Seder 55: Exodus 14---Learning and Following God's Will

Sometime shortly after leaving Egypt, the Israelites, encamped on the banks of the Yam Supf ("Sea of Reeds"), are attacked by 600 Egyptian chariots.  Moses assures the frightened people that God will defeat the Egyptians (Ex 14:14).  

God then tells Moses, "Why do you cry to me?  Tell the people of Israel to go forward."  There is a time for prayer and a time for action, God seems to be saying, and this is a time for action.  

But what should the Israelites do?  They seem to be trapped.  God instructs Moses on what to do next, and Moses is probably surprised to learn that they will be headed toward the water, since God will be making a path for them through the Yam Supf.  

On February 1, 2025, Kyle Kettering gave a sermon at Church of the Messiah on a question raised by Exodus 14:15.  When we have major decisions to make in life, we would like to act according to God's will.  How do we discern God's will, and when is it time to act?  

Kyle told us about two helpful books on the subject.  One is Garry Friesen's Decision Making and the Will of God.  (Friesen was one of Kyle's teachers during his year at Multnomah Bible College.)  Friesen suggests that there is some flexibility in Go's will for us as individuals.  There may be more than one possible answer to questions like "Whom should I marry?" and "Should I take this job?"  

The second is Dallas Willard's Hearing God.   Willard taught that in a relationship with God, communication goes in both directions.  God communicates with us personally, and we should be listening to what he has to tell us.  

Kyle taught that in discerning God's will, we should exercise 

• humble reflection.  In particular, we should not too quickly dismiss people's claims about what God is telling them. 
• earnest seeking (prayer and listening).  Here Kyle cited David's instruction to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9:  "If you seek him, he will be found by you."
• the advice of multiple counselors, as taught in Proverbs 11:14.
• faithful action.  If we act in accordance with God's moral will, then God can use that action.  The question here may be "How do I make wise decisions?" rather than "How do I discern God's will?"  

Kyle urged us to practice intentional listening to hear what God has to say to us.

Seder 54: Exodus 13:17---Why Wait?

 When the Israelites left Goshen at the start of their Exodus from Egypt, they were not too far from their final destination.  It was a "straight shot" along the Mediterranean coast to Canaan.  But God did not lead them along that route.  One reason for this is given in Exodus 13:17:  "Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt."  The route along the coast was direct but dangerous.  In particular, the Egyptians had a string of forts along that coast.  Although the Israelites left "equipped for battle" (v. 18, ESV), they were not a trained fighting force.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 25, 2025, Kyle Kettering explained a number of additional reasons why God led the Israelites on a more roundabout route to the Promised Land:  

1. God had one more miracle in store for the Egyptians, the drowning of Egypt's chariots in the Sea of Reeds.  This miracle sent a message to the Egyptians, the Israelites, and all the people in the region about the identity and power of the one true God. After this event, the Egyptians made no more attempts to attack the Israelites in the wilderness.
2. This miracle was a further embarassment and defeat for the gods of the Egyptians.  A midrash proposes that after the ten plagues there was one Egyptian god still standing, the Baal-Zephon ("lord of the north") mentioned in Exodus 14:2.  The defeat of the Egyptian army demonstrated the impotence of this deity as well. 
3. God had promised Moses to bring the Israelites to Mount Sinai (Ex 3:12).
4. God wanted to instruct the Israelites and build a relationship with them. 

Seder 55: Exodus 14:15-31----Stepping out on Faith

 In Exodus 14:15, the children of Israel are on the banks of the Yam Suf ("sea of reeds") as the chariots of Egypt approach.  God then tells Moses, "Why do you cry to me?  Tell the people of Israel to go forward."

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on May 8, 2021, Kyle Kettering observed that God's question seems unusual.  Isn't God the one to whom we are supposed to cry out?  He related some rabbinic haggadic traditions that address this point.  One explanation, given in Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, says that Moses was praying a long prayer at this juncture, and God was saying that this was a time for a short prayer, not a long one.   

Another explanation is given in Mekhilta de Simon b. Yohai.  In this version, God says that he has already heard the cries of the people (Exod 14:10), so that Moses need not say anything further.  

At any rate, it was time for the children of Israel to step out on faith.  Jewish tradition says that Nahshon, a leader of the tribe of Judah (Num 1:7), brother-in-law of Aaron (Exo 6:23), and ancestor of Jesus (Matt 1:4), was the first to take a step into the Yam Suf.  One story (Numbers Rabbah 13.4) says that Nahshon walked into the water and just continued walking until the water went above his nose.  Then the waters parted.

In this story Nahshon exhibits trusting obedience as he keeps walking while not knowing what will happen.  Kyle reminded us of the description of faith in Hebrews 11:1  ("the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen").  

Kyle also identified a New Testament parallel to Exodus 14:15 in Luke 9:13.  Jesus's disciples, who had been enabled to do great works (Luke 9:1-6), suggested to Jesus that the crowd following him be sent to nearby towns to get food and lodging (v 12).  Jesus replied, "You give them something to eat."  It was another time to move ahead into the unknown in faith.

Seder 54: Exod 13-14---Israel Travels to the Red Sea

 As the Israelites left Egypt, God chose not to lead them on the most direct route to Canaan, along the Mediterranean coast.  The direct route was also the most dangerous (Exod 13:17).  The Egyptians had a line of forts along the coastal route.  Certainly God could have protected them no matter what route they took and removed any opposition, but his goal was not to place the Israelites in Canaan in minimum time.  Instead, his goal was to teach and train them to be his representatives in the world, and to take action while trusting in him.  

"And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle," we read in Exod 13:18.  This does not mean that the adult male Israelites were a trained fighting force, but that they were organized as an army.  

Moses must have had a lot on his mind as the people departed, but he still made sure to remember to take Joseph's coffin (v 19), as Joseph had requested before his death (Gen 50:25).  Jewish tradition (e.g., b. Sotah 13a) praises Moses for making sure to do a good deed while the people were gathering treasure.

That tradition also reflects on the fact that Israel, on its long wilderness journey, would be traveling with two boxes---Joseph's coffin and the ark of the covenant.  This was fitting, a midrash says, because Joseph had obeyed the things written on the tablets of stone contained in the ark.  

God had further lessons for Egypt and the world, as well as for Israel.  In one of them, he would, in effect, use the Israelites as "bait", leading them to a location where they appeared to be trapped in order to lure the Egyptians to come after them.  They camped somewhere near Migdol, which we now know was the name of one of the Egyptian forts (Exod 14:2).  

The Egyptians took the bait and came out with chariots.  (Archeological investigation at the Egyptian forts has found evidence of chariots, by the way.)  

It was a shock to the Israelites to see the Egyptians coming after them.  In their fear, they lashed out with sarcastic words to Moses.  Moses responded with words of encouragement (Exod 14:13-14).  He assured them that 

• God comforts the fearful.
• He delivers from distress.
• He invites and expects his people to trust in him.
• He removes danger.
• He is a warrior against the forces of evil.