Exodus 13 17 18 17 When Pharaoh let

Exodus 13: 17 -18 17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. ”

Exodus 13: 17 -18 18 So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.

Exodus 14: 1 - 4 1 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.

Exodus 14: 1 - 4 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert. ’

Exodus 14: 1 - 4 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.

Predicament – A difficult, unpleasant or embarrassing situation.

ISRAEL’S PREDICAMENT: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE RED SEA Larry Cline – Hardin Valley Church Of Christ – 10/29/17

1. GOD DIRECTED THEM

■ When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. ” (Exodus 13: 17 NIV) ■ So God lead the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. (Exodus 13: 18 NIV)

They were boxed in and God had put them in a box! (Exodus 14: 1 -3) ■ Sometimes God leads us into a predicament to build our faith and demonstrate His power. (Exodus 14: 4) ■

A lot of people think that if the spirit of God leads you, you are not going to have any troubles. You’re always going to be rejoicing & praising! God led these people into a trap where there was no human escape. ■

■ Don’t think because you are in a tight place that God has forgotten you or left you. (Matthew 4: 1) ■ “…the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. ”

2. THE EGYPTIANS PURSUED THEM (VS. 5 -9 )

3. PHARAOH PANICKED THEM (VS. 10 -12 )

Predicaments sometimes break our independent spirits. ■ Israel’s problem: Rather than look to God for deliverance, they looked to Moses for blame. (vs. 11 -12) ■

Moses’ Counsel: (vs. 12 -14) 1. 2. 3. 4. Don’t Fear Stand Still Watch for the Lord to Work Keep Quiet

4. THE LORD PROVIDED FOR THEM

God told them to do the very thing their minds told them not to do… to go into the sea. (vs. 15)

■ ■ 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (I Corinthians 10: 1 -2) These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, … (I Corinthians 10: 11)

Similarities between their salvation and ours: Their condition was hopeless just like our condition was hopeless. ■ Their deliverer was Moses – our deliverer is Christ! ■

Similarities in their “baptism” and ours: ■ ■ Israel was baptized into Moses in the cloud & in the sea, today we are “baptized into Christ”. (Galatians 3: 27) Pharaoh was destroyed in the Red Sea, the power of Satan is destroyed when we are baptized. (Acts 2: 38 & Romans 6: 11)

Contemporary questions that need to be answered: 1. 2. 3. Is baptism essential for salvation? Is a person saved before baptism or after? What of those who refuse to be baptized?

A terrible predicament… between the devil and the deep Red Sea. By faith, head for the water!