Waiting through the Night

I'm going through a bible study with a couple of friends. 

This bible study led us to Exodus 14, which is where God leads Moses to part the Red Sea for the Israelites to flee from the Egyptians.

I love how the Holy Spirit works and draws out different parts of the scriptures at different times in our lives.  Before I began studying, I prayed that God would show me something, that He would meet me right there in His Word.

Exodus 14:15-31 (ESV, emphasis mine)

15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. 16     Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel    may go through the sea on dry ground. 17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that           they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his           horsemen. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over                Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and    the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong    east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of    Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right          hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all    Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar       of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,       25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from    before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back    upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his       hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And       as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters       returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed          them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground             through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians       dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the       people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Let's look first at verses 15 and 16.

God spoke to Moses and asked why Moses was crying out to God.  He told Moses to lift up his staff, and stretch out his hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites could go through the sea on dry ground.

God made it seem so easy, ya know?  "Just lift your staff.  Walk through the sea on dry ground."  But we have no record of this kind of miracle ever happening before.  There were no history books telling Moses that this was even possible.  God was asking Moses to have SO. MUCH. FAITH.  God called Moses to do the impossible because God knew HE (God) could do it.  God wasn't calling Moses to live by Moses' strength.  God was calling Moses to live by God's strength and power.  God also calls us to live out our lives with this kind of faith.

Second, let's look at verse 21.  Here's what the Holy Spirit brought to my attention.  "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. (emphasis mine)."

God worked patience and trust in the Israelites by making them wait through the night for dry ground.  The Egyptian army was right behind them (see verse 10). 

Come morning, God immediately put the water back to how it was supposed to be, saving the Israelites instantly. Exodus 14:27, "So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared."

It doesn't say that a strong wind had to blow all morning to put the sea back.  It says that when morning appears, the sea returned to its normal course.

God doesn't always work how or when we want Him to.  God does things according to His plan and His timetable.

I'm sure that the Israelites who were standing between a rock and a hard place, or an army and a sea, wanted God to make that path instantly for them to flee through.  They didn't want to have to wait for the waters to move and the mud to become dirt.

This reminds me that God knows best.  His timing is always perfect, even when it doesn't seem that way to us.

Verse 31 tells us that because Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.

God used the night to show the Israelites His power by teaching them patience.  He also used the morning (and the waters gushing back together) to show the Israelites His power.  They would not have escaped the Pharaoh's army if it had not been for BOTH of God's acts here, both the parting of the sea and the putting it back in its natural place.

How might God be using a circumstance or a delay to work in you, teaching patience or cultivating trust?

God does everything for a reason, in His perfect timing and way.

Thanks for reading!

In God, Emily