When the Lord Leads
Exodus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 8 viewsFollowing God means that we are trusting His plan and sovereignty. But it also means that the route we take isn't always the shortest or fastest. It means the situations and circumstances may not make sense. This passage demonstrates how we trust God's leadership over our own.
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Exodus 13:17–14:31 (NASB95)
17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
18 Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones from here with you.”
20 Then they set out from Succoth and camped in Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
21 The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.
22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea.
3 “For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’
4 “Thus I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants had a change of heart toward the people, and they said, “What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?”
6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him;
7 and he took six hundred select chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.
8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he chased after the sons of Israel as the sons of Israel were going out boldly.
9 Then the Egyptians chased after them with all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and they overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord.
11 Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?
12 “Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever.
14 “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward.
16 “As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land.
17 “As for Me, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen.
18 “Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen.”
19 The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.
20 So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land, so the waters were divided.
22 The sons of Israel went through the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
23 Then the Egyptians took up the pursuit, and all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his horsemen went in after them into the midst of the sea.
24 At the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud and brought the army of the Egyptians into confusion.
25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.”
27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; then the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.
29 But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, and the waters were like a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
INTRO: I’m going to ask you a question, and I know how you’ll answer… but I’m going to ask it anyway:
Do you trust God?
Now, I’m sure you answered that without even having to give thought to it. So, I want to reframe my point.
Do you trust yourself? Do you trust other people? Who do you trust more?
ILL: When you get in the car, how many of you trust your driving over everyone else’s? Ah, but what if you were to get on a plane? I’ll tell you this- I don’t trust me to fly a plane! I’ve never done that! No, I trust the pilot.
Now, when it comes to things I know how to do, I trust myself- and sometimes I fall into the error of thinking because I know how to do something, that I cannot trust anyone else to do that. Interestingly, I know how to do laundry, but have no problem trusting that to someone else. I know how to clean toilets, but I have not problem trusting someone else to do that...
Ok, so let me see if I can draw us to a logical point: Our trust in ourselves, others, and God is generally based upon some calculation of our ability vs. others’ ability, our desires vs. others’ desires, and how all that intersects with our needs.
We trust God- or at least we think we do. But often our trust for God is only when we deem Him more capable that us. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s way easier for me to trust God with things like salvation - I know I can’t do that! than it is to trust Him in the everyday leadership of my life… because I think I can do that on my own.
But that’s not what the Christian life is all about. The call of the Christian is not that we are to look to God simply for salvation, though that is a part of it. Rather, it is to look to God in all things- He is to be the Lord and Master of our lives.
In John 15, we see Jesus say that He is the Vine, we are the branches- we cannot exist if we are not in Him and if we do not receive all from Him. When we understand this metaphor, we also see that Jesus talked about the branches that did not produce fruit- they wanted the life giving power from Him, but not the Lordship that would produce good fruit and these were cut off and thrown into the fire.
As we prepare to turn our attention to Exodus 13-14 this morning, we do so with this premise: If you are a Christ-follower, then it must be that the Lord Leads in your life.... it’s hard to follow Christ if He’s not leading. You can’t call yourself a follower of Christ if He’s not the one you’re following.
Moses and the Israelites have been engaged with God and Pharaoh as God demonstrated His might through the ten plagues or judgments. The last of these judgments was what we refer to as the Passover. These were in response to Pharaoh’s selfish, hard-hearted ways of oppression towards Israel and rejection of God. Salvation was promised to the Israelites. But even more than salvation from their bondage, God called them to be His people and He was delivering them to something greater.
So we pick up in the narrative in chapter 13. The sermon is titled, “When the Lord Leads” and we are going to learn how, practically, we can trust the Lord in the everyday leadership of our lives. If you picked up a bulletin, I encourage you to follow along in the sermon guide.
Let’s dive in:
When the Lord leads, we must:
Trust His Presence, Not Our Plan (13:17-22)
Trust His Presence, Not Our Plan (13:17-22)
(READ 17-20)
So, do you know how to use a GPS? When you plug in your destination, the GPS usually will give you different route options. I always choose the fastest route. I just want to get there. Some of you might choose the fuel-efficient route. Still others will choose a route based around the food options.
There are times when we are following the Lord and the route is not what we prefer. We want to go this way, but God seems to be dragging me this other way.
For Israel, the short way to the promised land was through the land of the Philistines. We don’t know what Moses would’ve planned, but I believe that this statement is in here because any of us would have chosen “near” as our plan to lead nearly a million people plus animals and belongings… right?
But here’s the thing- that would have meant war. And though there were a lot of Israelites, they were not warriors. They were slaves, not soldiers. Brick-makers, not battlers. The shortest path- the one that if all you had was a map, you’d choose, was not the right path. If they went this way, no doubt the Israelites, when faced with war (and likely death) or going back to Egypt as slaves, would have chosen slavery.
And so we see that God instead led them around that area by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea. (18)
ILL: This isn’t the only time God has led people a different route than they would have chosen. Joseph, the Patriarch whose bones they were carrying would have probably chosen not to be sold into slavery, lied about, imprisoned, etc. on his way to greatness.
I think about my own path. When I was called into ministry, I would have chosen a shorter path. I would have done things so differently. But my plan would have failed.
When our plan does not align with God’s, He does not ask us to keep trying to figure something out. No, instead He calls us to trust His presence. (READ 21-22)
They could be confident in this: God is with us.
In my pride, I think I could get us there quicker, cheaper, and safer. And I have a feeling that there might be someone here this morning who is fighting so hard to get your way. Look here at me this morning: If you are a child of God’s He has promised NEVER to leave you. He has a better plan that you or I could ever draw up because He knows ALL the things; millions of things past, present, and future. You and I know maybe 7 of the things.
