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The time had come for the people to act in a decisive
way. God was and is at work in our world. God observed
the harsh treatment of the Israelites in Egypt. God had
a plan, God’s plan involved a person—Moses. It was an
ordinary day as Moses was tending his father-in-law’s
sheep when he saw what appeared to be a burning bush.
It was odd, there were flames but the fire was not
consuming the bush. Moses approached the bush for a
closer look.
God certainly caught Moses’
attention. God spoke from the burning bush, “I have
observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I
have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.”
Moses might very well have thought—“well it’s about
time” or maybe “that’s nice—but why are you telling
me?” God told Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh to
bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Our
first reaction to such an announcement might be “you
have the wrong person—wrong number God! Why I could
never do that!” That was also Moses’ initial reaction.
Moses protested to God. The task seemed too enormous
besides being dangerous. It’s not like all Moses had to
do was march in to see Pharaoh and ask him to release
the people and the people would be set free. The Lord
God promised Moses, “I will be with you.”
Moses was the right person at the right time to further
God’s plan. Moses was familiar with the royal household
and would be granted an audience with Pharaoh. The
people were waiting for such a time and a leader. God
is able to use all of our life experiences to God’s own
glory. Think for a moment of your own unique
experience, you might be the only person to lead that
certain person to Christ. You might be the only person
that others respect and will be able to bring about
lasting change. God is able to use each one of us and
our own unique experiences.
It
was a defining moment for the people. It was time to
act. While we are more comfortable debating subjects
there comes a time when we must act. In a dramatic turn
of events Moses leads the people away from the
oppressive Egyptians to begin a journey to the land God
promised, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
In
the way of all God inspired ideas there are obstacles to
over come. There were armed guards surrounding Egypt so
Moses would have to devise a plan that the people could
safely escape. Again Moses was not alone in this event;
God would be traveling with him and all the people. The
people would have to cross the Red Sea to freedom.
An
angel of God and a “pillar of cloud” would go before and
behind the people as they made their daring escape.
Following God’s instruction, Moses “stretched out his
hand over the sea.” God divided the waters so the
people could walk through the sea on dry ground.
Thanks to movies we have no problem visualizing the
scene of the people escaping through the sea. This was
no small feat either, it is estimated that between six
hundred thousand and two million people escaped through
the sea. We know how difficult it is to get twenty or
one hundred people moving in the same direction but two
million. Imagine the effort it would take to get so
many people to file through the pathway in an orderly
fashion. No doubt it must have taken hours if not the
better part of the day. While the exact number is not
important we need to realize that it was an entire
nation that escaped that day. The Egyptian economy
would be drastically affected with the departure of its
workforce. The impact would leave Egypt devastated.
Perhaps it is for that reason that Pharaoh changed his
mind, rescinded his order, and sent his army after the
Israelites. The people’s sense of urgency multiplied as
well as danger with the army in hot pursuit of them.
Fear might have gripped them, what would happen to them
if they were caught and made to go back to the land of
slavery? They thought they had it rough before imagine
what it would be like for them if they were caught and
forced to return.
The Egyptian army followed the Israelites through the
sea. The Lord God threw the “Egyptian army into
panic.” God “clogged their chariot wheels” which would
definitely slow them down. What is often overlooked in
this dramatic scene is that the pursuing Egyptians
realized that God was on the side of the Israelites.
“Let us flee from the Israelites,” the Egyptians said to
each other, “for the Lord is fighting for them against
Egypt.” They witnessed and believed in the power of
God.
After all the people were safely across the sea God
instructed Moses once again to “Stretch out your hand
over the sea.” Moses did as he was instructed, the sea
“returned to its normal depth.” The result was
disastrous for the Egyptians who would not survive.
“Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the
Egyptians.” The Exodus is about God. God is the central
character. We need to be reminded that we are here to
worship God. God has acted in delivering the Israelites
to freedom. God has acted in sending Jesus to us. We
need to be reminded because sometimes we think
everything revolves around us, our needs and wants. As
we mature in our faith we come to realize that God plays
a central role in our lives. It is not always about us!
The last verse in our lesson states that, “the people
feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his
servant Moses.” In the next chapter Moses breaks into
song telling of their victory. Even his wife Miriam
sings to God for their incredible triumph. The people
would then embark on a forty year journey through the
desert to the Promised Land.
What a story! This story was told for generations long
after the Exodus. The story was told and retold so that
people might come to believe in God. God has acted in
such dramatic ways.
Two final thoughts remain. While we are drawn to the
spectacular, not everyone comes to faith in such
dramatic fashion. There is a danger in trying to rest
our faith on the spectacular because we always want more
and are never satisfied. God always leaves open the
possibility that something was not a miracle so that
when persons come to faith, they do so of their own free
will and not the result of some spectacular feat.
Second, how do we as individuals and as a church, know
when to leave things alone, the way things are, or step
out in faith to try something new? The answer is to
allow God to use us, to take all of our experiences, and
use them for God’s own glory. Because of our
experiences we might be the only person who can bring
about change—it is not always easy—but with God at our
side we can move forward.
Nonna Bullock is a nurse with a
passion to help people. She remembers watching the
television news when Hurricane Katrina struck New
Orleans three summers ago. She saw people on roofs,
dogs swimming, trash every where, freeways swarming with
survivors, hospital staff treating patients in a parking
garage. She remembers thinking, “Lord, it’s not right.
Those people don’t deserve that. Send someone to help
them.”
Nonna could not get those images out of her mind. One
day the following year a friend called to tell her about
the urgent need for medical staff in New Orleans. Her
first thought was that she could never work in a city
that frightened her, besides she lives one hundred and
forty miles away.
She agreed to tour the Tulane Medical Center in downtown
New Orleans. As she walked through the hospital Nonna
wondered, “Is this it? Is this where I belong?” With
the encouragement of her husband and friends Nonna
accepted a position at that hospital. She works six
days every two weeks. Two other nursing friends also
work at that hospital, they room together in a nearby
hotel.
“I
feel a renewed sense of purpose,” she explains. “Some
days I think of all the times I asked God who was going
to help heal this lovely historic city. I should have
known what God’s answer would be. Me.” (1) May this
be a defining moment in our lives as well.
While we know that eventually the
Israelites would arrive in the Promised Land, after
forty-years, we may not comprehend the difficultly of
this task. There would be days when the people would
throw up their hands in despair stating they wanted to
return to Egypt, but through it all Moses continued to
guide the people to their new future. With God on our
side, we too are journeying to a new tomorrow.
Amen.
1. “Healing A
City” Nonna Bullock, Guidepost, September 2008, pp.
34-39
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