Exodus 12-14
As God had instructed the Israelites through Moses, each family selected a 1 year old lamb without defects and slaughtered it for a meal. Using its blood, the smeared their doorposts to prevent the death angel from coming in with the tenth and final plague. To the Israelites, this would be a joyous festival to celebrate; however, to the Egyptians this would be a disastrous tragedy that they wished would never had happened. Don't you see how when one hardens his heart before God and rejects the Word of the Lord what the evil in his heart can do? God instructed the Israelites with precise details how to celebrate the festival.
After the death angel swept through Egypt, Pharaoh (after the death of his son) and all of Egypt forcefully sent the Israelites away. However, it was not long (three days) before Pharaoh's heart was hardened again and sought after the Israelites to bring them back. This was a 2 million person slave force. Without them, the economy in Egypt would be drastically different!
But when the people of Israel noticed that Pharaoh's army was quickly approaching, all of God's miracles were forgotten and they cried out to Moses to go back willingly so that they would not die in the desert. How quickly do we forget God's work in our lives when it seems that we are on our own? The truth is that we are never on our own. God is always on the side of those who place their full trust in Him!
And God saw them through. This is another mighty miracle as the people crossed the Red Sea on DRY GROUND! 2 million+ people cross the Red Sea on DRY GROUND! The ground underneath a creek bed takes weeks to dry out in the drought of summer. This happened overnight in a SEA!
Even more astounding than this, is that in the same 24 hour period, after the 2 million+ Israelites had crossed on dry ground, God closed in the walls of the Red Sea and all of Pharaoh's army drowned! Think about this: we are told that Pharaoh sent 600 chariots (14:7) and countless other horsemen and foot soldiers. A likely army of several thousand! If they all drowned, (not a single one survived) then they would have had to have been too far from shore to swim for safety. Understand that with their heavy armor one would probably sink to the bottom anyway. The mighty miracle of our Creator God is incredible to comprehend. But as Israel watched on, and as dead Egyptian soldiers washed up to shore, they placed their full trust in God and in Moses (for now).
This is probably one of the most well known chapters in all of the Bible. It has been used for joyous occasions and somber occasions alike. Its words were written by David probably when he was still a shepherd boy before he was ever chosen by God to be king of Israel. David was a shepherd in the fields of Bethlehem. So the words are penned with the landscape of his work in mind. The green meadows and quiet streams that are described are the prime locations any shepherd would like for his sheep to graze and enjoy. So to, in the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the good shepherd (John 10:11); the great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20); and the head Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). Jesus, our Shepherd desires to lead us where we would be the best taken care of and where we would be the most satisfied. Instead, when we wander astray from the good Shepherd's guidance, we also wander from the protection and comfort of the Shepherd. But He promises to leave the other 99 to find the 1 (Luke 15). It is really interesting to think that as David pens these words, little did he know that 1000 years later the angels would announce to the shepherds in these same fields the birth of the head Shepherd, the Messiah, Jesus.
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