Page 33 - Living Light Autumn 23

THIS WEEK’S BIBLE INSIGHTS ARE BY:
Derek Tidball and are based on Exodus 14:23-31 (NIV)
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ MORE ON THIS WEEK’S MAJOR THEME:
John 6:1-14
23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and 24 horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, ‘Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.’
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.’ 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its
place. The Egyptians were fleeing towards it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen – the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
29But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Sunday October 8 - Salvation in progress
The Egyptians pursued them... and... followed them into the sea.
Exodus 14:23
“They think it's all over,” Kenneth Wolstenholme famously said as people invaded the pitch at the end of the 1966 World Cup. But it wasn’t. At that moment, Geoff Hurst scored another goal to seal the victory for England, before Wolstenholme said, “It is now!” Israel must have thought it was all over when Pharaoh finally gave in and allowed them to leave Egypt. Well prepared, they didn’t hesitate and left under cover of darkness. Freedom at last! Soon, they’d even miraculously crossed the Red Sea. Another barrier overcome. They must have felt safe.
Except it wasn’t all over. A typical politician, Pharaoh did a U-turn and sent his troops to pursue the fleeing Israelites. Before long his army had caught them up. As an untrained, ill-equipped multitude, they would be no match for the disciplined Egyptians with their superior military hardware. What was to happen to them?
We’ll look at the outcome during the rest of the week. For the moment, it’s enough to learn that when God saved us it was as real a rescue from sin and the rule of darkness (see Colossians 1:13-14) as the exodus from Egypt. But that first definitive, unmistakable act of salvation isn’t the end of the story. We’ll face other attacks, other obstacles, other enemies, and need to turn repeatedly to God to rescue us. It’s not all over yet!
Thank you, gracious God, for my sure salvation. Teach me to look to it every day, in all life’s circumstances. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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