Trapped with No Hope for Escape is the Best Place to Be

I've been getting a lot out of Exodus 14 lately and want to write a few entries about it. This is the chapter where God splits the Red Sea for the Israelites exodus from Egypt.

At the beginning of the chapter, the Lord tells Moses to tell the people to "turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before the sea." It sounds like they had some forward momentum going, and then the Lord tells them to turn back and camp at this particular spot. This piqued my interest to see whether there was some spiritual meaning to the words Pi Hahiroth, Midgol and Baal Zephon.

From my brief research, it looks like these words are simply geographical locations. That was disappointing, until I realized the significance of that geographical position. At that particular place by the Red Sea, the Israelites were trapped. This fact was not lost on Pharaoh, who sent his armies out after them with a vengeance.

Why would God do something like this to His people when they were on their way to freedom in their Promised Land? Verse 4 has the answer: ". . .and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord." His purpose was to display His glory as God, and in the process, completely destroy Israel's enemies. It doesn't get any better than that.

Of course, the Israelites didn't know this and weren't exactly full of faith at this point. All they could see was Pharaoh's chariots closing in on them, and they were scared to death. They thought they were going to die. Incidentally, they were REALLY mad at Moses for getting them into this mess, too--a good topic for another post. For now, it's important to note that, although they were terrified and in a real pickle, their situation was by God's design. Not for one moment was God surprised, nor was anything out of control. He had set them up in a perfect place to receive a spectacular miracle from His hand, to His glory and their own eternal benefit.

Verse 13 reports Moses telling the people, "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 forever [emphasis added]." If they had not been trapped as they were and had had even the smallest way out on their own, perhaps by running from the Egyptians, they would have taken it, and missed their miracle. And they would forever after have had to look over their shoulders to see if Egypt was in pursuit. As it happened, God was able not only to get the Israelites out through the Red Sea, but He completely destroyed the enemy armies in the process. The Egyptians were not going to pop up again later. They were gone forever, never to be a concern for Israel again. This is God's way.

When we read this story, knowing the end in advance, it's easy to be critical and wonder why the Israelites didn't trust God and got in such a panic. But how often do we do the same thing in our own life situations, when our view is blocked by our own God-designed traps? God help us to see Him in the trap, and to rejoice in trust, knowing our miracle is about to happen. And may He get all the glory.