“Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”
Exodus 14:30-31
Exodus chapter 14 gives us the historical account of the Jewish people being delivered from Pharaoh’s wicked hand. The Israelites were terrified when they saw their enemies approach as they anxiously fled Egypt. Instead of immediately going to prayer, the people feared and this fear caused them to accuse Moses of leading them into the wilderness to die. This conclusion couldn’t have been further from the truth as Moses was actually leading them to live.
All the miracles the Israelites witnessed God do while they were in Egypt wasn’t enough for them to trust God in the beginning steps of their wilderness journey. They thought it would be better if they went back to serve an evil master than trust God to provide a way.
Fear can lead us back to places that the Lord has delivered us from. We may not actually go back physically, but we may spend time desiring to go back, filling our minds with things that are not true, honorable, etc. (Philippians 4:8).
We, like our Old Testament friends, are tempted to question God’s motive in leading us into desert-like situations.
Jesus saved us from the evil hand of Satan. We must remember the great power that God uses not only against Satan, but all of our enemies – including delivering us from our fleshly thoughts. We no longer need to fear our enemies when we have received the perfect love of Christ (1 John 4:18). The only One we ought to fear is the Lord as that fear is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
The Israelites lacked wisdom the day the Lord parted the Red Sea. If the people would have remembered who to fear correctly, their journey would have begun more smooth and not have taken 40 years to complete.
Bring all of your fears to the Lord in prayer (1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6). If Jesus saved your soul from final judgement, He certainly will deliver you in your time of earthly wilderness. God is faithful and will lead you in the right way to live – not die (2 Thessalonians 3:3, Proverbs 3:5-6).