Stand and Behold the Salvation of God!

There is nothing like a late night 'sermon manuscript writin'.' This is about the rawest a sermon manuscript could ever be. I have not even put anything into points and subpoint and done any pollishing. Of course, I have no where to preach right now, so this manuscript will probably stay just as it is until I do have somewhere to preach. I also tried to show stress points and emotion (as if I were really preaching). All that this really is is my meditation upon this great passage.

As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to YHWH. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘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.”

But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of YHWH which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. YHWH will fight for you while you keep silent.” (Exodus 14:10-14)

As trials and tribulations approach us: seemingly insurmountable odds, we often become fearful. Our knees turn to Jello at the sight of men or are hearts melt when we find out that we have a disease. This passage, straight from the bowels of Israelite history, serves as an example for us today. As the Israelites remained camped in the wilderness, seeming to all onlookers that their God had forgotten them and that they were merely “wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in” (v. 3), the Egyptians approached. Scores of men in the army of Egypt; probably thousands upon thousands of men—“six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them” were coming out against a camp that was not even in the slightest way conceivably ready for battle.

The Israelites cried out to their God. They had just witnessed Him bring them out of captivity in Egypt by a mighty hand. Yet their hearts sank so much that “they became very frightened.” They had seen the cloud of God and His pillar of fire leading them by night and day; yet they trembled at the forces of Egypt. Now, do not be mistaken, Egypt was a serious threat. Perhaps God had forsaken His people; surely this was going through their minds. The chariots of Pharaoh could easily race in and eradicate the 600,000 plus of Israel in a matter of hours. But in the end, to whom would the day belong?

Israel was wandering around in the wilderness even before the Red Sea. God could have taken them through the land of the Philistines, but He knew their hearts. They were a people who “might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt” (13:17). The people were in no way ready for the battle to come. They were weak and scared. Because of their apprehensiveness, they were walking around in the wilderness by the Red Sea. They had no permanent structures but were dwelling in what little they had taken with them from Egypt.

What a scene this must have been. Israel was walking around in the wilderness like a person who is lost in the forest. People naturally walk in circles, and so when they are lost their walking is quite aimless. They will not get where they are going. Have you ever been lost? Consider what that felt like? You feel helpless, especially when you see a familiar tree that you had just left a few hours ago to look for help. This must have been how Israel felt—and all the onlookers must have felt the same way. It seemed like Israel had no place to go. They were supposed to go into the land of Canaan but had gone the wrong direction (or so it appeared). Their wandering seemed aimless. Where were they going? Would it not have been better to stay in Egypt, where at least they would not just die in a forsaken land?

The Israelites were in the desert—no food sources, no water sources (you cannot drink from the Red Sea, it’s salt water!) They were off the “beaten path.” Even Pharaoh thought that they were just lost under the guidance of that fool Moses. Who brings a people out of Egypt? Especially a people who are disorganized? No one had ever made such a mass exodus before.

With feelings of hopelessness the Israelites camped by the sea. They could not have really comprehended where they were. Then they see the dust cloud of the chariots of Egypt over the horizon. Then they see the chariots themselves coming in battle array like a thief coming “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). They did not know if Pharaoh had plans to take them back into slavery or to expunge them from the earth. Were they to simply be the victims of genocide?

When they beheld Pharaoh “they became very frightened.” Surely their hearts melted in them. Surely they grew faint as they realized that they had no defenses, no weapons of war to take up arms against what was at the least one of the greatest armies of that day.

Perhaps you have felt this way. We all have. You come up against seemingly insuperable odds. You feel overwhelmed and trapped. You have your back against the Red Sea and Egypt is coming out after you. You are, as the saying goes, “trapped between a rock and a hard place.” In your own strength you have been completely beaten. This may be because of disease, financial troubles, or even feelings of hopelessness due to present circumstances of which you cannot see either a way out or an end to their onslaught. Isn’t fear only natural?

Israel in their fear “cried out to YHWH.” Yet their cry was of both desperation and unbelief. Where was God anyway? He had led them to a place where they could not possibly escape. They had been wandering through the desert like a dazed horse wanders through a field. Had God forgotten them? Even worse, had He forsaken them? Had He led them into the desert to destroy them? Was God terrified of Pharaoh? After all, weren’t the gods of Egypt with Pharaoh? Perhaps the LORD’s actions toward Egypt in bringing all the plagues upon Egypt had angered their gods.

So the Israelites did as we so often do; they complained. They became biting and sarcastic in their tongues. They started speaking evil of both Moses and God. They questioned Moses’ motives—and to question the motives of the mediator is to question the motives of the one he represents.

They said to him, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” What a remark! They doubted Moses’ leadership and the ability of their God so much that they thought they had come into the desert only to die. They had completely forgotten that the LORD had just smitten the Egyptians with ten plagues and had spared the Israelites completely from the ramifications of them all. Was the purpose that Moses—and God had brought the people out of Egypt only for them to be mass murdered. Was this to become merely The Massacre by the Red Sea? Did Moses—and God bring them out only so that they would not have to be buried in Egypt by the Egyptians but could be devoured by the vultures and be left to rot? Did God despise them that much?

