Directives for Deliverance Ex 14:13 Every problem we face is an opportunity to see God work. God often leads His people into situations that do not make sense to us. His ways are not always logical. Our perspective usually includes the shortest distance between two points, while God plans for the best route from an eternal perspective. After God had delivered Israel from Egypt, He led them right into a trap. They were penned in by the mountains, the desert, and the sea; this was not a reasonable strategy of escape. But God knew exactly what would happen, and this is exactly where Israel needed to be for reasons they would only understand later. God did not need their assistance, only their obedience. He was in total control and only needed their surrender for His plan to work perfectly (Nix)
Directive to the Saint 13 And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."
Here we are told to do three things in times of distress:
Don’t Fear Fear not
When Israel saw that Pharaoh and the Egyptian army was barreling down on them, they freaked out (v10-12). They lost their composure. Despair immediately took over and they began to cry and blame Moses (and God). They lost faith in God and hope of deliverance in an instant because their eyes were on their problem. When our pressure point is our focal point, we will inevitably lose hope. Don't let your peace get hijacked by a bill, a deadline, a habit, or a relationship. Keep your eyes on Christ (Heb. 12:2-3). Moses addressed the people plainly and bluntly: "Fear not..." But that's easier said than done, isn't it? Nearly 100 times, the Scriptures give us this clear commands to not fear. We need not worry when Christ is in control, but we will when our eyes are on the circumstances. I seldom assume that God might be directing me into the mess, as He did Israel, so that He might show Himself strong on my behalf and teach me to fear and trust Him (v31). (Morgan) Fear not.” The servant of God would quieten their hearts and set them in perfect peace before Him. “Fear not” is one of the great words recurring all through the Scriptures. “Fear not” was what God said to Abraham (Gen 15:1). “Fear not, neither be dismayed” was His message to Joshua (Josh 8:1). “Fear not” was His command to Gideon (Judges 16:23). “Fear not” was David’s counsel to Solomon (1 Chron 28:20). “Fear not” was the angel’s counsel to Daniel (10:12). “Fear not little flock” is the Lord’s message to us (Luke 12:32). “I will fear no evil” said the Psalmist (23:4), “for you art with me.” But how is this to be attained? How is the heart to be established in peace? Does not Isaiah 26:3 sum it all up — “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because He trusts in You.” (Pink) “Fear in unbelief creates or magnifies difficulties, and then sets us about removing them by our own bustling and fruitless actions, which, in reality, do but raise a dust around us which prevents our seeing God’s salvation. “Faith, on the contrary, raises the soul above the difficulty, straight to God Himself, and enables one to ‘stand still.’ We gain nothing by our restless and anxious efforts. We cannot make one hair white or black, or add one inch to our stature (Lk 12:25-26), What could Israel do at the Red Sea! Could they dry it up? Could they level the mountains? Could they annihilate the hosts of Egypt? Impossible! There they were, enclosed within an impenetrable wall of difficulties, But this was just the time for God to act. When fear and unbelief is driven from the scene, then God can enter; and in order to get a proper view of His actions, we must ‘stand still.’ Every movement of our own effort is, so far as it goes, a positive hindrance to our perception and enjoyment of Divine interference on our behalf” Moses told them not to take counsel of their fears but to stand firm in their faith, trusting God for deliverance (Morgan)
Don’t Flee stand firm
Run! Retreat! No, don't! "Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD" (v13). One of the hardest things for me to do is to stand still in difficulty. It's hard to be steady when you feel so squirmy. My natural instinct is one of escape. So many people today look for the quick, easy way out... of their church, from their marriage, even from life itself.
Where would they go? To cross the desert, climb the mountains, swim the Red Sea - at night!? They wouldn't have gotten far. Yet they were tempted to run. We all are tempted to run. The lies are whispered in our ear of an easier path, fewer problems, and more fun. But that's all they are - lies. The plain truth is that God is always with us and, like Peter said, we have no where else to go (Jn. 6:68). The prophet Jonah tried to flee, but quickly realized that our God is ever-present with us. Moses records in verse 24 that God was not high above watching this event as we would imagine, but was down with His people, on their level, through this entire situation.(Nix)
The man is brought, we will suppose, into very extraordinary difficulties. He cannot retreat—that is sure destruction; he cannot go forward—that appears to be an impossibility: on the right hand he is shut up by providential hindrances; on the left an adversary prevents him. what is to be done, "Stand still;" But sometimes, when the Christian comes into a great strait we seek to respond rather than rest. We seek to find launch our path rather then look for God’s Path. Rather than stand still we strike out by: retreating, relinquishing, rushing. You might feel that you must "Retreat to the worlds way of action; you cannot play the Christian's part, it is too difficult. . . . . it is vain to attempt to be a Christian," so you do as others do; follow the hollow maxims and tricky customs that once ruled you; be as other men are; go back and be Satan's slave; . . . give it up now; go back. You might find yourself wanting to relinquish the ways of God, and be once more a bond slave to your own corruptions and to the world's evil habits. Your flesh may bid you to do it, friends may advise it, and the devil drive you to it, but if God has quickened you by his divine Spirit, there is a something in you which is bound to go forward, which you yourself may struggle against, by virtue of the power of the old man, but which will get the mastery over you, and lead you in a divine captivity; so that even when evil is most rampant, the force of grace within will impel you towards the right, constraining you to stand in the ways of God. Where God impels forward, hell cannot drive back. You might also sense the need to react. When a Christian is in very sharp trouble, one of his strongest temptations is to be in an unbelieving, fretful state of agitation, which leads him to premature and unwise action. How sadly some who are weak in faith are doing and nudging themselves, by indiscreet haste! If they could but be quiet in faith, and stand still in patience, until the Master led the way, they would be led aright; but they run before the cloud and fall into the net. So in haste are they to escape from Pharaoh's clutches, that they run into them at unawares. I am sure that much of the sin which we commit when we are in trouble, is produced by our being in a flurried state of heart; for then our soul is like a silly dove without heart, which has forgotten his shelter, and therefore flies hither and thither, round and round, at imminent peril of its life from the hawk. We must be doing something at once—we must do it so we think—instead of looking to God, who will not only do something but who will do everything. Many of us when in a strait are hardly reasonable in our hasty endeavors. Fear blindfolds the judgment, and makes fools of us. (Spurgeon)
Don’t Fight The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.
