But Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear!
Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD
which He will accomplish for you today;
for the Egyptians whom you have seen today,
you will never see them again forever.
The LORD will fight for you
while you keep silent.
Exodus 14:13-14
The children of Israel have gone out boldly from Egypt (Exodus 14:8) however Pharaoh still pursues them. Yes, the children of Israel had been redeemed. Yes, they had been set free from their slavery. Yet still, the one who once held them in captivity still chases after them in order to enslave them again.
As I read this chapter in Exodus I am reminded of the verse “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8).
Even after our redemption in Christ, even after our being set free from the slavery chains of sin, the one who once held us captive by our fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15) still chases after us. He still seeks to deceive us and enslave us once again. He still gathers his army and pursues us with a vengeance.
Moses turned to the people and he commanded them to not fear. God continues to give us this command today. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
When Jesus is praying on our behalf in John 17, He asks the Father to not take us from the world but to keep us from the evil one and He asks that we be sanctified by the Word of truth.
The Word of God is what sets us apart from the world. The Word of God is our strength. Obedience to the Word of God is our only weapon against the evil one. The Word of God is the Lord fighting for us. We speak it and trust Him and keep our own thoughts and words silent and victory will come on our behalf for His glory.
Our Creator is a God of action. He is living and active and involved with our lives. Just look at the action verbs we discover that follow references to the Lord in Exodus 14 alone. In verse one we see that the Lord spoke. In verse four we see that He hardens and we once again see the phrase “I am the LORD”.
I love when God reminds us who He is.
In verse thirteen we see that the Lord will accomplish. In verse fourteen the Lord will fight. Then in verse fifteen we see that the Lord said. In verse nineteen the Lord moved and in verse twenty-one He swept the sea back. In verse twenty-four we read that He looked and that He brought and in verse twenty-five He caused and He made and He is fighting for the children of Israel. In verse twenty-six we see that once again He said and in verse twenty-seven we read that He overthrew the Egyptians. Finally in verse thirty we read that He saved Israel that day.
This is our God fighting for us. This is our living and active Creator God. He fought on behalf of His children then and He fights on behalf of His children still.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to resist in the evil day,
and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth,
and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith
with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:10-17
This, my friend, is the armor of God. Did you notice that He has us covered from head to toe. Not only head to toe but as we look at 1 John 4:4 we see that He has us covered inside and out, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
Oh precious one, doesn’t this just make you want to shout out a hallelujah? My friend let’s praise the Lord who fights for us, let us fear His holy name and believe His word and trust in the One He sent to lead us into the promised land.
Oh Father,
How thankful I am that I am Your child. You word says in Romans 8:14-15 that all who are being led by the Spirit of God, are sons of God. You tell me that I have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but I have received a spirit of adoption by which I may cry out, “Abba! Father!” My Abba, I love You. I will honor and respect Your holy name. I will believe in You and trust in Your Word for I know that You will fight for me. You are in me and with me and you go before me and behind me. Oh how I praise You, my Creator God.
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen