My God is a Way-Maker Pt 2: Deliverance

Do you know the phrase “To be stuck between a rock and a hard place”? It means to be surrounded by difficult situations or decisions.

Well, Exodus 14 takes this phrase to a whole other level!

The tribes of Israel had just been freed from Egypt and were on their way to a promised land where God was leading, but they soon found themselves between “a rock and a hard place”.

“Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “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. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’” (Exodus 14:1-3)

I know what you’re thinking? “Why would God turn them around and lead them to such a vulnerable location?”

We know from Exodus 13:17-18 that the Lord was intentionally leading the Israelites through the wilderness, even though there was a more direct route to the Promised Land. The scripture states, “Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.”

Even though the Israelites were God’s children, they did not yet have the character of God’s children. These people had been slaves for many generations. They had a “slave mentality” and that needed to be stripped from them so they could walk in the calling as Children of the Most High God. The only way to strip them of this destructive mindset was to bring them to a place of complete reliance on God. They would learn to call out to Him in the wilderness as “Abba, Father.”

But before that, their deliverance from Pharaoh and Egypt must be complete. God is NOT a half-way Deliverer! When God brings you out of something, He brings you out ALL the way!

So to complete the deliverance, God brings His people to an impossible situation. The meaning of deliverance is the state of being saved from something dangerous or unpleasant. Our God is a Deliverer and that inherently means that for Him to deliver us, we must be in impossible, difficult, and seriously unpleasant situations.

Writer Scott Lanser from the Associates for Biblical Research notes the following about Israel’s situation:

“God shows us that the confrontation with the Egyptians at Baal Zephon is not by accident, or a coincidence. He shows us that He intentionally turns the Israelites around and leads them to a place that He has chosen for the great spiritual conflict with the Egyptians…..Upon this mountain, Baal Zephon, it was believed that Zephon reigned in power and was lord over the sea. Here, Pharaoh may have sensed that the idol Zephon was going to display his power over the Israelites…..I believe that Pharaoh considered that Zephon would finally rout the Israelites and that Yahweh would be shown to be inferior in power. (Did Pharaoh still think that he and his Egyptian gods had power to subdue the God of Israel unaided by a still more powerful deity?) And it is no surprise that the Lord stopped Israel and turned them around to meet and defeat not only Pharaoh and his army, but also to display his power over Zephon and defeat him at the mountain of his glory and power. Not only this, but Yahweh would lead His people directly through the sea...the sea which the Egyptians believed were under the control of Zephon!”

So not only was God fulfilling the deliverance of His people, but He was about to THROW DOWN on Pharaoh and all the surrounding pagan gods in a way that had never been seen before and in a way where He alone would have ALL the glory. The Lord tells Moses (multiple times) that “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.” (Exodus 14:4)

The Israelites, once realizing the predicament they are in, begin to waver in confidence. These people who had left Egypt with “boldness” were now crying out to God with complaints, accusing Him of getting their hopes up only to bring them to this place to die (Exodus 14:10-12).

Whoa! Sound familiar?

You’ve received your salvation from Jesus Christ and thought that all was going to be “Sunshine and Flowers,” only life is still life. The difficulties have not gone away. And if anything, they seem to have gotten worse.

Realize this NOW:  Once you begin to follow the LORD, the enemy (satan) and the powers of darkness (satan’s cronies) have locked their sights on you (after all you are now a light) and will do all that is within their power to TAKE YOU DOWN!

You may even find yourself in situations where you can’t turn left or right, you have trouble closing in behind you, and in front of you is an impassable (impossible) way. Like the Israelites you may be crying out to God “What is going on? I thought things would get better now that I know You? How could you save me only to leave me out on my own surrounded by trouble?”

And God will say to you what He said to the Israelites “Do NOT be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today….The LORD will fight for you , and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

What’s interesting about the Hebrew translation for “stand still” in this passage is that it means to place, situate, or present oneself firmly; to take a stand. Meaning stand strong and un-moving in the LORD! Have confidence in Him and His power, His might, His sovereignty. Not only will He fight for you, but He will be victorious.

He also says to “hold your peace,” which is a nice way of saying “HUSH!” Stop complaining and speaking death over yourself. Hush your mouth!

Proverbs 17:27-28 says “He who has knowledge restrains and is careful with his words, And a man of understanding and wisdom has a cool spirit (self-control, an even temper). Even a [callous, arrogant] fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips he is regarded as sensible (prudent, discreet) and a man of understanding.”

