From the Pastor's Desk . . . .
“The Lord Will Fight For You”
The Hebrew slaves didn’t win their own liberation. It was initiated and accomplished by God.
The Israelites left Egypt burdened down by children, cattle, and cartloads of household goods. Meanwhile, Egypt’s war chariots mobilized and quickly hemmed them in against the shore of the Red Sea. The Israelites were ready to give up and go back. “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” they complained to Moses and Aaron. “What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11).
That’s when Moses told them, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:13-14). God Himself, in the pillar of fire and cloud, drove back the Egyptians and held them at bay. Then God opened the sea so Israel could pass over on dry ground. The Egyptians attempted to pursue them but were destroyed by the returning waves.
On the far side of the sea Moses and the Israelites sang to Yahweh: “I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:1-2a).
The Israelites’ song of celebration was not about their own strength or cunning or accomplishment but about the victory accomplished by God and granted to them. Israel’s great deliverance was God’s work, not theirs.
In the same way, our deliverance is God’s work. It’s not something we do on our own or even contribute to! He comes to us and in spite of us; He saves us and leads us out of a life of slavery to sin into the Promised Land of His presence. “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
By Pastor Edwards
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