"And He appeared"
Shemot (Exodus) 13:17 - 17:16; Judg. 4:4 - 5:31; Rev. 15:1 - 4
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Exodus 13:17 says After Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the P'lishtim, because it was close by -God thought that the people, upon seeing war, might change their minds and return to Egypt. I was thinking about these words and their relationship to our congregation and the Messianic Movement as a whole, so lets take a closer look. The Children of Israel are leaving Egypt after just having experienced the plagues and having seen the Arm of G-D and His awesome power. Death had passed over their homes and they were leaving Egypt victorious over their enemies. They were for the first time in many years following G-D. They were starting to separate what was Torah from what was traditional or even pagan in their lives. G-D in His wisdom knew that this was not the time for them to go to war. They were still too new in their faith. They were on an experience high, their faith in G-D was building. So instead of G-D bringing them directly into a battle which might have shaken their faith before it matured G-D directed them along a safe path. The Messianic Movement, much like Israel had lived in it's own Egypt, Jewish believers had the choice to worship in The Church according to the traditions of whatever church it was or worship in a non-Messianic synagogue and hide their faith. As the Messianic movement has come to grow in our time, Jewish believers along with non-Jewish believers have spent time coming out of Egypt. They also have been separating what is Scripture from what is traditional or even pagan. During this time G-D has brought them along a route that has allowed us to become stronger in our faith. Now that we have had some time to mature we are now seeing some real battles. Wars have begun on many fronts. Anti-missionaries are getting bolder, we are on the verge of some real victories in battles for citizenship rights in Israel. We, through working with other groups. are beginning to be understood for what we are instead of what people define us as. Each of these and many other battles are raging around the world and G-D is bringing victory. As a congregation we have also travelled by following G-D along a path that avoided going directly into major battles. We have had many smaller battles over the years and have had many victories. We have matured as a congregation and now we are seeing bigger battles and even greater victories. We have now moved into our own synagogue building. Many of you don't realize that it puts our congregation in a small minority among Messianic synagogues worldwide. We are starting to have a greater impact into our community. With these great things happening we will also have many more opportunities for personal ministry. It is these opportunities that will be battles. These battles are for the very lives of many of the people we will minister to over the next stage of our congregation's journey. Remember G-D's word says He will not put more on us then we can carry. So if G-D brings these people into our lives it is because he has empowered us to minister to them and help them to win the battles they are fighting. I ask that you continue to pray for the leadership of our congregation as we walk before you, that we would always listen to the voice of G-D and not just Hear Him but follow him in all things. Victory is where G-D leads and that is where we want to dwell.
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In this week’s Parsha we read the following verses as we learn more about G-D’s interaction with Moshe and Moshe’s interaction with the Children of Israel. In Verse 13 and 14 below we read:
13 Moshe answered the people, "Stop being so fearful! Remain steady, and you will see how ADONAI is going to save you. He will do it today - today you have seen the Egyptians, but you will never see them again! 14 ADONAI will do battle for you. Just calm yourselves down!"
Here we see Moshe standing up before the Children of Israel and encouraging them to stand strong in faith and expect G-D to bring salvation to them. He speaks against fear and tells them to remain steady. He even speaks with a calm assurance that “today” G-D will deliver them for the Egyptians who were coming with the full force of their armies against them. He finishes verse 14 with the words “just calm yourselves down”. In these verses we see the outward faith of Moshe as he stands before the people G-D has placed him over. He says all the right things in trying to motivate them to have faith. Then we read verse 15!
15 ADONAI asked Moshe, "Why are you crying to me? Tell the people of Isra'el to go forward! 16 Lift your staff, reach out with your hand over the sea, and divide it in two. The people of Isra'el will advance into the sea on dry ground.
Now we read G-D’s perspective of Moshe’s heart. This verse shows the inside of Moshe. G-D always sees our inside, He always sees our hearts. Moshe was strong on the outside, doing everything he was to do as leader of the Nation of Israel. Yet G-D is speaking to him as a father would to His son, asking him “why are you crying to me?” At this point in time Moshe had followed the voice of G-D all the way to the Red Sea and at the very edge of deliverance he stops and seems to be double-minded. To the people he was strong and faithful, but toward G-D he was a little shaky. In reading these verses I can easily place myself in Moshe’s footsteps as I am sure all believers can at times. We have situations come before us that give us opportunity to stand strong and proclaim G-D’s provision and salvation, and in front of those around us we show a clear demonstration of our absolute faith in G-D. Yet inside we are crying out to G-D asking Him to please do what He said He would. Not out of fear of the things we are facing but sometimes out of fear that we will look phony if G-D doesn’t do what we expect Him to do. Imagine Moshe standing in front of the people shouting out that G-D was going to deliver them from the Egyptians. Then he had to stand there and wait for G-D to do it. It is the waiting time that makes us shaky sometimes. But as G-D spoke to Moshe in these verses, when we have spoken G-D’s promises we should then step into the promise and lead others with us.
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Passover has always had a special meaning to those who have faith in G-D. Throughout the Scriptures G-D has shown His love for His people in many ways. The Passover was not only an event in the Scriptures but it also is a living example of G-Ds interaction with us in our daily lives. Just as the Israelites were slaves to Egypt, we were slaves to sin. Just as G-D delivered them supernaturally, through the Blood of the lamb and His mighty power. He delivers us through the Blood or the Lamb “Yeshua” and through the Ruach (His Spirit).