God the Victor; You the Spectator
Imagine you are going through a hard time. Maybe you don’t have to imagine because you are, in fact, going through a hard time. Maybe hard is too soft a word; you’re going through a difficult or even impossible time. What is your reaction in this situation? Do you pray to God and trust Him? Do you blame God and doubt Him? Do you “curse God and die?”¹
Every believer has a period in his or her life where he loses hope, loses faith, panics, or despairs. It is very easy to lose hope when the doctor says “cancer” or the accountant says “bankruptcy.” The odds seem insurmountable. The system is against you. The hand you were dealt was manipulated by a card mechanic. The light at the end of the tunnel is the train headed right toward you.
How did you get in this situation in the first place? Was it random or a simple effect of living in a fallen world? Was it your fault? Did you get yourself into this mess and now you’ve got to get yourself out? Or was it entirely God’s doing?
Rarely do we find ourselves in a bad situation and then give God credit for putting us there and mean that as a positive, though we might be quick to give Him the blame.
The ancient Hebrews found themselves in this situation long ago.² After being delivered from slavery in Egypt via ten plagues but before receiving the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites found themselves pinned against the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army, over 600 chariots strong, bearing down upon them. God parted the sea, they crossed on dry land, Pharaoh tried to follow, God released the waters, Pharaoh drowned, and God received glory. There are many insights to gain from this passage.
They Were Unaware of Why the Enemy Arrived
One interesting and often overlooked thing in Exodus 14 is that God set up the encounter. It was not happenstance. He told Moses to have the nomadic tribe of over two million people backtrack and return to a place they’d already passed through. Pharaoh’s scouts saw it, reported back, and Pharaoh drew the conclusion that the people of Israel were lost, confused, and vulnerable. His arrogance and short memory led him to attack the Hebrews to corral them and bring them back.
Often, it’s not, “I got myself into this, now I’ve got to get myself out.”
Often, it’s “God got me into this, and God’s got to get me out.”
The Hebrews knew nothing about God’s role in this. There is no evidence in Exodus 14 that Moses told them what was going to happen. When Pharaoh’s army came over that last sand dune, the Israelites panicked and despaired. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12 HCSB).
I wonder how many times this has been the case for me and for you and for every Christian. We’re in a bad situation, we despair, and we are completely unaware that God Himself sent the enemy and that he has no intention of letting them get a single lick in. We would do well to ruminate on an observation of the late modern-day prophet Tom Petty - “Most things I worry about never happen anyway.”³
It may be that when you or I are in a terrible situation, God is the reason. He is also the deliverance.
With the people deathly afraid of the massive army headed their way, Moses told them God is about to fight for them. All Israel has to do is watch. Moses said, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet” (Exodus 14:13-14 HCSB).
Note that the word “see” is in Moses’ response three times. Israel is simply to watch the deliverance of God.
Exodus 14:14 in four translations:
“The LORD will fight for you; you must be quiet” (HCSB).
“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (ESV).
“The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (NASB).
“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (NIV).⁵
Exodus 14:14 is one of the most famous verses in the Bible. In four of the most used English translations, the first phrase is always translated the same way: “The Lord will fight for you.”⁴ This is great encouragement. No matter the army’s size or skill, even one believer plus God is a majority. The enemy army is outnumbered. The omnipotent and omnipresent God has them surrounded. The second phrase contains Israel’s requirement. It is variously translated as being still or silent. We are simply to watch God win.
The Result of Watching God Fight Is God’s Glory
The main result of God fighting for Israel is that He received glory. First, He received it from Egypt. God told Moses, “The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen” (Exodus 14:18). Maybe when none of the army returned, Egypt once again learned the lesson that Israel’s God is God. At the very least, Pharaoh and his army learned it the hard way. Second, God received glory again from his people. Israel solidified their belief in God and His power and in Moses (Exodus 14:31).
The End of the Matter
See if this sounds familiar. Things are bad, but then, they just seem to work themselves out.
Perhaps things didn’t work themselves out. Perhaps, like the Israelites in Exodus 14, God brought an enemy to you, you freaked out, then God smote the enemy. All you did was keep still while God fought for you.
The adversary was sent by God. The salvation was sent by God. In our fallen condition, we may never see this, but if we have eyes to see, we will give God the glory.
The LORD bless you and keep you.
¹ Job 2:9
² Either 15th century B.C. or 13th century B.C., depending on the scholar. My vote is for the 13th century B.C.
³ “Crawling Back to You,” Wildflowers, 1994
⁴ Note that this “you” is plural and refers to the people of Israel in a specific historical situation, not a singular “you” to be taken out of context. We can’t claim Exodus 14:14 as a magic talisman of protection, but as the truth that God is for His people.
⁵ The Bible is replete with passages telling the people of God to be still and let God work, to sit and watch. Perhaps we should try it.
