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A Safe Path, March 27
Exodus 14
And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak
unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.
Exodus 14:15
.
God in His providence brought the Hebrews into the mountain fastnesses
before the sea, that He might manifest His power in their deliverance and signally
humble the pride of their oppressors. He might have saved them in any other
way, but He chose this method in order to test their faith and strengthen their
trust in Him. The people were weary and terrified, yet if they had held back
when Moses bade them advance, God would never have opened the path for
them. It was “by faith” that “they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land”
(
Hebrews 11:29
). In marching down to the very water, they showed that they
believed the word of God as spoken by Moses. They did all that was in their
power to do, and then the Mighty One of Israel divided the sea to make a path
for their feet.
The great lesson here taught is for all time. Often the Christian life is beset by
dangers, and duty seems hard to perform. The imagination pictures impending
ruin before and bondage or death behind. Yet the voice of God speaks clearly,
“Go forward.” We should obey this command, even though our eyes cannot
penetrate the darkness, and we feel the cold waves about our feet. The obstacles
that hinder our progress will never disappear before a halting, doubting spirit.
Those who defer obedience till every shadow of uncertainty disappears and there
remains no risk of failure or defeat, will never obey at all. Unbelief whispers,
“Let us wait till the obstructions are removed, and we can see our way clearly:”
but faith courageously urges an advance, hoping all things, believing all things.
The cloud that was a wall of darkness to the Egyptians was to the Hebrews a
great flood of light, illuminating the whole camp, and shedding brightness upon
the path before them. So the dealings of Providence bring to the unbelieving,
darkness and despair, while to the trusting soul they are full of light and peace.
The path where God leads the way may lie through the desert or the sea, but it is
a safe path
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Patriarchs and Prophets, 290
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