Let us turn again to this portion
that we've just read here in Exodus chapter 14 and I want
to direct you to the words that we find at verse 13 through 15
three verses here in Exodus chapter 14 verse 13 through 15 And Moses said unto the people,
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord,
which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians whom ye have
seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord
shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord
said unto Moses, Wherefore cryest thou unto me? Speak unto the
children of Israel, that they go forward. Considering then this particular
portion of God's Holy Word, we have a situation of course where
the people very much feel themselves to be shut in. In verse 9, the Egyptians pursue
after them, Pharaoh with his horses and chariots, whilst they
are encamping there by the sea beside Pi-ha-heroth before Baal-ziphon. And this was just as God had
appointed as we see previously. Verse 2, they're brought into
this situation that Pharaoh will come to the conclusion that they're
entangled in the land and the wilderness has shut them in. And so in this situation we find
them to be so sore afraid in verse 10 end of that verse they
were sort of afraid and they cried 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 into the wilderness
and then We come to the words that I've read from our text,
the words that Moses speaks unto the people and then the word
that the Lord himself speaks unto Moses. And in a sense we
might say there seems to be some contradiction in the commands
that are being given in this portion. Moses says to the people in verse
13, stand still But then in verse 15, the Lord says to Moses, speak
unto the children of Israel that they go forward. So, in one verse
they are to stand still, but then immediately after that they
are to go forward. There seems to be some contradiction
in the commands. Understand that the words that
Moses is speaking there in verse 13 aren't really his own words.
It's the word that the Lord has given him. He's a prophet. And
he's addressing himself to the people as one who is the Lord's
servant to them, seeking to minister and comfort to them. Fear ye
not, he says. Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord, which he will show to you to die. the Lord isn't really rebuking
him there's a reason why the Lord speaks as he does there
in verse 15 it's not really a contradiction we know God doesn't contradict
himself but the command is certainly somewhat paradoxical and so what
I want us to do is to try to unravel what is being said here
in this portion and just two points first of all to look at
that word that Moses speaks to the people stand still and then
secondly the word that the Lord speaks to Moses when he is to
tell the children of Israel that they go forward first of all
then the words at the beginning of verse 13 and you will see
how Moses initially begins by telling them that they are not
to be afraid. We have one of the great fear
nots of Holy Scripture. How often we find such words
as the Lord speaks to His children because His children are prone
to be afraid. We have several of such fear
nots there in the book of the Prophet Isaiah in chapter 41,
and then again in chapter 43. Chapter 41 and verse 10, Fear
thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee, I will
help thee, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
And then again there at verse 13, I the Lord thy God will hold
thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee, Fear
not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel. I will help thee,
saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. And then turning over to chapter
43. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and thee that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name.
Thou art mine. And then verse 5 of that chapter.
Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather them from the west. Time and again we find
the Lord God then uttering these comforting words to his children.
They're not to be fearful. We're prone to be a fearful people. Fear ye not. There's a certain
emphasis really in that we have the pronoun there between the
two words fear not. And the word is very much directed
to the whole of the people of Israel, that they're not to be
afraid of these pursuing armies of the Pharaoh, they're to stand
still, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, says Moses. We think of the language of the
Psalmist in Psalm 46, Be still and know that I am God's. Well what does it mean then when
they're told here not to be afraid but to stand still? What's the
significance of this word of command really that Moses is
giving to the children of Israel? Well they're not to be anxious
and not to be a people who are worried and not to be fretful. In fact, what are they doing
in the circumstances as we see it in the former part of the
chapter? They are tending to blame Moses very much for where
they are, for what's come upon them as we see there in verses
11 and 12. They put those questions to him
as to who had taken us away to die in the wilderness. Wherefore
hast thou thus with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Weren't there enough graves in
Egypt for us that we come here that we might perish in this
bitter wilderness? Are they very quick then to point
the finger to Moses. He's the man who has led them.
