WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US

Exodus 13-15 - What an exciting three chapters! Pharaoh has let God’s people leave Egypt. The Passover has taken place and God through Moses has instructed His people to remember what He has done for them. Then God leads them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night to give them light. At the end of chapter 13 we learn that God does not lead them through the land of the Philistines even though it was near because He feared His people would lose heart and return to Egypt. Instead, He leads them around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea. The beginning of chapter 14 is where God hardens Pharaoh’s heart and he follows the Israelites in order to return them to Egypt. The Israelites realize that Pharaoh is right behind them and they rebel, saying, “It would be better to serve in Egypt than to die in the wilderness.” And from here until the end of chapter 14 we see God part the Red Sea, the Israelites crossing on land between two walls of water, the Egyptian army pursuing them, and when the last Israelite steps out of what would have been the Red Sea onto shore God causes the walls of water to engulf the Egyptian army. When the Israelites saw the Egyptians washing up dead on shore, they realized God’s great power which He used against the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord and they believed in Him and in His servant Moses. Chapter 15 relates how the people praised God by singing about what He had done for them. The last five verses of chapter 15 tell of the bitter waters of Marah and how the people could not drink from them. They grumbled to Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Moses went to God. God showed Moses a tree and then he threw it in the water. The water became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.

Now you may be thinking about how I will end this blog. I actually had thought of a conclusion before I figured out how to get there. I want to go back to chapter 13. Remember that God establishes a celebration to remember how He had brought them out of Egypt and all that He had done to bring that about. In verse 8 He says, “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ When was the last time you sat and told your child what the Lord did for you.  If it was not important for us as parents and adults to relate to our children and the children of the next generation what He has done for us, there would not be a verse 8. I know that at the time of Exodus the written word did not exist and they had to tell their children all that God had done for them. But in this era of television, the internet and video games how much more important is it for us to interact with our children, no matter their age, and tell them What God Has Done For Us!