Life Ministries

“Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea”

 Exodus 13:20 - 14:28     Call - 1^st. Cor. 1:19-25

    One of the most dramatic scenes in the movie “The Ten Commandments” starring Charlton Heston, is Moses parting the Red Sea. The Israelites were starting a new chapter in their lives after over 400 years in Egypt. To gain perspective on that, we would have to go back to 1606 some five generations ago, and say our great, great, great, great, grand-parents went into captivity and we are just now - five generations later being called out! While there were many who grew up in Egypt not knowing the Lord, there were also many who kept the faith alive and taught their children and their grandchildren all about God and His promise of one day sending a Savior to set the captives free.

    Well, the Israelites left Egypt under the leadership of Moses, and had marched to the Red Sea as they were told. Now they find themselves with the Sea blocking their way to freedom, and as if to make a bad situation worse, they have the Egyptians in hot pursuit! They were literally between the devil and the deep blue sea.
    What happened in this crucial time of Israel’s journey reveals some truths I believe come shinning through and are applicable to us today. We to are on a journey… Through time and space we wander through this life headed for eternity…headed for the promised land. Quite often we also find ourselves in situations where something seems to be blocking our progress forward,… and we have the enemy Satan hot on our trail pursuing us from our past.  We look into the unknown future, and we just don’t know what lies ahead… And, our past seems to pursue us no matter how hard we try to forget… and we have a choice to make. I want to show you three things from this scripture story this morning:
#1. We need to realize that God goes before us to prepare the way, to prepare the future, and to guide us into the future.
#2. We need to know that God is also our rear guard, who can separate us from and take care of our past.
#3. We must understand that many experiences in life have a double meaning, depending on which side of the cloud you are on!
    First, let’s look at God leading us into the future. We must begin with the realization that God is Sovereign over all things. He is who He says He is, and He can do what He says he can do!…Isaiah 40:22 says: “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing”…and verse 28 goes on “The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary”…And finally, verse 31 - which we are all familiar with - “but, those who hope in the Lord”…Hope is a future word… So, those who put their future and their faith in God, who holds their future in his hands,…“they will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.”
    Notice the future tense of the words; “they will run, they will walk, they will soar”! Not when we depend on the economy; not when we depend on knowledge or technology; not when we depend on what we have or don’t have; not when we look to the future in our own strength and ability; but, when we wait upon the Lord and trust the future into the one who holds the future!
    As the Israelites stood on the banks of the Red Sea, they saw a barrier in the way of their future. But, Moses said in verse 13 - “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today!”…Vs 16 - “Then the Lord said to Moses - Tell the Israelites to move on…stretch your hand over the sea to divide the water, so the Israelites can go through on dry ground!” They saw a barrier to the future, but God knew they wouldn’t even get their feet wet!
    Secondly, look at verse 19 - “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army…withdrew and went behind them”…The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and moved behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. God not only holds the future and goes before us; but God is also our rear guard…He guards our past! The Israelites saw their past pursuing them, and that’s when the panic began.
    We may think we have escaped the ghost of our past, when suddenly we hear the clatter of horses hooves and the dust of chariot wheels! Some of us are pursued by fears, inhibitions, frustrations and phobias that psychologists tell us are the fruit of seeds sown in childhood experiences. Past abuse, past fears, past what-ever it may be, a heavy burden or grief, some old sin or temptation, the truth is that the Israelites had left Egypt, but Egypt had not left the Israelites!
    For many of us, we may think we are no longer part of the world, but the truth is that the world is still part of us! Worldly thinking, worldly feelings and actions. You can be sure that the enemy will always pursue us with our past, but we can stand firm in the faith that God has taken care of our past. Our past has been for-given and forgotten. God is our rear guard as well as the one who goes before us preparing the future.
    Finally, look at the last part of verse 20 - “Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other”!  So, you see, our perspective of the future…our perspective of the past…depends on which side of the cloud we are on! The Egyptians saw only darkness. The Israelites only light. The same fire that melts wax hardens clay. With faith our experiences in life mean one thing; without faith, they mean another. “The things of the Spirit are foolishness to those who are without the Spirit”.  The old saying; “to see the light” means that we have come out from the dark side of the cloud and are walking in the light of God’s Word. We are seeing things in a different light, from a different perspective.
    Consider the Cross. 1^st Corinthians 1:23 says that “Unto the Jews the Cross is a stumbling block, and to the Greek, foolishness…but, unto us who are saved it is the power of God”!  As we march toward the future, let’s keep in step with the Spirit of God, putting our faith and trust in God, who goes before us to prepare our future! And, let’s put the past behind us, and strain ahead, knowing that God is our rear guard! He’s got the past covered!  Let’s stay on the light side…and continue to walk in the light as He is in the light!