make yourselves to stand; let not and your hearts fail and sink, or stagger through unbelief, but with quiet minds look up to God. It notes the frame of their minds, not the posture of their bodies. Matthew Poole Quite possibly the most difficult of all these commands: "hold your peace" (v14). Do not defend yourself, the Lord will fight for you. Do not retaliate, do not fight for yourself -- let God be your defense. They had already seen God deliver them with ten mighty signs (plagues) and their guiding column of fire and cloud had become their protection. Now the Lord began to open the door to in the sea, His way is in the sea (Ps. 77:19). They only had do watch and wait and see God work. Quit trying to force your plan on this situation. I am in control, total control. Allow me to work my plan for you.' A spiritual battle cannot be fought with human force (Zech. 4:6; 2 Cor. 10:4) (Nix)
Deliverance of the Saint 13 and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
So we are told what we must do: don’t fear, don’t flee and don’t fight. Now we are told what we will see: the salvation of the Lord. see the salvation of the LORD Here we are told his salvation is Certain, which he will work for you today and Complete, For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. But we will never see the salvation of the Lord until we can say, “I know, I cannot deliver myself out of the dilemma in which I am now placed. I had some dependence once upon my own judgment and upon my own ability, but that dependence is entirely gone." I thank God for that. It is a good thing for you sometimes, Christian, to be wholly weaned from yourself. When you are made sick of self-dependence then your spirit shall be in a healthy state of trustfulness in your God. So, the true secret, why God brings his people ofttimes into straits and difficulties, that, being brought to their wits' end, and made conscious of their own folly and weakness, they may be fitted to behold the majesty of God when he comes forth to work their deliverance. A man whose life shall be one even and smooth path, will see but little of the glory of God, for he has few occasions of self-emptying, and hence, but little fitness for being filled with the revelation of God. They who navigate little streams and shallow creeks, know but little of the God of tempests; but they who "go down to the sea in ships, and do business in great waters, these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. . . self must stand out of the way, that there may be room for God to be exalted." (Spurgeon) Salvation is not about striving to please the Lord but surrendering to him.
We will see three things when we encounter God’s salvation: His compassion, his control and his conquest.
His Compassion
They saw the waters stand upright, contrary to nature; the east wind was made at once to obey God's behests, and blow all that night; thus they saw how there was nothing upon earth which could stand against the divine will. And you shall see the same. If it be needful for your deliverance, fire shall not burn you, neither shall the floods drown you. If you cannot be helped in the common order of providence, God will give some extraordinary proofs of his power. It may be that as you look back upon the method of your deliverance, you will be so surprised at it, that you will say, "If anybody had told me this beforehand, I would have laughed at them; but now I admire and wonder at the love of God." You shall be led to see that all things, even the most deadly, work together for good to them that love God. The waters cannot drown them, but they shall drown their foes. (Spurgeon)
His Control
You shall have such a picture of Jehovah sitting upon his throne, controlling and overruling all things, that you shall extol him with your whole heart as your God and King forever. (Spurgeon) How his control extends over all things. He controls the movement of armies and leaders whom he directs according to his will and purpose and hardens and softens to accomplish his plan. He controls the elements of nature to do his bidding and carry out his will. You will see that He is over all things and all things are under his supervision and direction to bring Glory to his name.
His Conquest
You shall see that he will stand with his people who are standing with him and fight for them when they a feeble and unable to fight the battles before them. You will see that he is your shield and strength, that he is your stronghold (Ps 18:1-2). You will see that no weapon formed against you will prosper (Is 54:17). You will see that his conquest is complete as was the conquest of sin on the cross of Christ and the conquering of death in the resurrection of Christ (1 Peter 3;18, John 19:30). Both the punish for sin and the penalty for sin were completely accomplished in the life and work of Christ. O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting? But thanks be to God that we have victory though Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 15:55)
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