Exodus 13:17-17:16
Beshalach means “when (he) let go” from the first verse where Pharaoh let the people go.
In this reading we find that God did not take the children of Israel the shortest way back to Mt. Horeb or Mt. Sinai, instead he instructed Moses to take them down a path that had them wedged between the mountains and the sea, in a straight path (See 14:2-4).
This path would not have been the path that a military leader would have chosen to take his troops for they would find themselves with their “back against the wall”, with no where to go when the enemy closed in on them.
Pharaoh himself exclaims that they are “bewildered” by the land. In other words, they are crazy people wandering around and lost and now they have gotten themselves hemmed in and all I have to do is go and easily round them up and bring them back to Egypt.
This is where faith steps in!! Not so much the faith of the people at this point for they begin to see their situation and exclaim to Moses that they were trapped and they would have preferred to just have died in Egypt than in this manner, but Moses has faith to trust Yah.
He declares in 14:13, “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 for ever.” (NKJV)
Just for your info, this incident occurred on the 7th day of Unleavened Bread. A high sabbath day.
What do you do when you are faced with seemingly impossible situations? Does faith step in or fear?
Honestly, it is human nature to let fear step in. Fear will usually be the first thing that comes knocking and it cripples, paralyzes, shatters, and destroys. I have actually “felt” fear as it creeps over my body like a paralyzing disease. I can fully imagine the way that those Israelites felt that day, trapped with the sea before them, cliffs and mountains surrounding them, and Pharaoh's army closing in behind. Panic
time!!!!
But faith....the faith of Moses brought God down to save the day.
Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with You, Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”. (NKJV) The word dismayed in this verse means, “to
gaze about in anxiety”.
When we are trapped we need to look up. We don't need to look around at the situation in distress and anxiety but we need to have the faith of Moses and look to the One that can handle any situation, no matter how bad.
The question is, do we have the faith to believe?
Shalom,
Leisa