Second Thoughts Exodus 13:20-14:31 3-28-2021 Charles
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Second Thoughts Exodus 13:20-14:31 3-28-2021 Charles Swindoll told the story of nine-year-old Danny who came bursting out of his Sunday School class one Sunday like a wild stallion. His eyes were darting in every direction as he tried to locate his mom and dad. After a quick search he grabbed his dads’ leg and, in his excitement, yelled, “man, that story of Moses and all those people crossing the Red Sea was great! His father looked at him and smiled and asked his son to tell him about it. Well, the Israelites got out of Egypt, but Pharaoh and his army chased after them. So the Jews ran as fast as they could until they got to the Red Sea. The Egyptian army was getting closer and closer. So Moses got on his walkie-talkie and told the Israeli air force to bomb the Egyptians. While that was happening, the Israeli navy built pontoon bridges so the people could cross over. They made it! By this time his father was shocked. Is that what they are teaching you in Sunday School? Well no, not exactly, Danny admitted. But if I told it to you the same way they told it to us, you’d never believe it dad. As hard as it may be for some to believe that God works miracles and over the years have sought to explain away what happened, the actual story of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea goes like this: “After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. (Exodus 13:20-14:9) I. As his heart hardened, Pharaoh began to have Second Thoughts And it’s no wonder because the decision to let God’s people go was made under duress it might even be argued that he was not of sound mind when he agreed to it just consider what state of mind he would be in after suffering through a year of plagues that touched virtually every level of Egyptian society. It ruined their crops, decimated their flocks and herds, and demoralized its people. The proud nation had been brought to their knees and near ruin His gods were discredited, unable to do anything about the plagues and the chaos that ensued These were the same gods which Pharaoh relied upon to justify his right to rule and retain power, Which was based on the belief that he was the son of their main god, Ra. It undermined his authority because if they were shown to be impotent before Yahweh, what claim did he have on the throne? Then adding insult to injury, it says in verse 8 that the people of Israel marched out of Egypt boldly That doesn’t catch the full derision their actions showed towards him The phrase is literally the people of Israel left with a high hand, or as the NLT puts it, with fists raised in defiance They were rubbing pharaoh and all of Egypt’s noses in it Pharaoh had been embarrassed by Moses and ridiculed by Israel, and those in power do not take kindly to such things Then on top of everything else, making matters even worse, when he agreed to let them go he was grieving over the loss of his firstborn son It was an emotional reaction, made in the heat of the moment, not any real acceptance or acknowledgment of God’s authority and power. as he and his officials had time to think, they began to have second thoughts. And not surprisingly, they changed their minds, saying “What have we done?” they realized that in their pain, they had given away all that free labor So when word came that the people of Israel seemed to be lost, wandering around the desert, not knowing where to go and with their backs up against the sea and nowhere to run, he called out his army and went after them to exact revenge. When decisions are made primarily based on how we are feeling at the moment, like Pharaoh, when the moment passes we are likely to have second thoughts It was like the crowd’s response to Jesus on that first Palm Sunday. They cheered him on and welcomed him into Jerusalem with a parade and proclamations of praise for the coming of their savior. Yet only a few days later their feelings changed and they started crying out for his crucifixion instead How often do we make our decisions about God or faith or giving or involvement and service based more on our emotions at the moment rather than any real leading of Gods spirit or direction from his word? We might have every intent to become more involved when we volunteer to serve in some capacity but that was before other things come up and we start to have second thoughts We fully intend to support missions, maybe even go on a short-term project, but then come the second thoughts, realizing that would mean rearranging our schedule We are convicted of the need to give more, maybe even start tithing but then come the second thoughts when we start realizing the things we want that may have to wait if we do Many even will pray the sinners prayer to receive Christ when caught up in an emotional appeal or the pressure that comes from seeing others go forward but then that enthusiasm fade and sleeping in becomes much more attractive Do you realize that Billy Graham, the best known and most effective evangelist of the 20th century saw over 2.2 million people come forward to pray and receive Christ at his crusades but in following up they found that after only 1 year, only about 6% had followed through on that commitment in any meaningful way. people make all types of commitments when their emotions are stirred, but the true test is not good intentions but follow through As the feelings change, so will our commitment Feelings ebb and flow. They are influenced by so many things: what side of the bed we got up on that morning, what we ate, what someone may have said or not said to us, all kinds of things salvation is about following Jesus and life change, not being conformed to this world but transformed but the renewing or remaking of our mind and thought patterns and habits, not just a decision made on the spur of the moment because we felt like it. It must be built on something permanent and what is more permanent than the word of God. As Jesus said, Heaven and earth may disappear by my word will never pass away. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one having second thoughts II. The people of Israel had them also When things got tough, they began to question why they left Egypt in the first place “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 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!”” (Exodus 14:10–12) They were happy to follow Moses when things were in their favor, when there was no apparent cost or commitment needed from them But as soon as things started to get a little tough, when something might be demanded of them, they immediately started blaming Moses They conveniently ignored the fact that no one forced them to go with Moses or to leave Egypt It was their choice. They could have remained slaves and stayed in Egypt But when the chance came for their freedom they took it Yet now, as things became a little difficult and uncertain, they started having second thoughts about whether it was worth it How easy it can be to serve out of self interest rather than true conviction To follow when it’s convenient and easy and doesn’t cost anything To follow the example of the rich in Mark 12 who gave their leftovers out of their abundance, what wouldn’t be missed instead of the pattern of the widow who gave all she had even though it was only a few pennies to follow and get involved and volunteer when its easy because we have time on our hands rather then when it may cost us something? All done more with the attitude of what we can get out of it rather than what would Jesus have me do? Becoming like the shallow soil in Jesus’ parable.