He's the man who has brought them out. They're quick to blame
him and they cry out. They cry out to God at the end
of verse 10. The children of Israel, he said,
cried out unto the Lord. Now we need to be careful how
we interpret those words because they're not crying out unto the
Lord in faith and in prayer in the context here. They are crying
out unto the Lord in the way of complaining. As the Egyptians
are marching after them, as they are so afraid, they cry unto
the Lord and then they say to Moses, because there were no
graves in Egypt as they had taken us away to die in the wilderness. They are without faith. They're
ready to blame another, and in blaming Moses they are really
blaming the Lord God Himself. We have those words, don't we,
in the Psalm, Psalm 37 and verse 8. Cease from anger and forsake
wrath. Threaten not thyself in any way
to do evil. Well, they're doing evil because
they're so fretful, they're so worried, they're so anxious.
and the language there of the psalmist is cease from anger
forsake wrath stand still this is what Moses is saying here
in verse 13 that is stand still and then at the end of verse
4 he says hold your peace here then we see what it means
to stand still it means to cease being anxious and no more to
be fretful and ready to blame others and to blame God they
are to stand still in that sense but also they are to stand still
in the sense that they are not to go back they are not to flee away as
it were they speak as if they would have
sooner stayed in Egypt Maybe they were minded even then that
they could go back to Egypt, go back to their bondage. Sooner
that than be found here in the wilderness with the armies of
Pharaoh pursuing after them. Again, think of the language
of the Psalmist in the 78th Psalm where we read of the children
of Ephraim going back in the day of battle. In Psalm 78, At
verse 9, the children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of
God, and refused to walk in his law, and forgot his works and
his wonders that he had shown them, marvellous things which
did he in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt,
in the field of Zoan, He divided the sea and caused them to pass
through, and He made the waters to stand as an heap. Here Asaph
in the psalm is speaking of what God actually does in the chapter
where our text is tonight. God would make a way for His
people. And God brought them out of Egypt. But how quick they
are to forget His works. He was the one who had delivered
them in such a remarkable fashion at the time of the Passover. He was the one who had destroyed
all the firstborn of the Egyptians and previous to that of course
the other nine plagues that the Lord God had visited upon Pharaoh. But you see the past experience
of this people seemed to be of no real avail with them. They
had a very present need and having a present need they were forgetful
of God's past mercies. But see what Moses says here
in the 13th verse concerning the Lord God. He speaks of the
salvation of the Lord which he will show to you today. For the
Egyptians whom you've seen today You shall see them again no more
forever. Twice he uses that expression
today. God is going to show you something
today. These Egyptians who are pursuing
after you, they're going to be destroyed today. Oh, they're not to flee back.
They're to stand still and God will appear in their present
circumstances. God is our refuge and strength,
says the psalmist, a very present help in time of trouble. He's not just a help. He's not just a present help.
No, there in the opening words of Psalm 46 we're reminded He's
a very present help in time of trouble. And so although God
had done wondrous things for them in the past in bringing
them out from the midst of all the cruel bondage that was theirs
in Egypt, God will appear for them again even in the very present
circumstances that they find themselves in that to stand still
in. They're not to be dreadful and not to flee away. What are
they to do? Well, it's all negatives. They're
not to be anxious, they're not to flee, and they're not to fight. They're not even to fight. God will fight for them. Stand
still, He says, and see the salvation of the Lords, which He will show
to you today. And then He says, verse 14, The
Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." How remarkable are the words
then that we have when we consider the significance of Moses' command
that they stand still. And yet we have to reconcile
this of course with what is said subsequently. when the Lord says
in verse 15 to Moses wherefore cryeth thou unto me speak unto
the children of Israel that they go forward well presently we'll
come to consider the significance of that but it's interesting
isn't it that they are to go forward but they go forward
in a sense, by means of that rod. Because after he utters
that word, go forward, the next verse, verse 16, But lift thou
up thy rod, 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. There is clearly
something significant about the rod. And we're reminded of the significance
of the rod, right at the beginning when Moses is first given his
commission, he was the Lord's servant who was to be the deliverer
of the children of Israel. And we read of the rod back in
chapter 4, verse 17, as he's commissioned
to go back into Egypt. Remember how we had
fled from the presence of Pharaoh? And he'd been there now with
Jethro looking after the flock of Jethro in Midian. That was when the Lord had appeared
to him in chapter 3. And in verse 17 of chapter 4,
Thou shalt take this rod in thine hand wherewith thou shalt do
signs. or there's something significant
about the rod. It's the same rod spoken of previously
there in that fourth chapter. Verse 2, the Lord says to Moses,
What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said,
Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground
and it became a serpent. And Moses fled from before it.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand and take
it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and
caught it, and it became a rod in his hand. And then it's added that they
may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared
unto them. This rod seems to be like his
scepter. It's that that gives him authority,
but the authority is really God's. It is the rod wherewith he will
do signs and perform mighty works and so here we see it is to lift
up that very rods over the sea and God will appear and the waters
will be divided and the children of Israel will go through on
the dry land for the Lord you see is the one who appears for
his people he will do mighty works for his people And surely
we are to remember that. We are to remember that. Our
strength so often is to stand still. Isaiah 30 verse 7, their strength
is to stand still. We've already referred to the
words of Psalm 46. Be still and know that I am God. We are to be strong in the Lord.
