Written by: Laurence Gamlen - CPAS
Exodus 15 v 1-8
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
"I will sing to the LORD, because he is worthy of great honour.
He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.
The LORD gives me strength and makes me sing; he has saved me.
He is my God, and I will praise him.
He is the God of my fathers, and I will honour him.
The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.
The chariots and soldiers of the king of Egypt he has thrown into the sea.
The king's best officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
The deep waters covered them, and they sank to the bottom like a rock.
Your right hand, LORD, is amazingly strong.
LORD, your right hand broke the enemy to pieces.
In your great victory you destroyed those who were against you.
Your anger destroyed them, like fire burning straw.
Just a blast of your breath, and the waters piled up.
The moving water stood like a wall; the deep waters became solid in the middle
of the sea.
Notes
When was the last time you felt euphoric? You know the feeling; it's
that tremendous sense of relief and joy you might get when you have sat an
exam and it actually went okay, or at least better than you dared hope for.
I can recall such a moment when the examiner told me that I had passed my driving
test. I guess that it is natural to somehow express those feelings in a real
way. You might want to punch the air or hug someone, although I doubt that
my driving examiner would have appreciated such an outburst if I had hugged
him.
The Israelites as a nation were having a euphoric moment. They had seen themselves facing total wipeout at the hands of the Egyptians, who had chased them to the shore of the sea.
And then God stepped in. These verses tell the story of God stepping in to save them. The Israelites' response was one of thankfulness and praise. They recognised that it was God who gave them strength and it was God who had saved them. They knew him to be the one who fought their battles for them and the one whose might could not be beaten.
In the battles and fights that we find ourselves in at the moment, are we aware of that same power and strength being available to us so that we may be strong? Paul sums it up in a New Testament verse that says this: "I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength" (Philippians 4 v 13).
Prayer
Lord God, thank you that you are strong enough to see me through my battles.
Help me to depend more on your strength and less on my own. Amen
Exodus 15 v 9-13
"The enemy bragged,
'I'll chase them and catch them.
I'll take all their riches;
I'll take all I want.
I'll pull out my sword, and my hand will destroy them.'
But you blew on them with your breath and covered them with the sea.
They sank like lead in the raging water.
"Are there any gods like you, LORD?
There are no gods like you.
You are wonderfully holy, amazingly powerful, a worker of miracles.
You reached out with your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies.
You keep your loving promise and lead the people you have saved.
With your strength you will guide them to your holy place."
Notes
I had a number of thoughts in my head when I read today's verses. I really
wasn't too sure what to write about. Should I major on the bit at the beginning
about bragging and talk about the problem and dangers of pride? Perhaps I
should say something about the awesome power of God, who by the simple act
of breathing caused the natural movement of the sea to stop?
Or maybe I should comment on the God who keeps his loving promise to lead his people? Sometimes it is enough to let God's word speak to us without the need for someone like me to say too much about it, and maybe as you read these few verses God may be reminding you of what you need to hear from him today. But just so that I don't do myself out of a job here, let me say something about that last point, the bit about God keeping his word. I know that I have a really bad memory sometimes, and in the frustrations of the day I can forget the promise of God that says he will never fail me nor let me go. If I remember that, then I guess that stops me from bragging in my own strength too, and it reminds me to give him all the thanks and praise.
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the gift of your word to me, and what it says about
you and me. Lord, please let the words soak into me and bring to mind those
things that you long for me to hear and learn from you. Amen
Exodus 15 v 14-18
"The other nations will hear this and tremble with fear; terror will take
hold of the Philistines.
The leaders of the tribes of Edom will be very frightened; the powerful men
of Moab will shake with fear; the people of Canaan will lose all their courage.
Terror and horror will fall on them.
When they see your strength, they will be as still as a rock.
They will be still until your people pass by, LORD.
They will be still until the people you have taken as your own pass by.
You will lead your people and place them on your very own mountain, the place
that you, LORD, made for yourself to live, the temple, Lord, that your hands
have made.
