Exodus 14:1-4
The the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.  For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord,”  And they did so.

My two little girls are just now learning how to swim, a skill who’s necessity has been made more urgent by a purchase of a house located on a lake.  In our minds, we are wanting to be responsible parents, by not intentionally placing our children in harms way.  In short, we wouldn’t want our children to experience danger, so we make every effort to protect them.

This is a trait that God seems to share with us, as he brings his people of Israel out of Egypt.  In Exodus 13:17, we are told that God did not lead them by the way of the Philistines, although it was a closer/shorter route, because the Egyptians had many fortifications along this route, and Israel would have to fight their way out of Egypt.

But in chapter 14, we see an interesting change in philosophy.  God tells his people (who were on their way out of Egypt, to turn around, and to encamp with the sea blocking their way of escape from Pharaoh.  Then, through a chain of events that we don’t fully understand, but that involve both Pharaoh and God hardening Pharaoh’s heart, the King of Egypt thinks that they are hemmed in, and begins to pursue them.

As I read this, I was shocked.  God intentionally put His people in harms way.  He told them to turn back,
and then sent Pharaoh in pursuit.

Why would he do this? He gives us the reason. Look at verse 4, The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.

First of all, we know the story, we know that God parted the sea and drowned the Egyptians. But underlying this story is a truth about the character of God that I don’t think we should miss.

God is more concerned about his glory, than he is about our safety.

I find this interesting, because one of the most repeated prayer requests that I hear in church today is for safety.

We pray for safety of missionaries
We pray for safety of our short-term mission teams
We pray for safety as we travel to the beach
We pray for hedges of protection (Whatever that means) around our kids
We pray for angels to guide us and to keep us safe

But God seems to be much more concerned about His glory, than he is our protection.  The early church seemed to understand this (Read Acts 4:23-31); perhaps we should take notice…

Join us this Sunday at FBCH (www.fbchayden.com) or watch us live on the web (www.haydentv.com) at 10:30pm as we unpack this EPIC story of the Old Testament.