What that means is there is a time to keep silent and a time to speak!” (Ecclesiastes 3:7)

Use wisdom and if what you are about to say has no beneficial purpose, then shut it! Do not “abort your breakthrough.” Do not speak death where God has spoken life. Do not fight against your own deliverance with foolish words born out of emotion. HOLD YOUR PEACE!

So once the rise of panic was addressed, God goes on to inform them of their part in the deliverance. Yep! You have a part to play in your own deliverance. God has His job covered. 

It’s your turn to step out in faith!

The LORD tells Moses “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 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.” (Exodus 14:15-16)

The LORD gives direction to the people, and it is not difficult. He says to move forward. And they’re thinking “WHERE?”

How often have we been in the same predicament? I find myself there now, as a matter of fact. God says “move forward,” and I’m like “WHERE?” (lol).

But I have faith that though I cannot see the way, God is my WAY-MAKER! If He says “move forward,” then by golly I’m going to “move forward.” It’s exciting because I have no clue as to how the way is going to be made (God is keeping it close to the cuff), but nonetheless I believe that He has it all planned.

I’m expecting to “walk on dry ground” where there once was an impassable sea! (Which by the way, is soooo awesome! Think about it. There wasn’t any mud on them. They didn’t get “bogged” down in swampy ground.)

I just love verses 19-20:

“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. 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.”

The LORD had them covered! He was making a way in front of them and watching their backs at the same time. Only God, Jehovah, is able to do this!

The scriptures remind us often of this “unmatchable” trait in our God:

“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

“You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:5)

“For you shall not go out with haste, Nor go by flight; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 52:12)

God has got your BACK, your FRONT, your UP, your DOWN, your LEFT, and your RIGHT. He has got you covered! He stands between you and your enemy.

And remember this: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:38)

God stands between you and your enemy, and NOTHING stands between you and the love of God. HALLELUJAH!!!

Finally, the stand-off breaks.

Moses stretched out his hand in faith and the LORD divided the waters of the Red Sea to form a path of dry ground for His people to cross. WHOA!!!

What’s so interesting about the word “divide” used in this passage is that it is not just a division in terms of separation (like in Genesis 1:1-7). This word in Hebrew is “ baqa’ ” and means to make a way through something forcefully; to cleave or split; to break open or break through.

The word in Hebrew from Genesis 1 where God divides the firmament and the light from dark, is “badal” and means to separate; to make a distinction; to cause to move or be apart.

God has two divisions for us as believers. One is to be separate from the ways of this world. We are to be “set apart” for a holy use and not to be like everyone else. But we are never “set apart” from the troubles of this world. We will be faced with difficulties (even as Christians) and will be in impossible situations where we cannot get ourselves through on our own. Thankfully, our God is a Way-Maker. He brings about our BREAKTHROUGH! He makes a way where there once wasn’t a way. He splits through our situation like an axe splitting wood. And it is glorious! To Him be ALL the glory!

Ending the chapter, we see the total defeat of Pharaoh. The way made by God for His people’s deliverance also served as the way for Pharaoh's downfall. DID YOU HEAR THAT? The way that God brings forth to save you will also be the way He uses to defeat your enemy!

Exodus 14:30 says “So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”

The Egyptians thought they could “use” God in their plan to destroy His people. But it only led to their own destruction as the waters “came back on them.”

We know from The Book of Revelation that our enemy satan will be bound with chains and eventually thrown into the Lake of Fire. That is his repayment because he has sought to bind God’s creation and children with chains of bondage and tried to burn us in the fires of trials, difficulties, and persecutions.

But the LORD says “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” (Romans 12:19)

And what a payment!

So if you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, STAND STILL and KEEP YOUR PEACE. If you are feeling fearful or anxious, realign your confidence. Take your focus off of self and place it on GOD! Put your trust and confidence in Him and see the salvation of the LORD. Remember that He is our Deliverer! He will deliver you 100% from the hands of the enemy IF YOU OBEY HIS WORD. Do NOT let the quantity of your troubles cause you to lose heart. The enemy loves to use QUANTITY against you (more attacks, bigger obstacles, numerous enemies). But our God is all about QUALITY! One God, perfect and sovereign! One word full of power and authority! God’s superior quality overcomes satan’s feeble quantity EVERYTIME!