ESOCS Devotional 5 April 2025 – Fear Not, Stand Still, and See the Salvation of the Lord
MEMORY VERSE: “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.” EXODUS 14:13 KJV
TEXT: EXODUS 14:1-20
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold[c] your peace.”
15 And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
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The children of Israel must have been so scared on a day like this, a day when they were supposed to be free. They became so afraid that they began to tell Moses that he should have left them behind. They totally forgot that God had always taken care of them in Egypt. This was the Day of their deliverance and yet the Lord had told Moses that He would harden the heart of Pharaoh and his servants, so that they will not listen and He the Lord will be honoured upon Pharaoh and his host (Exod. 14:4b).
God could have as well let the Egyptians forget about the Israelites and He would have just let them walk through the Red Sea without being chased by the Egyptians. He told Moses He will make the Israelites know His might. God doesn’t prepare a half-baked cake for anyone to eat. He bakes and He adds the icing on the cake and makes sure we humans see how He made it to the end. Even when we start getting tired and saying it is taking too long to manifest, He keeps on going and gets it done to our amazement. After getting the Egyptians into the middle of the Sea and the Israelites gotten to safety, the waters returned to their normal position and buried the Egyptians and their chariots under the Sea forever.
He is indeed the God who says and it comes to pass. The Egyptians saw what made them afraid, they were never seen again. God is not a man that He should lie nor a son of Man that He should repent; when He says a word, it surely comes to pass. Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord, trust Him without a doubt and you shall enjoy all His benefits!
CHALLENGES
- We should reflect on ourselves and ask ourselves if we have trusted in God and has He failed us? Why be afraid? Why the doubting? Why the murmuring and complaints?
PRAYER POINT
- Father, help me to trust you in all circumstances I face that I may see no more of the Egyptians I see today. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Exodus 14: 21-31; Romans 14:1-23
ESOCS Devotional 5 April 2025