The LORD will be king for ever!"
Notes
I don't know if you have ever had that kind of conversation with a friend about
your faith, and despite everything you say, they just don't get it. It can
be really frustrating sometimes, and it can make us feel very inadequate
and real failures. The Israelites thought that because God had saved them
from the hands of the Egyptians in such an awesome and amazing way, anybody
and everybody who had heard about it would be afraid of the same sort of
thing happening to them (as had happened to the Egyptians) if they got in
the way of the Israelite nation.
History suggests that the Israelites' optimism - that they were in for an easy time from now on - was just a little misplaced here. There were still battles to be fought before they were to arrive at their place of destination: the temple where they thought God was going to live.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing; we can look back now and see that the Israelites had only got God's vision half right. Sure there was a time coming when God would walk with his people, but that time was many years down the track. It was a time when God would give his own son to walk and live among us, and by so doing enable all who believe in him to live with the Lord, the king, for ever. May you know Jesus himself walking alongside you this day.
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for the gift of the Lord Jesus to walk with me on my journey
towards you. Thanks for his promise to be with me for all time. Help me to
share that promise with others who don't yet know it for themselves. Amen
Exodus 15 v 19-21
The horses, chariot drivers and chariots of the king of Egypt went into the
sea, and the LORD covered them with water from the sea. But the Israelites
walked through the sea on dry land. Then Aaron's sister Miriam, a prophetess,
took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her, playing tambourines
and dancing. Miriam told them:
"Sing to the LORD, because he is worthy of great honour; he has thrown the
horse and its rider into the sea."
Notes
I don't know if you struggle like I do with some of the stuff that you read
in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament which sometimes seems to be
full of gory accounts of God either killing loads of people, or not stopping
other people doing it seemingly on his behalf. We have one of those occasions
in today's reading. God made a path for the Israelites to pass through the
sea, and when the Egyptians followed, the last thing they would have seen
was the wall of water cascading down on top of them. Sorry to disappoint
you, but I don't have an answer to give that satisfies me, so I doubt it
will satisfy you either.
I know that it might sound a bit selfish, but I prefer to think about God being for us, rather than him being against those who don't know him. I also take comfort in what the New Testament says about God's rescue plan for all people, from every race and every country. And one thing that I am sure about is: because of God's immense love for us, he gave up his own son to a cruel and violent death, so that we may know his love and protection for all time. Because he did this, I am sure of another thing, and that is that God knows what it is like to experience pain and suffering too.
Prayer
Lord God, there is so much that I do not yet understand, but help me be straight
on one thing: that you love me so much that you gave up your son to die for
me, so that I can know you as my heavenly father. As Miriam did, and countless
others have done through the ages, Lord, will you remind me to praise you
for this? Amen
Exodus 15 v 22-27
Moses led the Israelites away from the Red Sea into the Desert of Shur. They
travelled for three days in the desert but found no water. Then they came
to Marah, where there was water, but they could not drink it because it was
too bitter. (That is why the place was named Marah.) The people grumbled
to Moses and asked, "What will we drink?"
So Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When Moses
threw the tree into the water, the water became good to drink.
There the LORD gave the people a rule and a law to live by, and there he tested
their loyalty to him. He said, "You must obey the LORD your God and do
what he says is right. If you obey all his commands and keep his rules, I will
not bring on you any of the sicknesses I brought on the Egyptians. I am the
LORD who heals you."
Then the people travelled to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees. So the people camped there near the water.
Notes
The central theme through the book of Exodus is God rescuing and protecting
his people. Yet another theme soon emerges in these chapters, and it's one
that I recognise all too easily in my walk with Jesus. It is the theme of
whinging. A church that I used to work in had a special relationship with
a church in East Africa. They had very little in terms of material possessions,
and it seemed that we had everything. One summer a party from our fellowship
went out to East Africa to spend some time with our partners in the gospel.