They now longed for slavery. They desired to be back in Egypt. “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness,” they quipped. They were surely to die in a land they had never known. They were going to be a forgotten people. Slavery was more appealing to them then was a freedom that led to death.

Is this not how you often reply to your circumstances, dear friend? You consider long and hard how bad the circumstances are and you cry against your current state. Worse than this, you may even cry against God. “If I would have known that Christianity would have been like this,” you say, “I would have never turned to Christ. At least I was happy living for the desires of the flesh.” Or perhaps you think, “This Christianity is harder than being under the Law. At least under the Law I’m not lost in the wilderness somewhere. If I were to earn my way to God, at least I’d have something to measure myself by and some distinct ordinances to keep. Rather, I don’t even know how I am supposed to live.” You desire to be a slave again rather than free! Doesn’t that sound ridiculous to you?

Some of you may even turn back to Egypt. The circumstances seem so out of your control, which they probably are, that you anguish over them and return to your old lifestyle. You return to your pornography because of the excitement it used to give you. You turn to the television and watch hours of it that you might escape life and what seems to be meaninglessness. You go back to spending all your money on yourself and buying yourself every latest fashion trend because you think it will bring you popularity and that that will satisfy you. You may turn to relationships, your job to find meaning, sex, drugs, or even overeating. But let me stand and warn you, none of these will eternally satisfy you! None of these can satisfy your deepest longings as God can! All of these will prove futile attempts. Once you have tasted freedom you cannot go back to slavery.

Perhaps you are saying, “I told you so.” You knew that Christianity would be a mistake if you “tried it.” You knew that God would not show Himself faithful. Or perhaps you have not gone that far. Rather you have tried something, such as learning to evangelize, or you have tried to quit smoking or to quit looking at porn, or you have tried this or that spiritual discipline and you keep failing. “Perhaps,” you think, “it would have been better if I’d just stayed in captivity.” At least then you wouldn’t feel like a failure. You had told yourself and God that you would fail. You had said, “leave me alone that I might serve my own interests” which is really just sin. Perhaps you even say, “Just let me continue to serve sin, as I am better off this way. At least I will not feel like ‘a loser’ when I do not succeed.” And now you have gotten to the point where you have failed, at least in your own eyes. Defeat seems obvious. Like the Israelites, you wish you had never even tried.

And to those of you who are contemplating returning to slavery to meritorious efforts and legalism or to gratifying the lusts of the flesh—if you return to them after tasting the good things of God, you have experienced in some way the work of the Holy Spirit, you have seen the power of the resurrection of Christ, you have tasted the eternal kingdom of God; if you turn and fall away from Christ, you cannot return. “It is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame” (Hebrews 6:6). If you are soil that has been watered with the refreshing rains of the gospel and the Spirit has made you aware of and affectionate toward the good news in God, and yet you bring forth only thorns and thistles and not good fruit, beware, for you are “close to being cursed” and you will “end up being burned” (Hebrews 6:7-8). So I warn you and urge you: repent and return to God. Do not continue in your sin. If you remain lukewarm you will be spat out of Christ’s mouth (Revelation 3:16). Today you are hearing His voice as He stands at the door of your heart and knocks (Revelation 3:20). Now is the acceptable time, behold, today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Do not put it off, lest you never get to it. Perhaps today will be your last day alive! And even if it is not, whatever you put off today you will be just as able and willing to put off tomorrow. Procrastination breeds procrastination!

Is this where you are today? Are you trapped by your own Red Sea? Does it seem like you have wandered aimlessly into a point where all you can do is surrender to sin and failure? Perhaps it even seems that God Himself has led you to a point where it feels like you are trapped with no way out. You doubt that God is really with you any longer. It feels like He has left you to fend for yourself in a den of lions. You fear men; you fear failure; and you fear that you will become the laughingstock of all who look upon you. “Maybe God has left me because of something wrong I have done, or because I have doubted Him,” you say. You feel like you have been left alone in the depths of Hell with Satan and his minions casting every accusation against you and bombarding you with everything they have. The trials of life have proven too much!

The trial of the Egyptians was too much for Israel; it always was, even while they were captive in Egypt. So, knowing they could not win this fight, they complained against God and His mediator. They sinned and doubted God’s goodness and His ability. Truly, as James says, they should not have expected anything from the hand of the Lord (James 1:7-8). Is this where you are?

The response of Moses to this is nothing short of trust in God’s right hand and God’s trustworthiness. Moses knew that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to raise up their descendents to become a great nation. He knew that God would not forsake this promise for His own name’s sake. And yes, that is why He did not forsake this obstinate people—and that is why they could trust in Him. God could not sin against Himself lest He cease to be God! And not only this, but God could not forsake His promise to the Seed of Abraham. If Israel ceased to exist, then Christ could not come into the world—God’s salvific plans would not, in fact could not stand! God could not save the elect, but could only condemn them to hell. All would be lost had Israel been destroyed that day. God could not forsake this people.

