MAYBE WE SHOULD CELEBRATE MORE?

I recently wrote a blog about Israel’s deliverance through the Red Sea and how God closed the water over the Egyptian army so that not one of them escaped!  If you haven’t read it – you should check it out!

The very next chapter [Exodus 15] is the response of the Israelites.  It begins:

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to GOD, giving voice together…  [v.1]

I have immediate questions about this.  How did they all sing together?  I mean, they didn’t have a copier there and distribute song-sheets! 

This was a large, multi-generational crowd of inter-related people!  They had just witnessed a phenomenal miracle that was clearly a God-intervention.  On the other side of the Red Sea – before this intervention – they had feared for their lives!  At the worst, they thought the Egyptian army would kill them all.  At the best, they would be returned to slavery in Egypt! 

But now they were free!  AND GOD DID IT!  And they were grateful! 

It was their natural response to sing and dance!  But how could they all sing together without knowing the words to the song? 

Perhaps it was done in an antiphonal fashion where Moses or Aaron [or some other gifted leader] sang out a line – and then everyone repeated it?  Perhaps this line was repeated over and over until even the people in the back of the crowd got it?  Just a thought. 

However it happened, it was a joyful celebration of God’s deliverance!  You’re welcome to read it, but here are the first few lines:

I’m singing my heart out to God—what a victory!
    He pitched horse and rider into the sea.
God is my strength, God is my song,
    and, yes! God is my salvation.
This is the kind of God I have
    and I’m telling the world!  [vs.1-2]

Then, Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine, and all the women followed her with tambourines, dancing.  Miriam led them in singing,

Sing to God – what a victory!

He pitched horse and rider into the sea!   [vs.20-21]

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I’ve been a part of joyous celebrations plenty of times, although nothing that would compare to what I’ve just described!  I wish we had audio/video of that! 

Recently, our Bethel congregation celebrated their first worship experience in the brand new sanctuary.  It took MUCH longer to build than was originally anticipated, so it was a greatly anticipated event.  The sanctuary was full!  The worship experience was jubilant.  And as a result the church is growing…

I guess the greater the sense of God-intervention, the greater the celebration! 

How do we get God-interventions? 

PRAYER! 

SEEKING HIS PRESENCE!

SEARCHING HIS WORD!

God acts in response to our appeals! 

In our land [the United States of America], if we want restored security, unity, bounty, spiritual renewal, then we should do more than vote.  We should call on God for His divine intervention and do so fervently! 

Maybe then, we’d have cause to sing and dance in the streets as well as our sanctuaries. 

GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN!

Exodus 14 is an amazing chapter!  It is clear from the beginning that God has a plan!  God always has a plan! 

As they escape Egypt, God – through Moses – tells the Israelites exactly where to camp next to the sea.  This is apparently a very vulnerable spot that will entice Pharaoh to attack to try to recover his slave nation.  God’s intent is to – one last time – show Pharaoh who is really God!  And that’s what happened.

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Eventually Pharaoh and his people realized what they had done.  They had – in one night – lost their entire force of slave labor!  He ordered up all of his chariots and quickly pursued the Israelites.  God was again working in Pharaoh’s heart, making him stubborn! 

The Egyptians caught up to Israel by the sea.  As the Israelites saw them coming, fear gripped many.  There were two responses to this immediate threat:

Some cried out in terror to God.  Others ran to Moses and complained in bitter sarcasm:  “Weren’t the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die?  What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt?  Back in Egypt didn’t we tell you this would happen?  Didn’t we tell you, ‘Leave us alone here in Egypt – we’re better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness?’”  [vs.10-12]

TWO RESPONSES:

1.      Call out to God!

2.      Complain and blame!

There’s value in spending some time trying to determine which group you would have been in.  When the sky grows dark or the devastating news comes, do you call out to God or grumble and sulk?  This is a vital distinction.  The ones who are truly committed to God will know deep in their hearts that GOD ALWAYS HAS A PLAN!  And, they will trust in that plan! 

But notice the grace and mercy of God!  Even in this story, the grumblers are spared!  God is patient and kind and works diligently with His people to get them to believe and trust in Him.  He’s doing that with you – right now! 

Through all this threat, Moses believed!  He told the people, “'Don’t be afraid.  Stand firm and watch GOD do his work of salvation for you today.  Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you’re never going to see them again.  GOD will fight this battle for you.'  And then with a glance at the nay-sayers, he added, 'And you?  You keep your mouths shut!'”  [vs.13-14]

This is a vital lesson for leaders and pastors to learn.  Those who espouse negativity have to be silenced!  Negativity spreads like wildfire – it must be halted!  Negativity is NOT a faith environment!  Confrontation is awkward and hard!  Most pastors run from it instead of dealing with it!  As a result, the damage grows and the problems increase.  Being close to God and having had a glimpse of His plan allows us to stand strong and face the opposition with righteous zeal.  I learned - over time - that in most cases, the opposition folds in situations like this. 

