This week we experience the Israelites finally being let go
by Pharaoh only to have him pursue them with his army as they come upon the Red
Sea. The crossing of the Red Sea is such
a famous story, one that we immediately think of when we talk about Moses. It is often the subject of many a joke. Maxie Dunnam shares an illustration which I
had heard before and perhaps you have as well.
But it’s worth reading/hearing again even if you have heard it.
After church, a young boy was asked by his parents what he
learned in Sunday school. He shared this
unique version of the crossing of the Red Sea:
“Moses organized all the Hebrews
into a resistance group…and they broke loose from their Egyptian slave
masters. They moved fast as they could
toward Canaan. They drove every kind of
vehicle they could get hold of – jeeps, half-tracks, sixteen-wheelers –
everything. But Pharaoh’s army wouldn’t
quit. They tracked down the Israelites
with color radar. They exploded missiles
all around them and shot at them from jet planes in the sky. When Moses reached the Red Sea, they thought
they were finished…Suddenly, though, the Corps of Engineers came to the rescue
and built a pontoon bridge over the Red Sea and all the fugitives crossed over
to freedom. Then, just as Pharaoh’s
forces were about to go across the bridge, the Hebrews blew it up with dynamite
and saved all the people.”
The boy’s parents were concerned
about his overactive imagination. “Is
this really what they told you at church this morning?” they inquired. “Well, not exactly,” their son replied. “But if I told you what they told me, you’d
never believe it.” (The Communicator’s Commentary – Exodus p.158)
This illustration reminds us that stories such as the
crossing of the Red Sea are looked upon skeptically by some. I am fine with those whose faith questions
whether the Red Sea account literally happened or if it is allegorical. But for me, giving energy to arguing those
issues is a waste of my time. My hope is
we never discount the truth and the value the story gives to us regardless of
how we view the reality of the story. My
choice is to take it at face value and do the best to apply it to my life.
Larry Crane, who came and did a training session with our
youth and children’s teachers and volunteers a few weeks ago, gave a suggestion
that I love. He told us to take 5 to 10
minutes soon after we have taught a lesson to read the scripture for the next
week’s lesson. This way, as a teacher,
we are better able “live into” the lesson for the following week. The pattern of my week is such that I try to
read the upcoming scripture for my blog/Sunday School lesson on Monday morning
at Starbucks. This week, I feel God has
revealed to me powerful applications of this story as I have tried to “live
into” it from Monday until now.
The details of the Red Sea passage are many but I want to focus
on one part in particular. Let’s look at
what happens when the Israelites come upon the Red Sea and the Egyptian army is
closing in behind them. In Exodus
14:10-12, we see in their moment of distress, the Israelites turn to their
leader, Moses, with great doubt and fear.
They basically cry out to Moses, “Why did you bring us out into the
wilderness to be trampled by the Egyptian army?
We were better off being their slaves!”
The Israelites were panicked. They
were overwhelmed. They doubted the
plan. But in the midst of their doubts,
we see God give the Israelites a 3 step plan, “Don’t be afraid, stand firm, and
move forward.” The first two commands
come from Moses in Exodus 14:13 in response to their panic. We must remember that Moses is God’s
mouthpiece here so it is as though God is saying it. Then, in a moment of prayer at the end of Exodus
14:15, God tells Moses to tell the Israelites to “move on” or “move
forward.” Let’s take a moment and
consider these three commands.
For me, in the midst of sharing and beginning some new ideas
at the church, I’ve received some push back in various ways, which is something
I should expect. But, in my tendencies
to be a peacemaker I’ve prayed to God such things as “Are you sure about this?“
or “What have you gotten me into?”
Dealing with conflict and/or differing opinions is never easy, but is usually
necessary in order to grow as a person, as a group and especially as a church. Sometimes, it can make you feel like you are
in between a rock and a hard place or even the Egyptian Army and the Red
Sea. But, when I read Maxie Dunnam’s
commentary earlier this week and he lifted up these three steps, these three
commands, if you will, I knew God was speaking to me. I did not hear Him audibly mind you, but it’s
as if He was saying “Dave, don’t be afraid.
I’m in control here. We are going
in the right direction. Stand firm and
watch me do my work of salvation. This
is the right thing to do. Just be
faithful to me and keep pointing people in the right direction, my
direction. We all just need to keep
moving forward.”
It reminds of a story of a couple and their son who went to
the park. The boy was not very old,
maybe 3 or 4. At the park were 3
slides. The couple sat down on the bench
and the boy raced to the first slide, the smallest one, and climbed up it and
slid down over and over. The boy grew
tired of this slide and went on to the next slide a bigger slide. He proceeded to climb this slide without any
hesitation and went down it with the wind in his hair and joy on his face. He again repeatedly went up and down this
slide until his eye caught the big slide.
It was double the size of the one he had just been on and all the kids
seemed to be playing on it. So he ran to
get in line for it. Meanwhile, the
couple had been watching all of this and when the boy went towards the big
slide the mother wanted her husband to go get the boy. She was afraid the child could not handle the
height of the big slide. The father
calmed his wife and said “Wait, I want to see what he does.” The boy gets to the front of the line and
begins to climb the tall ladder of the slide.
He gets most of the way up and begins to realize how high he really is
and he freezes. After a few seconds the
kids below start calling to him telling him to either keep going or come down. The boy’s father, watching all this happen,
gets up off of the bench and heads in his son’s direction. His son spots his father and cries to him
“Daddy, Daddy, I need your help.” His
father runs to the slide, begins to climb the ladder and says “Don’t be afraid,
son. We’ll go down it together.” And the two of them, with the wind in their
hair and joy on their faces, went up and down the slide many a time, together.
Our Heavenly Father is the same way. He wants us to come to a place where we have
put ourselves out there to the point where we are constantly reminded that we
need His help. Our young people need to
experience this as well. So often we
want to protect them. This is natural,
but don’t they, just like us, need to reach those points when they cry out to
their Heavenly Father and say “Daddy, I need your help.” We all need to learn when we are in a pickle
to not be afraid, stand firm, and move forward for our God is with us.
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