Move on

DEVOTION

EXODUS

MOVE ON

Ex 14:15-20

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen." 19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

NIV

Hold on one minute, first we see Moses telling the Israelites to be still, and now the LORD is telling them to move on. True, Moses also told them the LORD would fight for them which he is certainly going to do. There is no question that not one of the Israelites, including Moses who could actually cause what is about to happen. The first move on the part of God was to change the position of the pillar of smoke from in front of them to behind them. What this would have to have been was the pillar of smoke was between them and the Red Sea and now it stood between them and the army of Pharaoh. All night long this pillar continued to bring darkness to the Egyptians but it also gave light to the Israelites.  This pillar must have been very large to make such a divide between them, neither went near the other. We are not sure the Israelites knew the Egyptians were in the dark, but it is clear anyone who does not know the LORD is in the dark. That certainly could be a lesson, but as we are in the light, what could we gain for our walk with the LORD knowing those who do not know him are in the dark? Certainly that could imply we should bring them the light. But in this narrative God is keeping those in the light separate from those in the dark. That could be a lesson also. That we are in fact separated from those in the dark because we are in the light, therefor we should live as people of the light. But our lesson today is all about those words the LORD spoke to Moses. He asked them why they were crying out him, why they were just standing around doing nothing. He told them, “Move on”. Sure their situation looked pretty grim being helmed in between a sea and an army. How could they escape? The men were armed for battle, as we were already told. That would mean somewhere in the amount of one million men ready for battle against six hundred chariots and an undetermined amount of armed Egyptian horsemen as well as foot soldiers. We know God is not ready for them to do battle as he has divided them with his pillar of smoke, but we do know he wants them to move on. That gives them only one direction, into the water. In the physical this seems to be impossible. How could two million plus people with all the supplies, all the heaviness of the gold and silver and the livestock swim across the sea? But God says, “Move on”. Although we have to continue with the narrative which follows in order to see how they “Move on”. But the point is although God wants us to have a still heart, which is one that does not have anxiety or mistrust, he also wants us not to be stagnate, but to move on. This could apply to our spiritual journey with him as well in our physical position in life. If we ever think we have arrived at a point of knowing all we need to know about God and our relationship with him, “Move on”. When we become complacent in our walk with him, “Move on”. When we think we can sit back and rely on our laurels, “Move on”. When we are faced with some adversity in life, “Move on” If we think we have done enough for the kingdom of God and it is time to let some of the younger people do something, we cannot move over, we need to “Move on”. There is no such thing as retirement in the spiritual or the physical. Yes, God was going to do a miracle so they could move on, and he will also do that in our lives so we can move on.