Moving Forward

Today’s Passage – Exodus 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Luke 3 – 4; Proverbs 24; Psalms 116 – 120)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Isaiah 51:11

Read the “0124 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read previous posts from this passage – “He Brought Us This Far” and “Quit Griping!“

“15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:” (Exodus 14:15)

In Exodus 14, the Israelites are heading out of Egypt through the wilderness and eventually into the Promised Land of Canaan. God had just miraculously delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt through a series of divine judgments (plagues) culminating with the death of every firstborn person and even animal of the Egyptians. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, finally had enough and agreed to let the Israelites leave. However, Pharaoh has a change of heart and decides that he is going to pursue after the Israelites with his army and trap them on the shore of the Red Sea.

The people of God were once again very afraid and their fear affected their faith in God:

“10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)

Moses assures the people that God was going to deliver them once again:

“13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

It is interesting that Moses told the people to “stand still,” but God breaks into the conversation Himself and tells the people to “go forward:”

“15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:” (Exodus 14:15)

But where were they going to go? They were pinned up against the waters of the Red Sea. God put a wall of separation between the army of Israel and people of God (vs. 19 – 20), and then God parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could pass through on dry land, and once they were safely on the other side, God closed up the waters again and drowned the Egyptian army that attempted to follow them. 

Though the people of God were fearful, they moved forward in faith, which caused God to bring them the victory. Then Moses and the Israelites were singing:

“1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:1-2)

There would be many more challenging moments for the people of God in their future as they wandered through the wilderness on their way to the Land of Promise and each time they had a choice: were they going to allow their fear to cripple their faith or were they going to move forward?

The theme for our church in 2024 was “moving forward.” We have experienced many obstacles in our past that God has gotten us through and I am quite sure there will also be many more obstacles, no doubt more challenging obstacles in our future, but I am also quite sure that as long as we keep moving forward by faith, God will bring us through them all.