THE FEAR OF THE LORD
Exodus
14:13-14 Moses answered
the people, “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.”
Israel had enough in Egypt. They had become a country
within a country. They were slaves to the Egyptian nation. Crying out to
Jehovah, the Israelites begged for freedom from their bondage in Egypt. God
responded with an unusual and hidden display of his power. He hardened
Pharaoh's heart. This unusual when we think of what God could have done. He
could have destroyed Pharaoh and the entire nation in a moment. In a flash, the
Israelite’s problems would have been over. But to show them his grace and
judgment, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh over a period of time that
prolonged the sufferings of the Israelites. Over time the wickedness of sin in
the hearts of unbelievers is displayed through Pharaoh while the longing for
God would be increased among the Israelites.
God led them out of Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh’s army.
The Israelites were free from bondage and persecution. But the power and might
displayed by God was quickly forgotten by His people. They saw themselves move
from one enslavement to another. Their movement into the desert was in time
viewed by them not as freedom but as another horrendous experience. It was so
bad that they longed to return to Egypt and give up on Moses, God’s appointed
leader.
The faith they had in God to deliver them from Egypt
evaporated in the desert. The promise God offered was freedom to follow Him.
Their faith in his deliverance was the same faith that God had a reason and
purpose for them in the desert. How quickly we loose heart when our faith is
challenged by different and difficult circumstances.
Prayer: The faith you have given us for today‘s
challenges is sufficient for tomorrow. Help us to be mindful of the fact that
you give us no more than we can handle from day to day and from circumstance to
circumstance. By your power keep us faithful and true to our calling as
Christians.
Jericho Road Ministries Chapel, by Rev. Bruce W.
Gimbel, 2006.