From our experiences in life, we know that we all need help to keep our hope alive and vibrant. And faith and hope are closely linked together.
The Bible puts it this way in I Corinthians 13, “Now these three remain, faith, hope, and love.” In life, faith is the foundation of hope; we rest our hope on our faith. All of us have uncertainties which put us into places similar to Israel’s situation, and at those times, we must work to KEEP FAITH IN GOD.
In Exodus 14:1-12 Israel faced a test of faith.
1. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
2. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
3. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
4. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
5. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
7. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
10. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
11. 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 out of Egypt?
12. Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
In this text, three WORDS stand out, which all of us need to keep our faith in God alive.
First is the word,
Precaution
A precaution is a warning beforehand. The LORD told Moses that certain things were going to happen. He based His precaution on His foreknowledge. The LORD knew what was going to happen before it happened. The information He gave Moses enabled him to prepare the people. We don’t know exactly how God spoke to Moses, but we see in this account that Moses understood God. He was instructed by the LORD exactly what to do. It was a precaution.
God wanted Moses and the people to know beforehand what was going to happen, so He instructed Moses where to camp, and He told them what to expect. He told them that Pharaoh was going to chase after...