I wish I could have gone too. The stories I heard about our friends' contentment
with their lot, and their infectious love of God, made our faith and commitment
to the same God seem very shallow and thin. In today's reading, we hear some
whinging and we see God provide yet again for his people.
Perhaps there is a challenge here for us about recognising what we have and thanking God for it. And there is something else too. God doesn't give up on those who whinge, otherwise he would have given up on me a long time ago. Maybe I need to develop a similar attitude to those who whinge too.
Prayer
Lord God, you know what I am really like, and still you love me and provide
for me. Thank you, Lord. Help me to develop a similar attitude to others.
Amen
Exodus 16 v 1-5
The whole Israelite community left Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which
was between Elim and Sinai; they arrived there on the fifteenth day of the
second month after they had left Egypt. Then the whole Israelite community
grumbled to Moses and Aaron in the desert. They said to them, "It would
have been better if the LORD had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we
had meat to eat and all the food we wanted. But you have brought us into
this desert to starve us to death."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will cause food to fall like rain from
the sky for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they
need for that day. I want to see if the people will do what I teach them. On
the sixth day of each week, they are to gather twice as much as they gather
on other days. Then they are to prepare it."
Notes
In today's reading we encounter an unhappy people, a frustrated leader, and
still a God who provided. How did he do it? These verses tell us that God
did three things here. Firstly, he was listening to what was going on between
the people and Moses. Secondly, he shared his plan with Moses. The third
was that he acted. In my time of being a Christian, I have recognised this
divine pattern when I am looking out for it. I can think of many times when
I have grumbled or been at my wit's end about a situation I have found myself
in or a choice that I have to make. But I also know that God is listening
when I get around to praying for his help. I need to be attentive to his
response to me. Sometimes it can come in the most unlikely way, but I can
relax knowing that the God who provided for his people in the desert will
also provide for me.
Isn't it good to know that we serve a God who acts for us when we need him to? I am reminded of those well known verses in Psalm 23 that talk about God leading us beside still water and good pasture. The psalmist also writes from his own experiences of being in the valley of the shadow of death, and he knows that God is right there with him. I pray that this will be your experience too.
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for calling me to follow you and for providing for my every
need on the way. Please give me a thankful heart and willing hands to share
your blessings to me with others. Amen
Exodus 16 v 6-10
So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: "This evening you will
know that the LORD is the one who brought you out of Egypt. Tomorrow morning
you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard you grumble against
him. We are nothing, so you are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD." And
Moses said, "Each evening the LORD will give you meat to eat, and every
morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you grumble
against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me, because we are nothing;
you are grumbling against the LORD."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Speak to the whole community of the Israelites,
and say to them, ‘Meet together in the presence of the LORD, because
he has heard your grumblings.'"
While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the Israelites, they looked
towards the desert. There the glory of the LORD appeared in a cloud.
Notes
Have you ever been in a situation where you can't see the wood for the trees,
and then someone comes along and sorts it all out very quickly? I have to
admit to being addicted to Windows Solitaire on my PC. I can be stuck, and
then some smart person looks over my shoulder and sees my next move long
before I do. It's a silly example, I know, but in our reading today the Israelites
were moaning again, and Moses as their leader came to them with the answer.
You would have thought that the Israelites would have got the message by
now: that the answer was God. Moses' faith in God was complete. He knew that
the God who had got them this far was not going to let them down now. He
offered words of reassurance that God would act again and provide for their
every need.
If you are like me, then sometimes you might find it hard to believe that God not only likes you a bit, but actually cares enough about you to provide everything that you need in your walk with him. One of the great things about being a Christian is that there are always others around to lend a hand when we get stuck. Who might God be asking you to look out for? Who can you offer reassurance to? If you don't know yet, ask God to show you; after all, our readings recently have been all about the God who provided for his people.
Prayer
Lord God, thank you that the Christian way is not the way of the individual
but a path that I share with others. Thank you, Lord, for those who help
me, and reassure me of your love and care. Help me to be that voice of reassurance
to others. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text
taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright
1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes