Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. (Ex. 14:30)
The Hebrews were running away from the tyranny of Pharaoh. At some point along the escape route, they looked back and saw the Egyptian army in murderous pursuit. They thought they were doomed to die.
In desperation, they called out to the Lord. The Lord through Moses parted the sea for the Israelites to escape. After they had crossed over, the Lord closed the waters and the pursuing army drowned. The Jews looked across the waters and saw the dead Egyptians on the shore.
Imagine the relief, joy, and gratitude the Hebrews felt looking across at their dead slave-masters. Now they were free. Now they could live into God’s plans. Now they could have a home, a land, and an identity.
Let’s look back on our own life. Most of us have had our own version of the Egyptians, which have been the habits, addictions, attitudes, secrets, or illnesses that had enslaved us, shattered our hopes, trashed our dignity, and robbed our freedom.
Can we now, from our current vantage point, see some dead Egyptians on some distant shore? Can we look back on occasions when we, like the Hebrews, have been saved, delivered, freed, or healed?
Sometimes, I have a hard time discerning how God is working out His purposes in my life. But when I look back and review all that I’ve been through, I can clearly see God’s deliverance at work. If I didn’t have some dead Egyptians in my past, I wouldn’t be alive. Either those Egyptians needed to die, or I would have. I couldn’t have slayed those Egyptians by myself—no, it was God’s almighty hands that did so.
Look back on all you have been through. I imagine you must have many dead slave-masters on the shores behind you. Do you see them? Do you know that without God’s saving hands you would be a slave, or worst yet, lost or dead?
When the Israelites looked back at their former slave-masters dead on the distant shores, they danced, cried, and praised God. May we be encouraged to do the same.
Reflection Questions:
- As you look back at all you have been through, how has God delivered you, just like He once delivered the Israelites?
- What are the things that have enslaved you that God has vanquished so that you can live and be free?
- How might you currently need to be saved, delivered, freed, or healed? Will you, like the ancient Hebrews, cry out for help, trusting that just as He once parted the waters and saved them, so He can do the same for you now?
I know without a doubt God has me in his hands. There is still a lot that keeps him busy. You make those Sunday School lessons into something meaningful. My childhood teachers did not have your gift. I give thanks for you each morning. Blessings
Excellent!!