Meeting at 2511 North Logan Avenue •
Colorado Springs, CO 80909 •
719-590-1477
-
"The Insanity of Unbelief--Blinded by God"
Exodus 14
July 11, 2010
by C.W. Powell
Audio:
Please open you Bibles to Exodus 14. We want to read the entire Chapter.
There are a few things I would say about this history recorded here in Exodus 14.
First of all, there is no possible way that Moses could have perpetrated a hoax on future generations by making all this up. Six hundred thousand males, plus women and children were witnesses to these events. We have the names of a great many of these people, recorded over and over again in the books of Moses. Geneologies, ages that they died, events in their lives. There would have been a great many opportunities for people to have revealed a fiction if such had been the case. We are going to see that the people didn’t even like Moses very well, and raised a number of objections to him and Aaron. Not once was he accused of fictionalizing this account.
The history of Moses was taken at face value by the Lord Jesus and the Apostles and there is certainly no reason why we should not take it seriously.
The wise Solomon said, Pr 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” There are two reasons to trust in the promises of God. These things are written to build out faith.
1. Because of His attributes. “The Name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe.….” Omnipotence; Wisdom; Immutability; Infinity
2. Because of His integrity. He will certainly keep His word in all ages. How could He do it? There was no way that Moses or any of the children of Israel could have foreseen these events.
But let us look at the text. I am not going to go into the details, for they are sufficiently set for in what we read.
I. It is God who is honored in all these events.-
A. Not the Egyptians,
1. for their hearts were hardened and they were given over to folly.
2. Foolishness of following Israel into the Red Sea. Did not believe that God makes a difference between people. This was the great sin of Israel even at the end of the Old Testament:
Mal 2:17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied [him]? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil [is] good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where [is] the God of judgment?
3. The Red Sea would be salvation for some, and complete ruin for others.
B. Not Israel. They were frightened and murmured against Moses. “Did you bring us out to died in the wilderness?” Unbelief produces fear, and trembling. What if? What if? What if? And imagines all sorts of dire things. We told you so!
C. Not Moses: implied rebuke to Moses in verse 15.
1. “Why criest unto me?” Moses was braver in the exterior than he was in the interior. He put on a brave front, but he trembled inside.
2. “Go forward.” Time to go forward.
3. “But they are coming; their hearts are hardened against us,” perhaps Moses is saying. “Yes, I know. I have hardened their hearts. This is from me. Egypt will learn a hard lesson here.”
II. God set Himself for the defense of Israel. Vs. 20. The pillar of fire and cloud.-
A. God is light for His people He is darkness and confusion for His enemies.
“43 How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan: 44 And had turned their rivers into blood; and their floods, that they could not drink. 45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them. 46 He gave also their increase unto the caterpiller, and their labour unto the locust. 47 He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost. 48 He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. 49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 50 He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence;” (Ps 78:43-50)
B. God even uses evil for His glory and turns His enemies over to evil powers and just reward for their wickedness.
C. God has power over all the laws of physics and chemistry, for they are His creatures.
1. See Numbers 7:89. How can this be—sound entering the ears of Moses, with no source of the sound. It emanated from the top of the Ark, but there was no sound source.
2. How could there be light before the sun, moon, stars, were created on the fourth day. God is the source of all things. They can be without a source; they can be with a source, they can be against a source. God does as He pleases.
3. How can the waters pile up on each side, so that Israel can go forth on dry land. This is God, remember?
4. God looked through the pillar of fire and cloud. He was not the pillar; it was a symbol. He is invisible. He sees all, but cannot be seen. Blessed be His Name forever and ever, Amen.
D. The disabling of the chariots, so that Egypt could not escape. God has so many ways of blessing His people and destroying His enemies. There is no lack to His resources.
E. Israel saw their enemies dead upon the seashore; that is, those that washed ashore. Not one of them escaped. Not Pharaoh. Don’t get your Bible information from that cesspool called Hollywood.
F. Israel believed the Lord and believed Moses His servant. For a time at least.
III. Application:-
A. Let us not waver at the promises of God, or try to understand by our own light; we are to understand, but by the light of the word and Holy Spirit. “In thy light we see light.”
B. God is able to keep all the promises that He makes to His people.
C. Israel had a special mission from the Lord, and that mission was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. This is what made Israel different from all the nations of the world.
2. You can look in vain for anything else: not their knowledge; not their goodness; not their wisdom; not the valor of their armies; All these gifts were directly related to their mission, to prepare the world for Christ, and to bring Him forth at the time appointed of the Father.
3. So the church has a special mission. Nothing can prevail against the church if we are faithful to our mission
4. “Whom do men say that I am?” “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” That is our foundation, our superstructure, our mission, the end of all the church does, for she is the pillar and ground of the truth: How pregnant is Peter’s confession with meaning and relevance for every age.
Amen and Amen
God bless you.