Saturday, Sept. 21
Exodus 13:1 – 14:31 Read it here
Today’s passage contains a lot that looks great on the movie screen. The pillar of fire. The parting of the sea. The drowning of the Egyptian army.
It also wraps up a loose end from Genesis, as we see Moses taking with him the bones of Joseph, finally returning that faithful servant of God back to his homeland.
And it has some foreshadowing of what the journey through the wilderness is going to be like. The people have barely started on the journey and are already complaining against Moses about the risks and hardship they are facing.
“Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Just as Pharaoh had gone back on the promises he made once the immediate crises passed, now the Hebrew people are losing confidence in God almost as soon as they have left their bondage, even looking back and thinking maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.
Nostalgia for the good old days is always a tempting trap. After all, we know that we survived all of our yesterdays since we’re still around. We forget that those days looked a lot less certain when we were living them.
We’ll see the same temptation facing Christians after their own emancipation through the sacrifice of Jesus. In Galatians 5:1, Paul writes, “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.”
Freedom always brings uncertainty and risk, while slavery can provide at least the appearance of certainty and security. The descent into slavery always begins with the promise of protection.
With the Egyptian army on one side of them and the sea on the other, even forced labor looks comfortingly predictable. The people feel, with justification, that there’s no way out.
That is, there’s no way out under their own power.
Moses tells them, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Saturday meditation
Proverbs 8:12-21
“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.
Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight, I have power. By me kings reign and rulers issue decrees that are just; by me princes govern, and nobles—all who rule on earth.
I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full.
Prayer focus
Pray for stillness, knowing the Lord will fight for you.
-Rev. Mark Fleming
There’s one more verse in this section I would like to highlight: 13:9.
It says, “This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that this law of the Lord is to be on your lips.”
It reminded me of chapter 13 of Revelation, where people are required to have the mark of the beast on their hand or on their forehead…in both cases, the hand represents our actions, and the forehead our thoughts.
Who controls our thoughts and actions? In Exodus, we’re told it should be the observance of God’s ordinances. In Revelation, we’re warned of the consequences it it isn’t.