The Israelites stood on the edge of the Red Sea. In front of them, open water. Behind them, the Egyptian army led by a Pharaoh who had changed his mind and wanted his slaves back.
It appears some of the Israelites had changed their minds as well. And so they turned on their reluctant leader Moses. "What have you done to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in the desert? There were plenty of graves for us in Egypt. We told you there, 'Leave us alone! Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.' Now we're gonna die in a desert." -- Exodus 14:11-12
That might have been an exaggeration. A short time before, the Israelites had left Egypt with their heads held high and their pockets full of silver and gold the people of Egypt had given them to appease the One True God that had wreaked so much havoc on them and their culture. The Israelites, true to form, had already forgotten their blessings and were now focused only on their adversity.
Aren't we often like that?
We spend long periods of time immersed in the blessings of Providence, most of the time taking them for granted. But then, at the first encounter we have with difficulty or conflict, we wail as if we've been abandoned and are alone without hope or recourse.
You know, just like the Israelites.
Now, let's talk about the rest of the story. God parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Israelites crossed to the other side. The Egyptian army followed, and soon discovered that heavy armor was not very useful for swimming. God intervened on behalf of the Israelites, meeting them at the point of their need and delivering them in a way that was more spectacular than anything they had seen to that point.
And the Israelites rejoiced, thanking God and singing praises to Him there on the shore for their glorious deliverance.
It wasn't much later that those same people were asking Aaron to cast an idol god for them. And when someone might have mentioned that Moses would not look kindly on such behavior, the people responded with, "Moses? Moses who?"
We all know how that turned out.
Needless to say, the relationship that Israel had with God during that era could be described as "cyclical."One day the Israelites would be fervently praising Him and embracing His standards. The next day they would be whining and complaining or – worse – embracing pagan gods and engaging in heathen religious practices, some of which were horrendous.
And God still dealt with them as His children, loving them and taking care of their needs while at times disciplining them as a parent would. He continued to protect them, sometimes even from the consequences of their own folly. And even in the worst of circumstances, He would never really leave them even when they distanced themselves from Him.
In the same way, God loves His children. Like ancient Israel, our relationship with Him is often "cyclical."One day we are fervently praising Him and embracing His standards. And another day we are whining and complaining or -- worse -- embracing the "gods" of this age and their wicked practices.
And God still takes care of our needs and protects us, sometimes even from the consequences of our own folly. And even in the worst of circumstances, He will never leave us even when we distance ourselves from Him.
And He does that because He loves us. And that love -- fathomless, measureless, infinite –-- will never, ever, end.
Doug Chastain is a retired teacher and large-vehicle transportation specialist for the Siloam Springs School District. (OK, he drives a bus.) He is also a grass maintenance technician at Camp Siloam. (Yeah, he mows the lawn.) You can contact him at [email protected].