Exodus 13:17-14:31 (ESV)
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.
The wilderness is a training ground for our faith in God as well as a proving ground for God’s faithfulness to us.
The wilderness is not a waste because there we experience God’s ability to lead and deliver us.
The Truth: God Leads Us Exactly Where We Need to God (Exodus 13:17-22)
1. God leads His people (13:17-18, 21-22)
2. God leads His people by being with them continually (13:21-22)
3. God leads us according to His knowledge of us (13:17-18)
4. God leads us on unexpected paths (13:17-18; 4:1-3) at an unpredictable pace (40:36-38)
• Application: Wait by resting in God’s wisdom and trusting in God’s timing
The Trial: Will We Trust God’s Leading in the Midst of Fear? (Exodus 14)
1. God’s wisdom in leading them and directing them put to the test (14:1-2)
2. God’s ability to protect and deliver tested by threats and fears faced in the wilderness (14:3-10)
3. God’s faithfulness, power, and love proven in Israel’s deliverance and Exodus (14:15-31)
4. Fight fear by faith in God (14:10-14, 30-31) or fight unhealthy fear with a healthy fear of God
• Application: Fight fear by shifting your eyes up to God
• Application: Fight fear by trusting God to fight your battles
“So He takes us the long way. And that’s not the wrong way. Because there’s a funny thing that happens on the long way–you actually do become something rather than just end up somewhere. In fact, you might say it like this: the most formative parts of your lives–the ones that fashion real character, dependence, faith, and perseverance - are often the most difficult. When you feel like you are wandering around in circles, when you don’t seem to be making any progress, and when you might even feel trapped–those are the forging times.” (Michael Kelley)
“Remember this, child of God: our Father often acts unconventionally. He likes to choose the unseen path for his people to walk. But he always has a way to save. Sometimes it’s through the sea. He’ll always provide, but often from sources we would never suspect (see 1 Kings 17:8–16; Matt. 6:25–34).
God is faithful, but he’s rarely predictable.
God is trustworthy, and he’s marvelously creative in the way he cares for us. He delights in bringing us home by way of the sea so that after we’ve set our feet on the dry land of our destination, the only thing we can say is ‘God did this.’ In the end, he charts his way through the sea so that he will ‘get glory’ and all will ‘know that [he is] the LORD’ (Exodus 14:4).” (Garett Kell)
For further study
• “The Long Way is not the Wrong Way” by Michael Kelley at For the Church: https://ftc.co/resource-library/blog-entries/the-long-way-is-not-the-wrong-way
• “His Way was Through the Sea” by Garrett Kell at thegospelcoalition.org: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/his-way-was-through-the-sea/
• Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of God by Michael Reeves
God leads us:
o Exodus 15:13
o Deuteronomy 8:2, 15 and 29:15
o Psalms 78:52-54 (cross reference: 77:20; 80:1; 136:16)
o Amos 2:10 (cross reference: Nehemiah 9:12)
o Isaiah 48:21
o Ezekiel 20:10.
God is with us:
o Exodus 3:12 and 40:36-38
o Numbers 9:16-23
o Deuteronomy 1:31, 31:6-8, and 32:10-12
o Joshua 1:5
o Psalms 23:1-4
o Isaiah 41:10 and 43:2
o Matthew 1:23; 28:20
o John 1:14, 14:26, and 16:7
o Hebrews 13:5
Red Sea crossing:
o Deuteronomy 5:15 and 11:2-4
o Joshua 2:10, 4:23, and 24:7
o Nehemiah 9:9
o Psalms 44:3, 77:16-20, 106:7-12, and 136:12-13
o Isaiah 43:16-17, 50:2, 51:10, and 63:11-14
o Acts 7:36
o 1 Corinthians 10:1-4
o Hebrews 11:29
Fear not:
o Exodus 14:13
o Deuteronomy 1:29-31 and 3:22
o Joshua 1:9
o Psalms 46, 56:4, 11, and 91:5
o Isaiah 35:4, 41:10, 13-14, and 43:1-5
o Mark 5:36 and 6:50
o Hebrews 13:6
o Revelation 1:17
Stand firm:
o Psalms 31:24 and 57:7
o Ephesians 6:11-13
o Philippians 1:27 and 4:1
o 1 Corinthians 15:58 and 16:13
o 2 Thessalonians 2:15
o 1 Peter 5:8-9
God’s power:
o Isaiah 41:10
o Mark 4:39-40
o 2 Chronicles 20:6
o Job 26:7-14
o Psalms 71:18 and 147:4-5
o Jeremiah 10:12-13 and 32:17
o Romans 1:20
For this week’s sermon application guide, click this URL: https://storage2.snappages.site/QG8D8X/assets/files/Wilderness_exodus-13.docx