But you can trust in His presence. Israel had a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. You have something even greater- the Holy Spirit living in you. Guiding you and teaching you as you draw close to the Father through His Word. As you surrender your life to follow Him as Lord, you can trust that His presence is greater than your plan.
Additionally, when the Lord leads, we must:
Trust His Purpose, Not Our Preference (1-14)
Trust His Purpose, Not Our Preference (1-14)
Sometimes, as God leads, we don’t always like it. It doesn’t always make sense to us. (READ 1-4)
This may have seemed a bit crazy. The thing that we have to keep in mind here is that we are part of a bigger story. And here’s the thing: It’s not about you. You’re part of it, for sure. And God loves you deeply. But, the story is bigger.
For Israel, they were not only being rescued (Woohoo!) but they were also being used as instruments for God’s glory. (Let that sink in)
Now, to Pharaoh and maybe any other onlookers, the situation certainly didn’t make sense. I can just picture Pharaoh and his army captain standing out on the balcony looking at the hoard of people seemingly wandering back and forth. I imagine them laughing, saying “They don’t know where they’re going! Moses couldn’t lead out of a wet paper bag!”
And as we follow the narrative, we see Pharaoh is now seething and calls his entire army- every resource he had (7) and pursued Israel. But God had a purpose. Look back up to v. 4 (READ) -He would be honored through Pharaoh...
Yet, as Israel noticed what was happening, the situation didn’t make sense to them either and they were now criticizing Moses. (READ 11-12)
You have to hand it to the Israelites for their wit… When God is leading, we may sometimes doubt. Maybe the situation is so seemingly dire that we wonder if it’s worth it at all. That was how the Israelites felt. “We’re better off as slaves!”
You ever feel like that? The enemy has you cornered… you feel like giving up, like this whole dying to self thing is too hard and I don’t want to do it anymore! I’m better of a slave to my sin...
David would write about that feeling in Psalm 23- Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? You are with me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies! IOW God has a purpose in the shadows!
Moses tried assuring the Israelites (READ 13-14). This sounded pretty good, but here’s the thing: It didn’t make sense to Moses either!!
Moses didn’t see the way out of this either. They are all just waiting… Hoping for something to happen.
There are times when we are following God and our enemies laugh at us. There are times when we are following the Lord and other believers criticize us. There are times when we are following the Lord and none of life seems to make sense. Friend, you need to know that God has a purpose.
It may be that as God leads you, someone you never met is going to be impacted through your seemingly senseless experience.
It may be that as God leads you, your enemies are being drawn in so that God may punish them.
It may be that as God leads you, He is building things up so that He may use you more than possible before!
Don’t give up. Don’t despair. When the Lord is leading, you must trust Him more than you trust yourself, and trust His purposes over your pleasure.
Finally, When the Lord is leading, we must:
Trust His Power, Not Our Performance (15-31)
Trust His Power, Not Our Performance (15-31)
(READ 15-16)
This might be the most unlikely event that we have discussed so far in Exodus. There is no way that Moses could part the Red Sea. There is no way that, even if he could, the ground would be dry enough to walk on. But these are details that don’t matter because it was never about Moses’ or the Israelites’ ability to do any of that.
Let’s review the circumstance:
Egyptian Army was close. Plus, they were an army- trained, organized, fast. They had chariots and horses! Israel had lots of children and herds of goats.
There was no where to go. And even with the Red Sea parted, there were some serious performance issues.
But look at the instructions:
Walk forward, raise your staff… that performance means nothing. God’s power means everything.
So How did God’s power prevail? Let’s look:
1: He stood between Israel and the Egyptian Army (19-20)
The Egyptians couldn’t see anything, but Israel could see and so they could walk through the parted waters.
2: He thwarted the performance of the Egyptian Army (21-25)
He made their chariots swerve into each other… it’s like self-driving cars long before Elon Musk came around!
Everyone could see- God is fighting for them!
There could be no greater confidence for us as believers than to know that, as the Lord leads us, He fights our battles for us.
When Jesus began his preaching ministry, he preached “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” Jesus is the king, and He calls those who will to surrender to Him; to follow Him. And as our king, He will lead us. As our God, He will save us.
Now let’s go back to one other thing here- (READ 17-18)
What seemed to be the source of doom for God’s people, would actually be the story of God’s glory for them! God used the Pharaoh’s greed and hunger for power to compel him after the Israelites so that God could further display His glory to all the nations and generations to come!
They couldn’t save themselves; it was impossible. But God!
And in v. 26-31, we see God’s judgment on Egypt (READ)
As believers, trusting and following God sounds easy, but we often get our perspectives shaken up. Sometimes we are prideful and think that our way is the right way. Sometimes we allow our emotions to drive us either to despair or we begin to believe it’s not worth it. And sometimes, we think we have to earn our place, following the Lord.
But friends, when the Lord leads, we have peace and assurance. When the Lord leads, we have victory. Do you trust Him?
This morning, I want to encourage you to set aside your hindrances, and trust God with the everyday leadership of your life. There is a step of faith that God is calling you to today- it might be scary, it might not make sense, or it might sound crazy… but you will not experience the joy of the Lord apart from that step.
Perhaps you are here and you’ve never taken the first step to trust Christ with your life. In fact, you’ve never trusted Him for anything! Today, I invite you to come, let me share with you the good news of Jesus.
And if you are still holding on- trying to lead in Christ’s spot, I encourage you to Give him Lordship over your time, your finances, your family. Give him your career and trust in His Presence, His Purpose, and His Power.
[PRAY]
Discuss: How do we sometimes ‘trust ourselves more than we trust God?’
Discuss: How does God’s purpose point us to a bigger picture than we often realize?
Discuss: What one step can you take to allow God lordship and leadership over your everyday life?
