𝗕𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗵/ "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵"

𝗘𝘅𝗼𝗱𝘂𝘀 𝟭𝟯:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟳:𝟭𝟲

In this week's portion we see the Israelites being sent from Egypt, by Pharoah and all his people. The final plague, death which had no bias except where the 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙, fulfilled the Word of the LORD accomplishing all that He said it would. There is so much happening in the Chapters for this week, and I encourage you to go and read each of them in their full context.

For me, I really want to focus in this week on the text as related to the parting of the "red sea', called the 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴. One thing I found very interesting was that Moses, when he was just a baby, was placed 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 in a basket, in order to spare his life from a Pharoah. And in today's portion we will see Moses, and all of Israel (including those of Egypt (nations/gentiles) who had joined themselves to them), facing the 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 as another Pharoah begins to barrel down on them for their destruction. Hmm. Let's jump in.

𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰, 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧; 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙, “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙜𝙮𝙥𝙩.” 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘢; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵. 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚. - Exodus 13:17-19,21-22

So the LORD, knowing that Israel might want to turn back to Egypt, if they saw war, took them the long way around. We see that the LORD was 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, leading them in the direction to go. This is so interesting because in the very next Chapter we see the LORD actually stir within Pharoah to cause him to pursue Israel, yet all for the purpose of the Egyptians knowing that He is LORD. Even in the midst of having brought Israel out from the 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗴𝗲 of Egypt, the LORD still purposed to draw Egypt to Himself. Such a beautiful picture!! His heart is that ALL would know Him!! Egypt had a choice to join Israel in the Exodus! Some did. But not all.

“𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘪-𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩, 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘪𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢; 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘢𝘢𝘭-𝘻𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭, ‘𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯.’ 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩’𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥.” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘰. Exodus 14:2-4

Verse 5 tells, us "𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘗𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴?” So the pursuit begins, without Israel knowing it. Verse 10 says, "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 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥. " So in a turn of events, though the LORD had kept them from seeing war, which may have caused them to turn back, He is now bringing war to their doorstep. Can you imagine what must have been going through their minds? Of course, we see they cry out and even say, "𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴." We must keep in mind that it was their 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 under the yoke of Pharoah that started the call to Moses. Yet here, they say it would have been better there than here. Their hearts were not yet convinced that it would be better to die free, than live in chains. Galatians 5:1 says it this way, "𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺." We see such a play here in the physical chains of slavery as compared to the spiritual chain which is sin. Remember in Exodus 12 the LORD gave the command to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, year after year, removing the leaven (symbolic of sin) from their homes!

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, “𝘋𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳! 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵.” - Exodus 14:13-14

Moses, trying to 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 Israel, exhorts them to just stand by and watch for the salvation of the LORD. But apparently, that was not what the LORD had in mind, as we see in verse 15 the LORD responds with, “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦? 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱." I think there are times in all of our lives where we feel like maybe we are caught between a 𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. We feel paralyzed by what direction we should go, no longer seeing the One who has been leading us to this very place, only the enemy who is looking to destroy us. I've been there. Still am, sometimes. And while there may be those around us who wish to encourage us to just 'be still and wait', we need to ensure the LORD isn't using the very enemy pursuing us as a means to push us forward, past our comfort, past our fear, past the point of the reach of our self-imposed chains. But something else very interesting takes place in this story.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙤𝙙, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡, 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢; 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. 𝙎𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙀𝙜𝙮𝙥𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙄𝙨𝙧𝙖𝙚𝙡; 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. - Exodus 14:19-20

The angel of GOD and the pillar of cloud which had been before them, now moved behind them, causing a 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 between Israel and their enemies. Verses 21-22, "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥." 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵.

We know how this story ends. The army of Pharoah pursues Israel into the 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 only to have the waves crash in on them, thus destroying them. vs 31: 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘨𝘺𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙨.

Shew. I can testify to this story in my own life! 𝘿𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 is not the way of 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝. Faith, by its very definition is action! 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝘆, “𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀; 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.” - 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝟮:𝟭𝟴 Israel could have remained in Egypt. They could have remained in 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘦 just as we have a choice to remain there, too. Yet, Yeshua, came to free us from that bondage - by giving Himself as a ransom 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹. To 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚, we must see the chains for what they are. Sin leading to death. His Torah (Instructions) teach us what sin is (Rom 7:7). It's a tragedy that the 'church' has lost this knowledge through the centuries. We see people struggling day after day, in 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘦 to things sometimes simply because the 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 is not in action. Yes, miracles can cause the fear of the LORD to grow, but understanding His Word and what He says about the sin in our lives does, too! When we see the 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 of His Word our hearts are softened, pierced by His mercy and great love for us. It changes us. It pushes us to 𝗴𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 more aware of the enemy who pursues us, by 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝, in 𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Goodness gracious!

I will finish with one more story in this weeks portion which relates. It comes as the 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣 gets introduced to Israel, in the 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙞𝙣 (interesting name from Exodus 16:1). 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴, “𝘉𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.. -𝘌𝘹 16:4 We see the LORD reminding them of His Holy Day - the Sabbath (seventh day), which He declared in Gen 2. Through Moses He directs the people in how they are to gather the manna each day, enough for that day, until the day before the Sabbath. On that day they are to get enough for two days, so that they may rest and observe His 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. Exodus 16:33-34, "𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯, “𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘫𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.” 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘈𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵. " This is the first time we see the word 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 - which we know will hold the 𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗢𝗗. The text hasn't even reached the place of building the Ark of the Covenant yet. Why does that matter? Because friends, the LORD who makes covenant containing statues, judgements and ordinances, is the same LORD who provides the 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣, Yeshua our Messiah. Shew! Hand in hand both will stand as a 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 to Israel (composed of Jew and Gentile alike!) of a GOD who provides for His people, yet will also 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. Not man-made tradition, but the true covenant, of which His 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙚𝙠𝙠𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙖, His people, are partakers. He is so very, very good friends! I pray that as we prepare to enter the Sabbath (sundown Fri - sundown Sat) your thoughts are being challenged by His Word. I pray, that like me, you are softening to His voice, and the call to return to true covenant. We don't have time to waste, friends. His plumb line is already at work, drawing a line in the sand, much like He parted the waters of the sea. We must be sure we aren't standing and waiting, when its time to cross over. To Him be the glory, forever!