Short Term Memory Loss Exodus 14-15:21

Short Term Memory Loss

Some of my favorite character's in moves are Dori from Finding Nemo and 10 second Tom from

 Fifty First Dates. I internally laugh just thinking about Tom's famous "hi, I'm Tom", and Dori's "wanna piece of this?" The deer in the headlights look as everyone around them laughs makes it even funnier.
However can you imagine living with that handicap? It makes that feeling of "I know I came in here for something?" seem trivial. On the flipside there are times for all us it would be a blessing, especially after an argument where we said things we would just assume be forgotten, or a decision that we would rather not take the heat for. The times it is most inconvenient is when we have done something amazing. When we have gone out of our way and done something heroic, and the recipient of our awesomeness quickly moves on, quickly forgetting and dismissing any short lived gratefulness they once felt. If you ever worked in a sales position this is a daily occurrence and gets old real quick. The saying "what have you done for me today?" could have been the Israelite mantra!

 

Cool Tidbits from Exodus 14-15

In this section of scripture we see the beginning of a repeated pattern for the Israelites.
They trust God after he victoriously rescues them (in this case from slavery in Egypt), followed by complaining or turning away to follow idols. They get captured, cry to God...repeat.
In this scenario God uses Egypt to showcase His glory and help begin to teach His people that He is their victory, they do not need to be afraid or trust in their own strength.

Pharaoh is convinced that because Israel has altered their course they must be lost. Although God had directed them to alter their course to avoid enemies.
Pharaoh believes the Israelites to be trapped and decided that he will go and retrieve his money making slaves. He has quickly forgotten his grief and fear.
God hardens Pharaohs heart. Pharaoh take his best chariots and fighters and heads out to take the Israelites back.
God was completely aware of what is happening and completely in charge of the future of the Israelites.

Psalm 77:17-19New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ The clouds poured down water,
    the heavens resounded with thunder;
    your arrows flashed back and forth.
¹⁸ Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
    your lightning lit up the world;
    the earth trembled and quaked.
¹⁹ Your path led through the sea,
    your way through the mighty waters,
    though your footprints were not seen.

 

The Israelites see the Egyptians coming, cry out to God for help and then quickly turn to Moses with complaining sarcasm (weren't there enough graves in Egypt)

God's angel and cloud protect the Israelites as they wait through the long night and head into the sea at God's command. He goes from leading in front of them to protecting them from behind.

He uses nature, cloud, fire, wind, and water to make His power known.

 

In chapter 15 we see a four stanza song written about the victory God brought to the Israelites that day. Not one of the Egyptians that pursued them lives to tell the tale.

 

The song tells about God leading His people to their divinely appointed home!

A song we can look forward to singing when we get to our divinely appointed home!!

The song end with THE LORD REIGNS!

 

Dig Deeper 

Exodus 14-15:21New International Version (NIV)

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “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. ³ Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ ⁴ 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.

⁵ 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!” ⁶ So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. ⁷ He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. ⁸ The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. ⁹ The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen^[a] and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ 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? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
¹³ Moses answered the people, “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. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ 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.
²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ He jammed^[b] 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.”
²⁶ 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.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward^[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ 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.
²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ 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.

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.

² “The Lord is my strength and my defense^[d];
    he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
³ The Lord is a warrior;
    the Lord is his name.
⁴ Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
    he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
    are drowned in the Red Sea.^[e]
5 The deep waters have covered them;
    they sank to the depths like a stone.
⁶ Your right hand, Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
    shattered the enemy.

⁷ “In the greatness of your majesty
    you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
    it consumed them like stubble.
⁸ By the blast of your nostrils
    the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
    the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
⁹ The enemy boasted,
    ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
    I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
    and my hand will destroy them.’
¹⁰ But you blew with your breath,
    and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
    in the mighty waters.
¹¹ Who among the gods
    is like you, Lord?
Who is like you—
    majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
    working wonders?

¹² “You stretch out your right hand,
    and the earth swallows your enemies.
¹³ In your unfailing love you will lead
    the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
    to your holy dwelling.
¹⁴ The nations will hear and tremble;
    anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
¹⁵ The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people^[f] of Canaan will melt away;
¹⁶     terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
    they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, Lord,
    until the people you bought^[g] pass by.
¹⁷ You will bring them in and plant them
    on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,
    the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

¹⁸ “The Lord reigns
    for ever and ever.”

¹⁹ When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen^[h] went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. ²⁰ Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. ²¹ Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord,
    for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
    he has hurled into the sea.”