Exodus 14 tells how God brought a mighty victory to his children. The angel of death had already taken the firstborn.
Side note: Ex 4:22--And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn:
Ex 4:23--And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.
Everyone else looked at the 2 million people as being 500 years removed from the birth of Isaac. That's even the way it seemed to the Hebrews in captivity. BUT--it is not how other people or even natural circumstances view you. It is how God sees you and how God describes your circumstances.
Now the children of Israel had the Red Sea in front of them, a wilderness on both sides and a very angry Pharaoh and his army behind them. And, no, God was not far away watching and biting his fingernails while He wondered what would become of them. He had already spoken to Abraham some 500 years before that this very thing would happen. He, also, told Abraham that He would judge the nation that held them captive (Gen 15:14).
If you were watching this on CNN news, (since they habitually get the news wrong anyway) you would see a well-trained, well-armed, frothing-at-the-mouth army advancing on foot and in chariots. You would see the helpless (?) men, women and children huddled together as they wondered what would happen next. If they could peer into heaven, they would still not see God biting His nails. If CNN looked to God at all, they would have seen Him smiling as His well-thought out AND choreographed plan worked just the way He wanted it to.
You see, the END of this story was what we would call "engraved in stone" some five hundred years before, when God told Abraham what would happen. The Word of God was not a theory, a philosophy or a fairy tale. For five hundred years, the Word of God was a small piece of history that had not come to pass yet. We have been taught all of our lives the truth of this story.
If the Hebrews had viewed the Word of God as Abraham did, they would have been dancing around the campfires and in the middle of the streets every day of their captivity. They would have been talking excitedly to each other instead of singing the blues all of their lives. Near the end of their captivity, the newborn male children were slaughtered, they were forced into labor, they were beaten unmercifully and had every reason to moan and groan. Naturally, they did---just as we would do in similar circumstances.
However, had they viewed the Word of God as being the truth in their situation instead of the situation being the absolute truth about them, their actions would be much different. They would have joyously gone about serving the Lord their God. They would have encouraged each other when things looked bleak. They would have memorized the Word of God concerning their future and quoted it over and over and over again. The Word of God would have become the reality in their lives. The circumstances that they faced would have been just something they knew they had to go through.
Now, back to the war zone. Just as everything got bleaker than it ever could and the horrible end seemed to be certain and very near, God did something the enemy never expected. He honored his Word with a vengeance. You see, the Hebrews had a secret weapon. It was the integrity of God and His Word. God's Word was mightier than any enemy that they faced.
And, He and His Word still are. As Christians in these trying times, we need to be clinging more and more to God than we ever have. There are things that I am going through right now that I just can't figure out. Just because I can't, doesn't mean that God hasn't. Jer 29:11 says that God already has figured out a plan for me, and you as well. Instead of focusing on the problem, let's rally around the answer and do a little dancing in the streets. Let's encourage one another to trust God and His Word. Let's serve Him with all of our hearts. The day will come when a loving God will call from His throne, "It's time for the Word to come to pass." Then like the Hebrews, we will see our enemies no more and God will bring us into His promises.
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