seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Exodus 14:10 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.”
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.”
OK.... our Israelites seem to be trapped. On one side there's nothing but water. It's not likely that many of them knew how to swim. The Israelites had spent their lives as slaves. Their days were filled with only work. They didn't get a vacation to Ocean City where they could play in the surf and learn to swim. They didn't take their children to the local city pool for swimming lessons.
The other side.... desert and hills.... and now they look up and everywhere they look there are chariots and pharaoh's troops. They're trapped....
Here's what the easy English commentary says about these verses.
The Israelites saw that Pharaoh and his army were near. Immediately the Israelites began to blame Moses. That was the first occasion when they complained. They blamed Moses that they had left Egypt. But they said that only because they were very afraid. They quickly forgot how they had suffered as slaves. The Israelites thought only about Pharaoh’s soldiers. They thought that the soldiers would kill them in the desert.
Moses believed what the LORD had promised. So he told the Israelites that the LORD would fight on their behalf. They had to to remain calm. That was all that they needed to do. The LORD would free them from the Egyptians for always.
I can see how the Israelites would be afraid. I can also see how being shushed by Moses saying "remain calm" didn't do much to calm them.
The difference is, Moses had seen the burning bush. Moses had spoken with God. Moses had been part of the plagues. They hadn't seen the staff turn into a serpent that devoured others. They were busy working.... and having more workload added when Pharaoh ordered them to find their own straw. Moses had seen God at work first hand. They didn't, so the only thing they had to hold on to was what they heard from Moses. So they followed Moses and Aaron away from the safe homes only to be surrounded by an army, backed up against the sea, and Moses wants them to be calm? Seriously?
I would be stomping my foot and complaining.... I'd be ready to write a letter to the editor....
