Communion With the Christ:: That Which Pursues

“The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea.” Ex: 14:23

After the Lord God had intervened in the life of the nation of Israel and after over 400 years in captivity as a slave people in the land of Egypt, Israel was then, set free and went forth joyously and set out on their pilgrimage toward the Promised Land. They in early stages of their journey in a wilderness they came to an area along the Red Sea.

It is here in this wilderness that Israel had become aware that Pharaoh with his army was in pursuit of them and would soon descend upon them trapping Israel with their backs to the Red Sea with nowhere to go.

Israel had been held as a captive nation in Egypt and were forced into the hard rigors of bandage and slavery in the mud pits.

The Lord God took pity upon them and through the plague of the death of the first born of each of the houses of Egypt from homes of the common people to the palace of Pharaoh the plague came, yet the People of Israel, who’s homes had the blood of a lamb upon the door post, were protected, and the death angel “passed over” them.

"You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.

"For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you”. Ex: 12:22-23

This plague resulted in the freeing of the people Israel and the fulfillment of the promises which the Lord God had made to the Patriarch Abraham in Genesis:15

Arrive at an Impasse

Israel then, shortly after their joy filled liberation, arrive at the impasse of the Red Sea. They were in the wilderness with very little resources and none to be found in such a setting. It is here that the pursuing Pharaoh and his army came upon Israel intending to destroy or once again enslave Israel.

It is revealed in the narrative of the Book of Exodus that the Lord God had brought Israel to this very place on the shores of the sea for his own purpose.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this” Ex: 14:1-4

Pharaoh Pursues

When Israel left the land of Egypt, Pharaoh determined that he would have his slave population back and sets out to pursue them.

“When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” (5)

The Pharaoh and his army came upon the Children of Israel as they are encamped near the sea.

“The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.” (9)

Upon seeing their pursuers, a feeling of panic sets among the Israelites, they are in a place with limited options and resources and they face the Red Sea which blocks their way forward and are now helpless before Pharaoh and his army.

There seems to be no way out of their situation and they begin to rashly rethink their decision to follow God’s servant Moses out of the life which they had lived so long a time.

“As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” (10-11)

The Sea Opens

The Prophet Moses encourages the people to trust in the Lord their God.

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (13-14)

The Lord responds by telling Moses to lift up his hand over the Red Sea and divide the waters and gives assurances that the pursuing Egyptians will be destroyed and will no longer pursue Israel again. (15-18)

Moses follows the Lord’s word and the Red Seas parts providing the way forward where there had previously had been no way.

“Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” (16-18)

The Lord then, through the pillar of the cloud and fire stands between Israel and the pursuing Pharaoh giving Israel the time to move into the sea corridor of escape which the Lord has miraculously provided them.

“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 stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (19-20)

Then even as Israel moved through the parted waters, it is the Lord himself who allows Pharaoh to follow for the purpose of Israel’s full deliverance from the Egyptians. The Lord then moves to hinder their pursuit of his people Israel. It became obvious that God himself has taken Israel's part and is providing their deliverance from their pursuers.

“The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” (23-25)

Seeing God’s Deliverance

The Lord then closes the Sea over Israel’s pursuers allowing Israel to move forward in their pilgrimage to the Promised Land.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived”. (26-28)

The Israelites witnessed the Lord’s miraculous deliverance from Pharaoh and they worshiped their God. They now would be free of their former enslavers and able to move forward to their Promised Land.

“But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.” (29-31)

A Lesson for Christians

What does Israel’s deliverance from the pursuers of Israel speak to Christians?

In each and all of our lives after we have come to accept the salvation shown to us through the blood of our Lord Jesus, and we go forward in the Christian life and our pilgrimage toward the Promised Land of the Kingdom of God, we, like Israel, may find ourselves in a wilderness area wherein our resources and options are very limited and we may find ourselves at a great impasse in life and our forward momentum is checked. We find ourselves pursued by past problems which once enslaved us as Pharaoh did Israel.

It is in these times that we cry out to God when our pursuers are closing in on us to once again take us back to the Egypt of sin and bondage and we see no way out, that our God moves to stand between our pursuers and ourselves even as he did in the pillar of fire and cloud, giving us grace and space, holding our pursuers at bay so that we will have time to see God act in our lives to provide a way of escape.

Our Lord Jesus then miraculously opens the impasses in life which hinder us, as he did the Red Sea for Israel providing us a means of escape even when there appeared to be no way forward, in spite of our pursuers closing in on us, giving us now forward momentum on our pilgrimage in life.

Our Great God has, through our Lord Jesus, set us free from the enslavement and captivity of sin, fear and death and through our Lord Jesus who will grants us grace and his divine deliverance for all that pursues out of the Egypt of our past lives.

Our God has done great things for us, so that we might look upon his deliverance in each and all of our lives, and give him all the glory, for freeing us form all that pursues.

Benediction: May we each and all give thanks and all glory to our God, who through his Holy Son Jesus has set us free for all that which pursues, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.