One can only imagine the deep awe the Israelites felt as they watched the sea part before them. Behind them marched a ruthless enemy bent on their destruction. Before them, the power of God was being put on display.
A massive wall of water stood towering over the people on either side of a dry path. God had made a way for His people to escape. The finger of God had split the mighty waters as the hand of God led His people to safety.
While the Israelites lavished in the love of the God who fought for them, the Egyptians were experiencing the horrors of the God who fought against them. This was the great I Am, the One who had promised that His people would be free. The One who had destroyed a whole nation with a few plagues. And still, the Egyptians charge ahead, into the split sea. Yet, this God was not for them. In one moment, the towering walls of salty water come crashing down, destroying an entire army.
As the Israelites looked back over the flat waters, the faithfulness of this mighty God could not be ignored. He and He alone had saved His people.
Their journey continues. God’s presence goes with His people through the night as a column of raging fire, and as a cloud during the day. This God had not only saved them. He was with them.
Inspite of this, Israel chooses to form an idol and worship it. Yet God remains faithful. They grumble and complain, yet God feeds them and preserves them. They scorn and mock His plan, yet God faithfully brings them to the Promised Land, fulfilling a promise that had been years in the making.
It is not hard to imagine why the Israelites rejected such an awesome and kind God so quickly. We need only look at our own sinful hearts to find the answer. Yet, at every moment of Israel’s faithlessness, God’s faithfulness shines as a priceless gem in a mine of dull coal.
This same God is saddened as Israel falls into idolatry and reaps the devastating consequences of their sin. This same God calls His people, these shameful people, precious and honoured in His sight. This same God fights for His people, redeems them, and blots out their sin. He breathes life into His blind, deaf, dead people and plants them on the Solid Rock. He leads them through mighty waters and brings them home.
Why? God Himself gives the answer: because He loves His chosen ones. And if you are a Christian, this is the same God who cares for you. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Rather, lean on the everlasting, ever-faithful arms of God. And when you do, worship there.
Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…
Isaiah 43
To The Heart 