MISUNDERSTOOD VERSES : Exodus 14:14
I love the story of the Exodus. After 400 years of brutal slavery in Egypt, the Israelites were finally free, but there was a problem. Pharaoh had hardened his heart once again and sent his mighty army after them. So, the Israelites find themselves with the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army hot on their heels. There was nowhere to go, and they were certainly not equipped to fight off any army, let alone the notoriously strong Egyptian warriors. Then, Moses tells them: “God will fight for you. You only need to be still”. That is the end of verse 14, but that is not the whole picture. Let me share the paragraph with you, starting a verse 13.
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:13-16).
Do you see the contradiction?
Moses tells the Israelites: “Don’t be afraid… God will fight for you, just be still”.
But God says to Moses: “Why are you calling to me? Tell the Israelites to move on”.
So, who is right? Moses or God? Must they be still or move on?
As it happens both are right. When Moses tells them to ‘be still’, he does not mean do nothing. What he is really saying is: “Don’t be overwhelmed! Do not panic! God is in control” We are not supposed to fold our arms and wait for God to do everything. We are to trust God. He will fight for us. He did fight for them, God parted the Red Sea so the entire nation could cross on dry ground, and then He drowned the Egyptian army in that same Red Sea. The Israelites didn’t perform these miracles, but they didn’t do nothing, either.
Psalm 46
This story reminds me of Psalm 46:10 – ‘Be still and know that I am God‘.
Interestingly, this is not a gentle, peaceful Psalm. It’s about turmoil, calamities and wars. It starts with: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…”
Later from verse 9 we read:
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Did you notice that the ‘be still and know that I am God’ line comes right in the middle of smashing spears and burning shields? The psalmist is encouraging us to trust God, even when our situation seems hopeless, humanly speaking.
Both in Psalm 46:10 and Exodus 14:14, ‘be still’ is another way of saying don’t panic, don’t be overwhelmed. God is with you in this. He will fight for you. But that is not the same as saying sit back and do nothing. God delivered the Israelites with a staggering miracle, but they still had to move forward, they still had to walk through that terrifying divided sea to get to their Promised Land.
Psalm 27:1 also comes to mind.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.“
The psalmist is not saying that the watchman should go to sleep, or that the builders should leave the building for God to do. He is saying that in our efforts, in our struggles, in our hard work, God is with us. Without Him all our efforts will come to nothing, they will be of no eternal significance. God will fight for us and deliver us, but we still need to faithfully and humbly follow God’s instructions.
Jericho
The Bible has many examples of this principle at work. Possibly the best known is the Battle of Jericho. God brought down the walls and gave the Israelites a stunning victory. He fought for His people, but they still had to march and shout and blow their trumpets. For whatever reason, God uses us in the fulfilment of His glorious plans. He works through our prayers, through our actions, and most of all, through our obedience.