and in the power of His might. And yet at the same time we are
to fight the good fight of faith, and to lay hold on eternal life.
We're not in that sense passive, but we're looking to the Lord.
And we're looking to the Lord to appear and to demonstrate
something of His gracious might as He accomplishes His eternal
purpose. and so turning in the second
place to what he said in verse 15 where
the Lord said unto Moses wherefore cryest thou unto me speak unto
the children of Israel that they go forward they are to go forward
but they're not going forward in their own strength they're
going forward as they are looking to the Lord as their faith is
very much placed in Him. He is the Lord who will appear
time and again and demonstrate that He is their God. And what does God do for them?
Well, three things God does for them as they go forward. It is God who saves. He is their
Saviour God. And how does God save them? Well,
he saves them, in a sense, by that cloudy, fiery pillar that
was leading them all the way through the wilderness. We read of that pillar at the end of the previous chapter, chapter
13, the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud
to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to
give them light to go by day and night. He took not away the
pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from
before the people. It is the Lord God then who is
leading them by that pillar, that fiery cloudy pillar. And that is associated in many
ways with the angel of the Lord. And we see that here in this
14th chapter of verse 19 because we're told how the angel of God,
which went before the camp, removed and went behind them. And the
pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind
them. and he came between the camp
of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was a cloud
and darkness to them, but he gave light by night to these,
so that the one came not near the other all the night." Now the significant thing here
of course is this fiery cloudy pillar is so much associated
with the very presence of God. associated with what is referred
to as the angel of God there in verse 19. But in fact, that
angel is none other of course than the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We move on again into the 23rd
chapter, we discover something more. There in chapter 23 and
verse 20, the Lord speaks and says, Behold, I send an angel
before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into
the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice. Provoke him not, for he will
not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him." Here
the Lord God is speaking, but He is speaking of another person.
Here we have the Father, as it were, speaking of the Son, who
is the Angel of the Lord, and He is equal to the Father, he
says they are not to provoke this angel because if they do
he will not pardon their transgressions he can pardon sins now who can
forgive sins but God only God only forgives sins but this one
is one you see God says my name is in him oh here we see clearly
the Lord Jesus Christ How remarkable it is that He
appears in the Old Testament Scriptures time and again as
the Angel of the Lord. And He is that One who is going
to be the Savior of this people, and He is there in that cloudy
fiery pillar that comes between the camp of Israel and the Egyptians. And whilst it is light to the
Israelites, it is nothing but blackness and darkness to the
Egyptians, the Lord God. is in this. What is God doing?