Remembering God’s actions in Egypt, Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Take your stand and see the salvation of YHWH which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. YHWH will fight for you while you keep silent.”

God would act. God would save His people. He had not forsaken them. He had not forgotten them. He was absolutely in control!

Is this not the same command that we have today? “Do not fear the one who is able to kill the body and cannot kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Though people and disease can kill you, though lack of needs can shame you and bring you great sorrow, though failure can cause you pain and the need to pick up the pieces and start again, do not fear any of these! Their harm is only temporary. Is not the body more than food? Are you not more than the wretched flesh that you are wearing? Have you not been promised in Christ a resurrected body? Do not fear if there is hurt! Do not put your hope in what is only temporal! This is the only way that you can have hope!

Rather, fear God, the only one who can judge you and send you to hell. And if you love Him, you don’t need to fear this! You have absolutely nothing to really fear! But yet you must fear God! Revere Him as holy! Trust His decisions as being just, and right, and true! Praise Him whatever He brings your way! As the Psalter, rejoice in God through you are in the wilderness facing your enemies. Praise Him, knowing that His “lovingkindness is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). Is cancer threatening? Praise God for His lovingkindness. He is sovereign and the great physician! He has brought this to pass. It is all completely in His hands. He has planned the ends and the means. You can trust Him because it is completely in His hands. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” Jesus asks. “Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). God cares for you more than sparrows! God is in complete control of every single hair on your head. If one falls to the ground it is only because He allowed it to fall! It was never out of His control! So how much more so is He in control of your cancer, of your AIDS, of your unemployment, of your child’s failing at school, of how the bills are going to be paid, even of how people are going to respond to your preaching of the gospel? God is in control!

“Those who seek my life to destroy it, will go into the depths of the earth. They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; they will be a prey for the foxes,” David says. But David knew that no matter what happened, He would be spared. “Everyone who swears by Him will glory, for the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped” (Psalm 63:9-11). “As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:11-13). Your final end is salvation! David knew this and so he rejoiced. This gave him the ability to lie down in peace and sleep. God is the one who made him to dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8), and it is the same with you! Though his enemies were many, David knew that God would keep him, even in death.

Your end is salvation! Thus, respond like Moses. Be still. Keep silent. Do not try to act on your own behalf. Do not seek to save your own reputation. Yes, seek medical treatment, but leave the results to God. Trust in Him, not in your own strength. “Take your stand.” Find a place to take in the show of God at work at marvel! “Stand by and see the salvation of YHWH which He will accomplish for you today!” He will save you! Even if you face height or depth, sickness, or money crises; God will save you. Sure you may lose your life or your house. Sure you may fail your classes or lose your job. But “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (James 1:2). Why!? Why should you count it joy!? Because God is in control! Because He is working all things for your good in making you like Christ (Romans 8:28-30). Because you are in His hands and none can snatch you out (John 10:29). You are safe. Your salvation, your inheritance in heaven is secure (1 Peter 1:4-5). You are being kept by God’s power through your faith. Nothing can take it away. Thus you know “that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:3). God is allowing these trials to come and bringing them your way to produce the desired end: your sanctification. These are coming so that you may learn to exult more in God. These trials are going to draw you closer to Christ. And the end result is your glorification. The end is that you will be made completely in the image of Christ. This trial is only a means to the ends.

So trust in God. Trust that you will see His salvation. Though you may not know how it will be accomplished or what the means will include, when it comes, you will never see your slave-drivers again. You will never face again all that bound you—forever. Sure new trials will come, and perhaps you will continue to fail in many of the same ways, but you will never again face that which is now terrorizing you. God will defeat it. Sure you may die or lose your house or whatever, but God will be with you through it. God will fight for you while you keep silent! Trust in God!

John Calvin, the great Genevan reformer faced years of trials; trials so awful he wanted to resign from being the preacher in Geneva and leave the city. It seemed as though everybody in the city misunderstood his ideas and reasons for church discipline. He had once even been exiled on the grounds of some false accusations, misunderstandings, and fears. His efforts seemed futile. There were people in town who even sought to disrupt his efforts and annoy him—both in the streets and in the pulpit. He also faced the opposition of the Catholics who sought to bring Geneva back under Roman Catholicism. He worked night and day, preaching at times more than five sermons a week. Yet he persisted against all the odds. He continued faithfully serving the Lord and preaching the evangelical reformed doctrines and understanding of Scripture. Eventually, for the last ten years of his life, Calvin experienced the salvation of God. He finally saw God bring people to understand that what he sought was good. He saw his enemies fall from power and the gospel take flight in Geneva. This became a decade of strength in Geneva that led to the spread of the reformation throughout all of Europe. Even today we benefit from Calvin’s laborious toil. So will you join the ranks of Moses, David, and John Calvin? Will you be still and wait to see the salvation of God come in its full glory? Or will you be like the countless in the world throughout the ages who have sought their own remedy and had to settle for second best, at best?