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WE ARE WALKING IN THE HAND OF GOD

01-23-11

(Psa 34:11)  Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

(Exo 13:20-22)  And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar [Heb: a column] of a cloud, to lead them the way [Heb: course of life]; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light [Heb: illumination]; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

ESCAPE FROM BONDAGE

(Exo 14:1-4)  And the LORD [Heb: Jehovah; the self-Existent or Eternal] spake unto Moses [a type of Jesus Christ], saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea [the Red Sea, the reed sea (papyrus): the Bible]. For Pharaoh [a type of Satan] will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD [Egypt was a type of the land of the unsaved]. And they did so [the Israelite “armies” (Exo 12:17,51) obeyed and encamped by the sea].

1.      (Gal 5:1)  Stand fast therefore in the liberty [Gk: freedom] wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled [Gk: ensnared] again with the yoke of bondage.

2.      (2 Tim 2:1-4)  Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth [Gk: to contend with carnal inclinations] entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

a.      (Luke 8:14)  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked [Gk: strangled completely] with cares [Gk: distractions] and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection [“no fruit” equals no salvation].

BUT THE EGYPTIANS PURSUED AFTER THEM

(Exo 14:5-9)  And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand [Heb: haughty, exalted, proud]. But the Egyptians pursued after them [a type and shadow of modern martyrdom now being experienced by Christians worldwide], all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

1.      pursued = Heb: to run after (usually with hostile intent:--chase, put to flight, follow (after, on), hunt, (be under) persecute (-ion, -or), pursue (-r).

(Exo 14:10-12)  And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

FEAR NOT

(Exo 14:13,14)  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still [i.e., do not run from before the Egyptians], and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

GO FORWARD

(Exo 14:15-18)  And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward [what might have happened had they not gone forward?]: But lift thou up thy rod [the rod of controlled sin], and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

(Exo 14:19,20)  And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them [the unsaved Egyptians], but it gave light by night to these [the being saved Israelites]: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

1.      (Joel 2:1,2)  Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness [for the unsaved], as the morning [Heb: dawn (sunrise)] spread upon the mountains [for the saved]: a great people and a strong [full of the Holy Spirit]; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations [i.e., until the end of the 1,000 year Millennium].

THE HAND OF GOD

(Exo 14:21-23)  And Moses stretched out his hand [as Moses’ faith grew, his rod became more intimate and personalized as “his hand”] over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall [Heb: a wall of protection] unto them on their right hand, and on their left [like the giant hand of God, and they walked safely through His palm]. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

1.      (John 10:28,29)  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand [figuratively, the Bible].

(Exo 14:24,25)  And it came to pass, that in the morning watch [about 6:00am] the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled [the Egyptians suffered Great Tribulation] the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians [the Egyptians’ first acknowledgement of the Lord, but alas, too late].

1.      Parenthetical Commentary: “took off their chariot wheels” = Perhaps in a modern application, the Lord will cut off the oil (gas, figuratively wheels) for this corrupt civilization’s many vehicles.

A TYPE OF THE SECOND COMING

(Exo 14:26-29)  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand [please notice that there is no longer mention of the rod, for Moses has matured and become “the rod of God” Exo 4:20] over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared [a type of the return of Jesus Christ in judgment]; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. [And the Hand of the LORD closed upon them,] And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

(Exo 14:30,31)  Thus the LORD saved Israel [literally and spiritually] that day out of the hand of the Egyptians [versus the Hand of the LORD]; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

1.      (Psa 111:10)  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

Amen