Drown Like an Egyptian

Exodus 13:17-14:31

So God takes the Israelites on the scenic route to the promised land. Not to see the sights, but to avoid the Philistines. He says that if the Israelites were to face war, thy might high-tail it back to Egypt. It's comforting to think that God knows His people so well that He puts them into conditions that ultimately their best interests (and His) come to pass. I'll get them to deliverance- and by escaping conflict here- they'll be more apt to stay with me. Comforting, but puzzling because of what follows.

Moe is carrying the bones of Joseph- it seems the sons of Israel had sworn an oath. He told the Israelites that God would come to their aid, and when it happens, they need to carry his bones with them. This is an odd request. Did he want to be buried in his people's land? Was it to signify that deliverance was coming- but not soon (not in my lifetime)? Was it so that as they made their trek, they would have the great story of Joseph in mind to give them strength and greater trust in God's faithfulness?

Regardless, it's interesting that Moses follows through. This wasn't just an appeasement to an old, dying man. The Israelites promised- Moses is going to follow through- even though Joseph isn't there to check up on him. Perhaps the lesson is that God's people follow through on their word (at least they should).

As they walk- God leads them- a pillar of a cloud during the day- and a pillar of fire (giving light) at night. God is always with them. I wonder- is the cloud to give them shade as they walk? How did they know this cloud was God? Is the shape of the pillar so obvious that He can't be mistaken? Is there significance in the shape of a pillar? Does Lot's salty wife come into play somewhere?

I wonder if I were walking with the Israelites if I would buy that the cloud was God- Umm, Moses- it's just a cloud. You've seen clouds, right? But hopefully by this point, I'd be trusting Moses' judgment about these kinds of things- although the Israelites seem to have trust issues when it comes to God.

So here's the odd part. God tells Moses to backtrack a little. This will confuse the Egyptians who will think that the desert has us hemmed in. I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart again- and he'll come hunt us down.

So- we avoided the Philistines so there wouldn't be war- but now I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart so he'll attack. Why didn't He just let a Philistine victory be what let His glory be declared? Why harden a heart when there were some that would have already been hardened? But they follow- Moses apparently unquestioning.

Hardened-Pharaoh has a revelation...we're going to have to do our own work! Let's get these slaves back. So he wages a full scale attack. All of his horses, chariots (over 600), horsemen and troops head out to bring back what they felt was theirs. And before long they caught up.

The Israleites looked up and saw them...and their faith in God was gone. The Chiplike member of the group smarts off to Moses "Oh- I guess they were out of graves in Egypt. Plenty of room for a mass burial here." Others cry- we begged you to leave us alone. I'd rather be a slave than die out here in the desert.

Moses reassures them. Take a good look- you'll never see these people again. Just relax, God is going to fight for you.

God is a bit insulted by the cries of distress- What are you whining about? Just keep marching. Lift up your hand over the sea and you can cross on dry ground. They'll follow- and then I'll be glorified.

The next section has some cool detail I don't remember knowing before. First- God (or here described as an angel of God) in cloud form moved behind the Israelites shining light toward them and darkness toward the Egyptians. So they couldn't catch up to the Israelites.

So Moe does his thing and the water parts- there's a wall of water on each side and God causes a wind to dry the ground- so the Israelites have a dry path to follow through the sea.

Then God starts sabatoging. Egyptian chariot wheels start falling off making it hard for them to drive. Now they know they're in trouble. It seems like they would have figured it out around the frogs or gnats- but now they're in full retreat mode. Only it's too late.

Moses raises his hands again and the sea returns to normal- sweeping up all the Egyptians into the water- none of them survived. Israel passed through on dry ground and saw the dead Egyptians washed up on shore. And they trusted Moses and God again...at least for now.

It would be cool to see a good movie of this story. Plenty of action, interesting, complex characters- visually stunning.

Ultimately, what I get here is that God saves us- in His way- in His time. Trust, praise, and enjoy.