “saved for God’s glory.”
Today’s scripture, Exodus 14, begins with how God leads Israel after the Exodus (“getting out”) from slavery in Egypt. God could lead them to the Promised Land in less than two weeks. But for God, the shortest way is not necessarily the best way. Rather, God’s way is always the “holy way.” God saved his people, so that they might become holy and live freely as God’s children. By this, Israel would give God glory. In Leviticus 11:45 God says, “I brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, be holy.” God leads the Israelites in the exact opposite direction, taking them south, away from Canaan, into the wilderness. So they encamp near Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea (v. 2). From the standpoint of military strategy, it’s a suicidal act. In front of them, there is the Red Sea, behind them the Egyptian army, beside them Egypt’s forts (Midgol means “tower”). Basically, the Israelites are surrounded on every side. They are completely vulnerable. But that was God’s plan. God says, “Pharaoh will think that the Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion. He will pursue the Israelites. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord” (v. 4).
Three Commands
The path the Israelites are on is
not the shortest way. It is not the safest way. But it is the best way because
it is God’s way, because it is the holy way, God-glorifying way. But of course,
the Israelites don’t see it yet. When they see the Egyptian army marching after
them, they are totally afraid. They cry out in fear to God.
Then, Moses issues three commands: “Fear not, stand firm… be still.” First, Moses says, “Fear not.” Out of fear, the people complain against God and Moses, saying, “Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (v. 12) We are often tempted to do the same thing. We decide to follow Christ, but as soon as we start having problems and become vulnerable because of the new way of living, we get scared and go right back to our old ways of coping: anger, addiction, depression, backsliding. We may hate our old ways, but there is security in the way we used to live, so we return to the same old harmful relationships, the same old sinful attitudes, and the same old bad habits. And the root cause of all this is fear – fear of man, fear of losing control, fear of losing identity, fear of dying and death. But God wants to save us out of that fear, that bondage. The Bible says, “[Jesus] came to set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying” (Heb 2:15). The phrase “do not be afraid” is written in the Bible 365 times. God encourages us to live everyday without fear.
Fear not. Stand firm. The verb hityatsev used here means to “report for duty.” Like a solider reporting for duty awaits his orders, God wants his people to attentively wait for their time to march forward. Like the Israelites, we are in a spiritual battle everyday, and in that battle we need to stand our ground. The Apostle Paul by the Spirit gives us the same marching orders. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, therefore…” (Eph 6:13-14). When we are tempted to give up and run away, God says, “Stand firm.” When we are tempted to cry out in fear, God says, “Stand firm.” When we are tempted to lose our heart and grumble, God says, “Stand firm.”
Fear not. Stand firm. Be still. In times of trouble it is not easy to be still and wait for God. At one point Charles Spurgeon says, "I dare say that you will think it a very easy thing to stand still. But it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. I find that marching and quick marching are much easier to God's warriors than standing still." But, Moses says to his people, “Be still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Here we find the Hebrew word Yeshua (Jesus’ name in Hebrew). It’s essentially saying, “Be still and look to Jesus, the salvation of the Lord. Be still and know that all your salvation is in him. Be still, and know that you have nothing to contribute at all.”
The Man in the Middle
The people cry out in fear and in
rebellion. Then, in verse 15 the Lord says to Moses, “Why are you crying out to
me?” God rebukes Moses. Moses gets
rebuked for the Israelites’ sin. And later, he is also a vehicle for God’s
saving power as he divides the water with his staff. Moses is the man in the
middle, who is so identified with the
Israelites that their guilt is upon him, and also the man who is so
identified with God that God's power
is coming through him. Moses is a mediator. Now we have a better mediator, who
is fully God and fully man, Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible says, “Jesus is
worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor
than the house itself” (Heb 3:3). Jesus is the greater Moses.
Earlier, we learned God’s plan that he would gain his glory at Pharaoh’s expense. He said, “I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army” (v. 4). God used the same strategy when he sent his Son to the cross. Just as to Pharaoh it seemed like Israel had no idea what they were doing in the desert, so to Satan it must have seemed like Jesus had no idea what he was doing. He was the Son of God, but he allowed himself to be handed over to sinful men, who mocked him, beat him, and crucified him. On the cross he was so vulnerable. Satan thought he had the strategic advantage, and he pressed it to the death. But of course, this was his fatal mistake, because the whole thing was a ruse. The cross was not a defeat for Jesus but an eternal victory over sin, death, and the evil one. The Bible says, “He [Jesus] disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross” (Colossians 2: 15, NLT).
The Pillar of Cloud and Fire
Today we may feel like standing in
front of the Red Sea, hard pressed on every side. But instead of running away,
all we need to do is stand still and look to Jesus, God’s salvation. While
standing and waiting for God, we may feel so vulnerable today, but we need to remember
this: we are completely safe and secure in God’s presence.
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, God was always present to protect them and guide them. “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people” (13:21-22). When the Egyptian army was marching after them, the pillar of cloud moved from the front and stood behind the Israelites. The pillar of cloud, then the pillar of fire at night settled between the Egyptians and Israelites so that the Egyptians could not come near the Israelites. This shows that God is with his people all the time, day and night, to guard them as well as to guide them.
In his sermon on Exodus 14 Dr. King shares his personal story with us. Mrs. King and he had a chance to spend a lovely weekend near the ocean. They watched the sunset behind the ocean. As the sun appeared to be sinking to the ocean, the moon appeared to be rising from the ocean. From this experience, Dr. King says, “[In times of darkness and despair] we feel that there is no light anywhere. But ever and again, we look toward the east and discover that there is another light that shines even in the darkness.” Then, he continues,
God has two lights: a light to
guide us in the brightness of the day when hopes are fulfilled and
circumstances are favorable, and a light to guide us in the darkness of the
midnight when we are thwarted and the slumbering giants of gloom and hopelessness
rise in our souls.[1]
The Death of Evil on the Seashore
God is with us when we lie down in
green pastures. God is with us when we go through the darkest valley. Not only
is God with us, but he goes before us. God has a plan for us. Our God is able
to save us and make a way for us. Today’s story, Exodus 14, concludes this way:
That day the LORD saved Israel
from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead
on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD
displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put
their trust in him and in Moses his servant (vv. 30-31).
Now the Israelites have a different kind of fear: “fear of God” instead of fear of man and fear of death. They are standing in awe of God. They are transformed into God’s image from one degree of glory to another – from somebody to nobody, then to God’s body. Today may we hear the voice of the Spirit: Fear not. Stand firm. Be still and look to Jesus. That will make you a Christian if you’re not yet. Be still and look to Jesus. That will make you holy. Be still and look to Jesus. And he will come and save you. By this, you will glorify God. Amen.
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