Êxodo 14
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Êxodo 14
Wiersbe says "He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” (Ps. 103:7). The Jewish people were told what God wanted them to do, but Moses was told why God was doing it. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him And He will make them know His covenant.” (Ps 25:14). The leadership of Moses was a key ingredient in Israel’s success." (Be Delivered) Exodus 14:2 "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. that they - Ex 14:9 13:17,18 Nu 33:7,8 Migdol - . Jer 44:1 46:14 Eze 29:10, Exodus 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Click to Enlarge - Three Possible Locations of Encampment "ABOUT FACE" CAMP WITH BACK TO THE SEA! Keep the context in mind. We have just been told that "The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." (Ex 13:21-22) And now in addition to that leading by the pillar, Jehovah gives Moses a change in the "itinerary!" THOUGHT - Why did God lead Israel to this place which was militarily speaking a place of sure defeat? Because God knows that the place of desperation can become for us the place of dependence on Him! It is that place that we come to where we can see absolutely no way out, and then in utter desperation we have to cast ourselves completely, totally, upon Jehovah. In the place of desperation we come to understand the passage "Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." (Ps 55:22+) All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my Guide? -- Fanny Crosby John Currid phrases it this way - The Hebrews have all the evidence they need to believe that God is protecting them and that they will succeed in their escape from Egypt. How soon that assurance is shattered! God is about to place Israel back into the fiery furnace, into the raging crucible! (EPSC-Ex) Adrian Rogers calls this section of Exodus "the discipline of detours" and "dilemma of dead ends" - We say that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. Well, it may be the shortest distance, but it's not always the best distance. And, God has a purpose, many times, in His detours. And, He tells us, very quickly and very plainly, why He did not lead them directly, in Ex 13:17. God knew that they weren't ready...for war. THOUGHT - "God has a land of blessing for you. And, God has a place of fulfillment for you. And, God has a job for you to do. And, God has blessing upon blessing that He wants to give to you. And yet, He may have you, right now, out in the wilderness, going 'round and 'round in circles. And, you may think that you are out of the will of God. But, you're not out of the will of God. God is leading you 'round about, because God knows that you're not quite ready for some of the things that He has in store for you. And so, that winding road, that rocky road, that desert road, and that wilderness road that sometimes we find ourselves on does not mean that we're out of the will of God. God led them. This is the whole point: that God led them on a detour. God did not lead them on the straightest route. Sometimes, folks, you can get there too quickly. I've seen these 90-day wonders. They go up like a rocket and come down like a rock. They get out there; and they want it, and they want it now. But, you see, the reason that God led them in the wilderness was because it was God's boot camp. It was out there that He was going to toughen them....You know, that's a blessing to me, sometimes, because we all think we have to be achieving, and we have to be going in straight lines, or we are out of the will of God. Not necessarily so. The important thing is not that you know; the important thing is that God knows, and that you follow Him. (Adrian Rogers) Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea - Turn back (Heb = shub/sub; Lxx = apostrepho) means to change direction (like the military word "about face!" - reverse direction!) and this was the result of a divine directive, not a whim of their will. Yahweh gave this command to Moses to tell Israel to turn back and camp by the sea. There is uncertainty as where this location was, but one thing is clear, that it was by the sea. On one side of the camp was Egyptian territory and on the other was the sea. This command humanly would not appear to be the best strategic or military decision, because Israel would be exposed to Pharaoh if he should come after them and their backs would be to the sea. But human plans are not always in synch with divine plans! The Egyptians would interpret Israel's REVERSAL OF DIRECTION as failure to find the direct route to Canaan. Alan Cole on the locations and names - Some are sites unknown to us (e.g. the good Egyptian name Pi-ha-hiroth, ‘region of salt marshes’) while others are ambiguous (several places called Migdol or ‘watchtower’ are known). Baal-zephon, ‘Baal of the north’ is interesting evidence for the influence of Canaanite religion on Egypt, for it is clearly the temple of a Canaanite god. (TOTC-Ex) Currid - Israel is on the brink of escape into the wilderness. But God orders the people to ‘turn back’. Instead of breaking out of the land of death, God causes the Hebrews to reverse their course. He then commands them to encamp with their backs to the sea, and so it appears that they have no escape route out of Egypt. They are sitting ducks. (Ibid) THOUGHT - Have you ever been led into a situation in which you thought God was leading you, but the situation seemed to be far less optimal then you had thought or hoped it would be? Sometimes God allows us in "tight spots" to test us and show us His power and glory. Migdol is related to a Hebrew word meaning "fortress" or "tower" and while the location is uncertain. Historically, Egypt had a number of "fortresses" guarding her eastern boundary and presumably this name refers to one of those fortresses.