What happens next is REMARKABLE!  The angel of God that has been leading them moves from in front of the Israelites to their back – along with the pillar of cloud that has been leading them.  Together, they take up this position of protection between the two camps – throwing light on the Israelites and darkness on the Egyptians!  God is unfolding His plan! 

Then, God tells Moses to hold his staff over the sea.  During the course of the night, an east wind dries up the sea and creates a walled walkway through the sea.  This wind is so persistent, that the people are able to cross the sea ON DRY LAND ALONG WITH ALL THEIR FLOCKS!  Once they’re all through, the angel and cloud move and the Egyptians hurry into the pathway through the sea.  But there are two problems:  The dung from all the flocks begins to clog their chariot wheels.  Also, God seems to allow some of the seawater to seep into the pathway.  The Egyptian forces bog down and get stuck!

TERROR STRIKES THEM!  They cry out: “Run from Israel!  GOD is fighting on their side and against Egypt!”  They begin to retreat.

At this moment, GOD instructs Moses to hold his staff over the sea again.  As he does so, the waters immediately break loose and flood the pathway.  Not one Egyptian survived! 

And all Israel stood in utter amazement as they watched the dead bodies of the Egyptians wash up on the shoreline.  They immediately realized the tremendous power that GOD brought against the Egyptians.  They were in reverent awe before GOD and trusted in GOD and his servant Moses. 

Notice that Moses’ stock has increased as a result of this supernatural intervention by GOD!  He had – under GOD’s direction – initiated this escape!  He had confronted Pharaoh repeatedly.  He had led them out of Egypt.  He had obeyed GOD throughout the process.  He had confronted the naysayers.  He had been faithful! 

An Eyewitness Account of Heaven!

We've all read after-death or near-death accounts of Heaven.  Some have been turned into books and even movies.  Some have been debunked, while others are universally respected.  Heaven remains a subject of great curiosity and mystery.  Some think Heaven is a real place where the redeemed will live eternally with God.  Many think it is a spiritual realm without physicality.  Others seem to view it as the destination for all humanity when we die (universalism).

Eyewitness accounts supposedly abound.  Yet the most reliable eyewitness accounts are those recorded in the scripture and affirmed by millions throughout history as reliable!  One of those accounts is rarely read or considered;  as a matter of fact, most people are surprised when they read it or hear it read.

Part of this shock comes because it arises in the Old Testament and not the New.  It occurs in the book of Exodus when Moses goes up the mountain to talk with God.  Perhaps the witness of one person could be discredited;  but how about the common witness of over seventy?

Moses is instructed by God to bring to the mountain Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 of Israel's elders! Let's read it:

Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.  Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank.

What a fascinating report!  

74 men actually saw God and consequently caught a view into the Present Heaven!  To look on God and live was a marvel!  God obviously extended His grace to allow them to live, even after looking on His glorious presence!  

How we wish they had given a greater description of God, yet since He is described as Light, we can imagine that to gaze on Him is to be transfixed by a brilliance that transcends anything we can know on earth.  

It's remarkable that they were so impressed with the pavement of Heaven!  Notice that it "appeared" to be sapphire.  Revelation 21:21 declares the streets to be made of gold:  “The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass”  The Greek word translated “gold” is chrusion, which can mean “gold, gold jewelry, or overlay".  This is a refined gold that seems to have a translucent effect.  

Finally, they apparently ate and drank in His presence.  I wonder what they ate and what they drank? Were these provisions they had brought from the camp of Israel?  Or was this a feast provided by God?  Either way, it seems to be an indication that we have a God who loves to fellowship with His people!  He has been part of a triune fellowship for all eternity, yet He desires a fellowship with His created beings as well!  

What stories they must have told upon their return to camp!  How would their family and friends even believe their report?  "Oh, we had lunch with God on the mountain!"  :-)    "Yeah, right."  

How would an experience like this form the rest of your life?  How would it change you and the way you live?  These 74 men would guide the children of Israel for the next forty years!  How many times would they reflect back on that heavenly experience to stabilize them and direct their decisions?  

Thank You, God for this tiny vignette from Exodus that gives us a foretaste of the eternal glory You offer to all of Your children!  Amen.