Who Is Like the Lord?

Exodus 14:19-31; Matthew 18:21-35

If you are of certain generation you cannot hear those words from Exodus without seeing Charlton Heston standing before the Sea with his staff raised as the waters parted and the Israelites just barely made it through before the waters closed in upon the Egyptians. If you are my children’s age then you might remember the animated movie, The Prince of Egypt, which came out in 1998. It is a bit more fantastic that DeMille’s Ten Commandments, but entertaining nevertheless. How many of you remember Ben Kingsley in the title role in the 1996 made-for-television movie, Moses? I have always liked the way Kingsley portrayed Moses and the scene where the waters part is very well done. It seems like every generation needs to remake and retell the story of the Exodus and Moses parting the Red Sea. And, why not? The scene just cries out to be put on the big screen. It has drama: Will Pharaoh overtake the Israelites? It has conflict: Who will prevail, Moses or Pharaoh? And it has great visual appeal and presents a wonderful opportunity to go all-out on special effects. The story of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea on dry ground just ahead of the pursuing Egyptians is great cinema and it is the pivotal moment in the exodus story.

But, to really understand this moment and why it is so important we need to back up a few chapters and set the scene. Way back in Exodus chapter one a new Pharaoh arose; a pharaoh who did not remember Joseph and how he had saved Egypt from starvation. When he looked at the Israelites all he saw was a bunch of foreigners who were threatening to overwhelm the native Egyptians. So, in an attempt to slow their increase, Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites and put them to hard labor. But, the Lord observed their misery; he heard their cries, and he knew their sufferings. The Lord appeared to Moses and sent him to deliver the Israelites out of bondage so they could serve the Lord. Next came a dramatic showdown between Moses and Pharaoh. Moses demanded that Pharaoh release the Israelites but Pharaoh stubbornly refused; Pharaoh endured nine plagues that destroyed the Egyptian economy and demoralized the Egyptian people. Then after one final plague, the death of the firstborn of Egypt, Pharaoh admitted defeat and drove the Israelites out of Egypt.

Now is a good time to pause and ask what was at stake for everyone. It is pretty clear what was at stake for Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Their economy, to some extent, depended on the slave labor the Israelites provided. In verse 14:5 the Egyptians lamented “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” The Egyptians stood to lose a great deal of their wealth and prosperity if they allowed the Israelites to get away. The Israelites were also in a different situation. Yes, they toiled under their Egyptian taskmasters; but, their situation also offered some security; at least they knew where their next meal was coming from. Their choice was between a well known (even if brutal) past in Egypt, and an unknown (but promised to be better) future with the Lord in the Promised Land. We also need to consider what was at stake for the Lord in this moment. The Lord’s prestige and glory were at stake. Who would prevail? Pharaoh or the Lord?

A great deal was at stake as the Israelites stood trapped between the Egyptians on one side and the Sea on the other. Who would prevail? Would Egypt reclaim their run-away slaves and return with them to rebuild the Egyptian economy. Would the Israelites return willingly to a brutal system that offered some security, or risk a new future with the Lord? Would the Lord stand idly by while Egypt acted or would the Lord act decisively?

Now, we know the story too well to stay in suspense; but, for the Israelites the outcome of this encounter really was in doubt. They did not know whether that day would end in slavery or freedom. Into their doubt and confusion the Lord (through Moses) gave his answer; “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 acted; the Lord parted the Sea so the Israelites could cross on dry ground; the Lord delivered the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians; “Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea.”

Interestingly, God’s action really only answered two questions that day. Certainly the Egyptians were defeated; Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. The Egyptian’s plan to recapture their slaves was thwarted by the Lord’s mighty action; Egypt would no longer have a say in Israel’s future. And the question of whether the Lord would act to save Israel was also decisively answered; the Lord’s right hand “shattered the enemy.” But what about the third question? Would the Israelites embrace the Lord as their God and serve him alone? Or, would they seek to return to the imagined safety and security of Egypt? That question was not definitively answered that day. Yes, Moses and Miriam led the Israelites in a victory song where they proclaimed “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” But, would the Israelite’s devotion to the Lord continue or would they slide back into their old ways and seek safety in the world’s economic systems? When you think about it, the question of whether the Israelites would give themselves completely to the Lord was not a question that could be answered on one day; it really was a question that the Israelites had to answered over a lifetime and throughout the generations.

At one level the story in Exodus is about the Lord reaching out to rescue an enslaved people from a cruel and abusive Pharaoh. And, in that story the Lord did prevail over Pharaoh and the Egyptians. That day the Lord’s mighty hand swept the Egyptians into the Sea and they were no more. And, that day the Israelites rejoiced and praised the name of the Lord. But, at another level the story of Pharaoh and the Israelites is bigger than just that one day; it is the story of who holds ultimate power in the world. For Pharaoh, and those allied with him, the question of who holds ultimate power is easily answered by the “golden rule” – “the one who has the gold makes the rules.” But is that the final answer? Does “money make the world go around?” Or, is there another power at work in the world; a power who sees the misery of the oppressed; a power who hears the cries of the needy, and a power who knows the sufferings of the poor?

It is at this second level that the story of the Lord’s deliverance of the Israelites ceases to be a story about one day when the sea was rolled back and it becomes a story about us. Like the Israelites, we have been given a choice. We can continue to live under Pharaoh’s system; a system where the many poor labor for the happiness of the wealthy few. Or, we can take the risk and embrace the Lord who promises a new future in a land flowing with milk and honey.

In the story of the Exodus, the Lord chose to side with a group of poor and powerless slaves rather than align himself with Pharaoh. The Lord chose to make his home with these slaves rather than live in the palace of a king. This story is repeated over and over in the Bible. Ruth, King David’s great-grandmother was forced to glean in Boaz’s field to provide for her mother-in-law and herself. Amos rebuked the wealthy who “sold the poor for a pair of sandals.” And, Jesus was born into the household of Mary and Joseph; people who were too poor to offer a proper sacrifice in the temple and forced to offer the pauper’s sacrifice of “a pair of turtle-doves.” Jesus lived his life among the poor; he did not have even a coin to pay the temple tax. Saint Paul needed to work as a tent-maker to support himself as he carried the Good News to the ends of the world. When I read the Bible I hear the voice of a God who stands with the poor against the wealthy when he says “I will not revoke their punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver.”

Today, I want to ask you a question; a question I continue to ask myself: “Do we want to return to Pharaoh; return to the perceived safety and security of Egypt? Or, are we ready to risk everything and follow the Lord?” Our answer depends on how we answer the question, “Who is more powerful?” Is Pharaoh with all his armies and all his money more powerful than the Lord who swept the Egyptians into the sea? And, like the Israelites who walked dry-shod through the sea, our answer cannot be given on just one day. Our answer must be given over a lifetime spent serving the Lord. Every day we must demonstrate through our actions that the Lord alone is ruler of heaven and earth. We must live in a way that says the Lord has triumphed of Pharaoh and all he represents. So, who is like the Lord? Will we turn back and follow Pharaoh to Egypt or will we take the risk of walking through the sea? Today I call all of us to deny Pharaoh! Today I call us to follow the Lord! Today I call us to declare that the Lord alone “is my strength and my defense … and my salvation!” Today I call all of us to embrace the Lord and serve him in all that we say and in all that we do!

Amen

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