Êxodo 14
Wiersbe - These verses introduce the disappointing pattern of Israel’s behavior during their march from Egypt to Canaan. As long as everything was going well, they usually obeyed the Lord and Moses and made progress. But if there was any trial or discomfort in their circumstances, they immediately began to complain to Moses and to the Lord and asked to go back to Egypt. However, before we criticize the Jews, perhaps we’d better examine our own hearts. How much disappointment or discomfort does it take to make us unhappy with the Lord’s will so that we stop believing and start complaining? “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). When you forget God’s promises, you start to imagine the worst possible scenario. The Jews were sure that they and their children would die in the wilderness as soon as Pharaoh’s army caught up with them. The frightened people reminded Moses that they had told him to leave them alone (Ex. 5:20–23), but he had persisted in challenging Pharaoh. Israel was now in a terrible predicament, and Moses was to blame. Life Application Study Bible - Trapped against the sea, the Israelites faced the Egyptian army sweeping in for the kill. The Israelites thought they were doomed. After watching God's powerful hand deliver them from Egypt, their only response was fear, whining, and despair. Where was their trust in God? Israel had to learn from repeated experience that God was able to provide for them. God has preserved these examples in the Bible so that we can learn to trust him the first time. By focusing on God's faithfulness in the past, we can face crises with confidence rather than with fear and complaining. Exodus 14:12 "Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness." Is not this - Ex 5:21 Ex 3:9 Leave us alone - Ho 4:17 Mk 1:24 5:7,17,18 For it - Jon 4:3,8 Exodus 14 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE "I-TOLD-YOU-SO" PSEUDO-PROPHETS! This title is from Walter Kaiser who comments "Then followed the crepe-hanging with its “I-told-you-so” pseudoprophets." THOUGHT - What is their mistake? They forget the redemption by the Passover lamb and instead of focusing on Jehovah Who wrought their redemption, they set their eyes on their circumstances, ignoring the fact that Jehovah had led them into these circumstances. Remember, before we are too hard on them, we need to recall that Israel is frequently a picture of our fallen flesh! We fall into the trap of blaming God for our adverse circumstances and tend to forget crucial truth such as Paul's words in 1 Cor 10:13+ "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." Notice in the center of this verse those precious words GOD IS FAITHFUL. That means God is trustworthy and even in the midst of the affliction or adversity, He can be trusted. He has not left us nor forsaken us in the midst of the trial or test! But we have short memories of His strong hand of deliverance in past trials and adversities! Lord, by Your Spirit, please enable us to remember and rehearse in our mind, Your many previous great deliverances, especially our redemption by the blood of the Lamb, that we might stand fast and see the salvation of the LORD in the current crisis we are walking through, all for Your glory and all possible because of Your Lamb, Christ Jesus. Amen. Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness - Leave us alone is a command to their leader to stop leading them so they can be enslaved again! So much for the oppression in Egypt which had prompted Israel's cries back in Ex 2:23+! "Suddenly the hardships of their Egyptian bondage were forgotten." (Kaiser) And I would add (and even more tragic and surprising) that the powerful hand of Jehovah in inflicting 10 plagues on Egypt was suddenly forgotten!!! Had they totally forgotten how Jehovah was able to afflict Egypt and protect Israel (in Goshen) (cf flies - Ex 8:22-24, livestock - Ex 9:4-6, hail - Ex 9:26, darkness - Ex 10:23 firstborn - Ex 12:23, 29, 30) ? Apparently so! THOUGHT - How do we view our circumstances? We are in danger of grumbling when we begin to take our eyes of the LORD Who allows circumstances in our life for our good and His glory! (James 1:2-5, Ro 5:2-5, Ro 8:28). Who had led Israel to this place proverbially between a "rock and a hard place," between the desert and danger of Egyptians and the impossibi lity of escape through the Red Sea?