God Fights For His People!
OPENING PRAYER:
Dear Lord, we rejoice in the promise that, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b, NIV), Just as David proclaimed – “The battle is the Lord’s,” (I Samuel 17:47b, NIV).
READ:
Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
REFLECT:
The parting of the Red Sea is such a monumental moment in history. The Lord had caused the Egyptians to let the Israelites go after the last terrible plague of the death of the first-born ravaged Egypt. However, God again changed Pharoah’s heart, and he sent his army out after them. As they hotly pursued God’s people, it seemed like all hope was lost and Pharoah would soon overtake them. The Red Sea in front of them at flood stage and Pharoah’s army behind them. Just when it seems like all hope is lost, God’s plan is at work. God pushes back the waters to allow the Israelites to pass on dry ground! Then, as soon as they had crossed over, God releases the waters back over Pharoah’s army, destroying it. God has given the new nation a great victory!
When you look back through the Old Testament, the parting of the Red Sea, which led to the deliverance of the Children of Israel, is mentioned 24 times. As the nation of Israel began to travel, nations in their path would tremble in fear, because they had heard about how God destroyed the Egyptians at the Red Sea. As the Israelites spied the land of Jericho, Rahab tells them, “We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt,” (Joshua 2:10a, NIV). The Lord wanted this great event to be a marker for his people to remember his great and mighty power to defeat any enemy that they would face!
APPLY:
As you look back over your spiritual journey, what markers of God’s faithfulness and blessing do you see that remind you of his power to defeat any enemy? God defeated cancer in my body. He opened a door for my career that only he could have done. The fact that he fought for both of my daughters to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ is the greatest of all his victories in my life! Whatever those milestones of God’s victories are in your life, cling to these – remembering that God is always fighting for his people, and no one can defeat him!
CLOSING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you for every victory you give us and for every reminder of your faithfulness. “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies,” (Psalm 60:12, NIV). Amen.