God is a storm. God is an earthquake. God is a volcanic eruption. There are forces out there that are beyond our control. Some time ago we watched as one hundred mile down drafts turned the city we lived in into a war zone. Huge limbs tore away, and proud trees toppled. And it was so random. None of our trees were effected and yet across the street a massive tree was down in the driveway. The power that can break limbs as thick as a person; that can fell tall and proud trees. And this kind of power is overwhelming. I went down to New Orleans after Katrina tore through. I witnessed the same kind of random uncontrollable destruction. What is scary about these kinds of storms is the uncontrollable force. God is like that. Only Yahweh is not random. But he cannot be controlled. We don’t like that. We want a manageable God.
Exodus 14:21-31 is all about the great power of Yahweh. I know. We have been here before. But just like the Israelites, we need reminding of God’s overwhelming awe-inspiring power. As God made sure that the Egyptians could not advance on them, Moses stretches his hand over the Sea of Reeds. And then an amazing event took place. We are so familiar with the story that we sometimes don’t allow the sheer power to awe us. God made the sea walk back. Yep, Yahweh can make the sea walk wherever and in whatever way he determines. He used a strong wind, but make no mistake this is no ordinary wind. No ordinary wind exists that can cleave the sea and create dry ground for a multitude of terrified Israelites to walk through. This is not a natural wind. No randomness here. Allow yourself to be overwhelmed. Imagine walking through the sea with a wall of water on your left and on your right.
And the Egyptians pursue them right into the midst of the sea. One source claims that this makes no sense unless God forced them to enter. I am often amazed at how little some scholars understand mankind. I think Pharaoh and his army were worked up into such a frenzy of anger and contempt that they would have chased Israel through the Lake of Fire. It is also possible that the darkness kept them from truly understanding what the circumstances really were. It wasn’t until the morning watch, which began at around three in the morning and lasted until dawn, that God acted. He looked down in the pillar of fire. This phrase is vague and it is not at all clear what is being said here. Some have suggested that Yahweh sent flashes of lightning to confuse the horses. What we know is that he turned aside the chariot wheels so that they drove with heaviness or difficulty. Okay, we really don’t know what that means other than they were confused and had a hard time of it. So much so that the army decided that this was Yahweh fighting for Israel and they finally got it – it was a fight they could not win, so they shouted out “Run Away!” That my friends was a Monty Python reference. Sorry about it.
Once again Moses stretches out his hand and then the waters come crashing back into their normal place. And even though Moses stretches out his hand, there is no confusion about who is making this happen. The whole Egyptian army, every last one of them, including Pharaoh, were shaken or tossed about and killed. This is no children’s bedtime story. This is a massive army of humans – people with families and hopes and dreams – and they are all of them destroyed in a crashing of water. This is about the salvation of Israel. They are, with finality, delivered from the powerful hand of Egypt. The bodies of their oppressors wash up on the shore, devoid of power. They had clashed with Yahweh’s power and lost.
Verses 30-31 give us the reason for all of this. Israel saw the great hand of Yahweh. The word translated “power” is literally “hand”. God’s hand stretched out and snatched them to safety. There is no mistaking who is behind all of this. The Israelites did not stand on the other side of the Sea of Reeds and marvel at the wind or praise the water. They stood in awe of Yahweh and the man whom God had chosen to lead them. Without this final deliverance; without this demonstration of the great hand of God, the Israelites may have awed Egypt more than Yahweh. For now, they get it.
God is a storm, only his hand is not random. God is an earthquake, only his hand shakes the enemy and delivers his people. God is a volcanic eruption, only his hand reigns fire and confusion on whomever he chooses. Stand in awe therefore! Our God will not be managed. No. But God’s hand will manage the wind, directing it where he will. God’s hand will manage the sea, cleaving it in two. God’s hand will manage the enemy, confusing and defeating them. Will God’s hand manage you? Yes, but how? Walter