He is saving, yes, but more than that, the Lord God separates. He separates between Israel and
Egypt. There is a difference. And we
see that quite clearly in the language that we have there in
that 20th verse of the chapter. But we see it on previous occasions,
back in chapter 11, and the end of verse 7, how the Lord God
says that He will put a difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. God puts a difference and of
course He does it In that final play, the destruction of the
firstborn, the destroying angel passes over the houses of the
Hebrews. They shelter under the Passover
blight that was upon the doorpost and the lentils. They were able, therefore, to
escape. God made a difference. But we
have a remarkable verse back in chapter 8 and verse 23, again
reminding us of that separation, that difference. In chapter 8
and verse 23 God says, I will put a division between my people
and thy people, as he speaks to Pharaoh. I will put a division,
and the margin tells us that the Hebrew word literally is
the word redemption. I will put a redemption between
my people and my people. It's the Passover lamb of course,
it's the redeeming blood, but it all directs us to the Lord
Jesus Christ and how that redemption that is in Christ is clearly
a particular redemption, it's for a particular people. God
doesn't just save, God separates, He separates His people. We see
it time and again in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, how dividing
that ministry is, a division amongst the people because of
Him, or a division amongst the people because of His sayings,
John tells us on several occasions there in his Gospel. And the
apostles too in their ministry, Paul tells us, concerning His
own ministry to the one we are the saver of death unto death,
to the other the saver of life unto death. Who is sufficient
for these things? How discriminating is God in
His ways, in His dealings? Is God then who makes the difference,
who saves His people, who separates His people? But also here we
see that God is the one who reveals himself really to
his people. Back in the 13th verse, Moses
says, See the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you. It is the Lord who shows it to his
people. This is the way they go forward. They go forward as
those who are looking to him. The God who is revealing himself
to them is that one who is able to save them in every situation.
and all the circumstances of their lives. We know that real
religion is a revelation. That is so abundantly clear when
we come to the New Testament. When Peter makes that great confession
in Caesarea Philippi, recorded in Matthew 16, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God, and how the Lord says to him, Blessed
art thou, O blessed art thou, Simon, Bar-Jonah, Simon, son
of Jonah, flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but
my Father which is in heaven." It's a revelation. And Paul the
same. He tells us, doesn't he, in Galatians
1, how it pleased God to reveal His Son in man. And he doesn't
consult with flesh and blood. It's a sovereign revelation.
It comes from the Lord Himself. And sometimes we sing that That
lovely hymn of William Tucker's, William Tucker of Chards, and
those great free grace hymns that we find in the book by Tucker. 399 Jesus, reveal thyself to
me. Is that how we come to the Word
of God? Is that what we desire? We come into another year, we
want fresh discoveries. New revelations, as it were.
I know we have a complete revelation, of course, here in the Word of
God, but there's so much, it seems, that's hidden from us,
and we want the Lord to open our eyes, that we might see wondrous
things here in His law. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. The Lord has to give it to us.
He has to open our eyes, that we might behold the great truth. We're not worthy of the least
of His favors. That's what St. Jacob says, isn't
it? Not worthy of the least of his favours and the truth that
he has shown us, how he shows us his truth. And we see it here,
of course, in this passage in which we have what might seem
on the surface to be contradictory commandments, but they're not
really. There's a paradox in these things. They are to stand
still. the Lord will save them but in
order to experience that salvation there must be that going forward
and so it is with us we have to venture and we have to venture
into a new year and we know not what the year might bring but
we know that this God is the one who saves who separates this
is the one who shows his people wondrous things well the Lord
Be pleased to bless His truth to us tonight. We'll leave it there and we'll
sing our second hymn 783. The Hymn 783. We're going to
omit verses 6, 7, and 8. Omitting three verses, 6, 7,
and 8. We're singing to the tune Andes,
number 89. 7, 8, 3. Oh, what a narrow, narrow path
is that which leads to life, some talk of works and some of
faith with warmth and zeal and strife. singing 783 and omitting
verses 678 to tune 89. Oh, what a narrow, narrow path
is that which leads to life. Some talk of works and some of
faith with warm hands, But after all that's ever done,
Let men think what they will. The strength of every tempted
soul Consists in standings And still there's one that's
easy sure, Tis what I always do. Deluded soul, be unsecure,
This is not meant to you. The dream I feel, a dream I love,
the years I choose to live. But for a living soul to stand
Five thousand dangers came And feel destruction close at hand
Oh, this indeed is Lord, let Thy sin prompt us when
to go and when to stay. Attract us with the cause of
men, and we shall not delay. Give power and will and in command,
and we will follow Thee. And when we're frightened, lead
us, stand, and thy salvation seek.