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 to 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 14:14-16
And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people FEARED the LORD and put their TRUST in HIM and in Moses. Exodus 14: 31
Soon afterward, JESUS went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with HIM. As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the LORD saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.”
Then He went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” the dead man sat up and began to talk, and JESUS gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with AWE and PRAISED GOD. Luke 7:11-16
Meditation:
Have you ever witnessed a miracle? Yes or No?
If yes, then how did you feel? If No, then how do you think you would feel.
Picture yourself in Moses’ time: you would have witnessed plague after plague, one unexplainable miracle after another (and still the Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go). How did the witnesses to these miracles feel? Afraid…confused....
In the Old Testament, much of the miracles that God performs are meant to make the witnesses FEARFUL and OBEDIENT. God parts the Red Sea, finally allowing the Israelites to escape to freedom and in turn killing many of the Egyptians. When the Israelites saw this, the people feared the Lord, they believed and TRUST the Lord, and his servant Moses.
Are you fearful of God or not?
There is one major difference between the Old and New Testaments: God sent His son, JESUS, to live amongst us, to better understand us, and to save us.
We have talked about the miracles of the Old Testament and how they typically strike fear into witnesses.
Ponder the miracles of the New Testament: Jesus heals people, feeds people, and even resurrects a person!
How would you react to witnessing these events?
The differences in the Old and New Testament God and the miracles that were performed in each allow us to get a better understanding of God’s desires for us. He certainly wants us to OBEY and FOLLOW Him, but he no longer wanted us to do it through FEAR, but do it through LOVE… He sent Jesus to convey his message in a way that would not strike fear in our hearts.
In Exodus 14:14-31, a final miracle occurs, with God allowing Moses to part the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape and stop the Egyptians. It struck fear in the witnesses, but it allowed for the ancestors of JESUS CHRIST to survive, to remain OBEDIENT and DEVOUT, so that the most important messenger, God’s son JESUS CHRIST, could relay God’s word so that we could all understand.
Prayer:
FATHER in heaven, precious LORD, we are amazed at your power and grace. We thank you for allowing us to understand your message in a way that previous believers did not have. Thank you for the opportunity, to understand the sacrifice that you and your son, Jesus Christ, made for us. We pray that you grant us the wisdom to better understand your word, to better convey your word to others, and to have the courage to share it with those that need it the most. We pray all of this in JESUS’ name. Amen!
Jose Reyes.
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