Crumbs Under the Table

After reading the last post, you might be tempted to think that I avoided the question of why God told the children of Israel to turn back. I thought that it would be helpful to first consider A (as opposed to THE) reason why God led them on THAT particular path in the first place.

God knew that Israel was not prepared for war. But He was.

One of the reasons that God told Israel to turn back and camp at Pi-Hahiroth was to lure Pharaoh into attacking His people.

For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, ‘They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.’ Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. Deut. 14:3-4

However, God was interested in demonstrating His power in the earth on behalf of His people.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.” And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name, LORD, I was not known to them. I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.” Exodus 6:1-4

God wanted to reveal Himself to Israel as Jehovah. He wanted to show Himself strong on behalf of His covenant people. He was determined to keep His covenant.

So, he told Israel to “turn back.” God wanted to make certain that everyone knew that He had put them into this position.

And so He does today. When we find ourselves trapped at Pi-Hahiroth and we got there by trying to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, it just might be that God is preparing to show Himself strong on our behalf. Do you know that He is always looking for such opportunities?

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.       2 Chron. 16:9a

His eyes are ever searching to find those who will continue trusting Him when their circumstances tell them they are doomed; those who will not cast away their confidence in Him when things look bleak; those who will continue to believe that He is for them and not against them.

When we last spoke, God had specifically directed the children of Israel to turn back and camp at a very vulnerable spot.

Why did God lead them by this way? As we shall see, there are many reasons.

In the first place, we must realize that God sometimes leads us in the way that He does because of our own weaknesses.

Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.  Exodus 13:17-18

God led Israel on this route because He thought the alternate way would discourage them into turning back to Egypt!

Unfortunately, our proud hearts are tempted to question His motives in the midst of a practical manifestation of His kindness and condescension.

As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13-14

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. There is no searching of His understanding. Isaiah 40:27-28 (NKJV)

Isaiah clarifies that God’s apparent lack of support in our life is not caused by fatigue or a lack of strength or ability on His part. He is the mighty God who does whatever He pleases. (Psa. 115:3)

One thing that we must keep before us is that God is not always expedient or efficient from a human perspective. Let’s look at one example that has been “written before…for our learning.” (Rom. 15:4)

Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea.”   Exodus 14:1-2

Turn back? Did God suddenly got a better idea? Was He preoccupied and missed the turn the first time? The natural human response would be to flee as far away from Egypt as possible as quickly as possible. Pi Hahiroth was not the next logical stop for Israel on their way out of Egypt. They had to turn back to get there! 

Let’s look at what God where God led Israel…

…Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon

“Migdol means “watchtower.” More specifically, it is believed to be the site of an ancient military watchtower. Ancient armies placed watchtowers on prominent hills overlooking strategic terrain, so let us assume that Migdol is a hill. If Migdol is a hill, then the Israelites camped between a hill and the sea. They camped “before” the hill, so it was nearby.¹ 

Baal-zephon means “Lord of the North.” Its name is perhaps derived from the Canaanite god Baal-zephon who watches over mariners. According to Dr. Kyle McCarter of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. James Hoffmeier of Wheaton College, Baal-zephon is believed to be a coastal mountain, a mountain that is next to the sea.The Israelites camped opposite and before a mountain that is next to the sea. If the Israelites camped on the shore between a prominent hill and the sea, yet were opposite and before (or in the presence of) a mountain that is next to the sea, the mountain was across the water, in clear view of the Israelite camp.”² For a fascinating study of the location, please see “Only One Place.”

This was not a safe place to camp! Yet God specifically led them there. And He made led them in such a way that everyone would know that it was not an accident. The sole reason Israel camped at Pi-Hahiroth was for His purpose and pleasure. 

God seems to like places like Pi-Hahiroth. Why do I say that? Because He seems to direct me to them fairly frequently. Perhaps this is what King David was referring to when he said “He MAKES me to lie down in green pastures.” (Psa. 23:2)

Why would God have to MAKE us lie down in green pastures? Perhaps because us dumb sheep don’t recognize it as a green pasture? Perhaps, to a sheep, it looks like a place fraught with danger?

But to God, it looks altogether different.

1. http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/3021/redsea1.html, Oct., 2008 [↩]
2. http://www.geocities.com/athens/parthenon/3021/redsea1.html, Oct., 2008 [↩]

When we find ourselves in the midst of distressing circumstances, we are frequently tempted to question either God’s motives, His methods or His level of concern. We are prone to complain along with Israel:

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God”? Isaiah 40:27 (NKJV)

Israel said this because that is the way it appeared. They were not alone in this feeling. Kind David wrestled with this too. “If God delay his assistance for a short time, we think that his care does not extend to us.”¹ How frequently and how quickly my heart lapses into the same species of unbelief!

Why do you say, O Jacob,…

I can see two possible reasons that the prophet called them first by the name Jacob, the supplanter. Perhaps he sought to remind them of their natural roots. They were not God’s chosen because they had earned it or deserved it. Neither do we. Any and all manifestations of His goodness are owed to His wonderful grace.

Or, perhaps he sought to remind them that God had made a covenant with their fathers. Although they had repeatedly broken His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He would remain faithful to keep it.

We do not have any legal standing in and of ourselves to make a claim on God’s goodness. He does not “owe” us anything. God favors us because of our faith in His Son’s sacrifice.

and speak, O Israel…

After having reminded them of their natural character, the prophet reminds them of their spiritual heritage. Their father was given this name because he would not stop wrestling with God until God blessed him. Perhaps the Holy Spirit was encouraging them to continue wrestling in prayer for their deliverance.

“By these names he calls to their remembrance the Lord’s covenant, which had been ratified by promises so numerous and so diversified; as if he had said, “Dost thou not think that thou art that people which God hath chosen peculiarly for himself? Why dost thou imagine that he who cannot deceive does not attend to thy cause?”² 

Beloved, God does see. Even when we have no evidence. 

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Hebrews 10:38 (NKJV)

1. John Calvin’s Verse Commentary [↩]
2. John Calvin’s Verse Commentary [↩]

For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven,            Deuteronomy 11:10-11

Frequently, when we hear that God wants to bring each of us into our own “Promised Land”, our carnal minds tend to interpret it as abundant wealth and a life of ease.

In Egypt, Israel watered their land “by foot”. In the wilderness, they drank water miraculously from the rock. But the Promised Land “drinks water from the rain of heaven”. How can our hearts read this and be anything but thrilled! God will take care of me! My life will be easier!

However, there is a real, practical “cost” that accompanies this blessing. We fail to hear that the “Promised Land” is a land of greater dependence on God, not less. In the “Promised Land”, they had to wait on God to provide rain for their land. Can He be trusted?

If He doesn’t send rain, then our crops will die. If the crops die, we will have no food. If we have no food, then we will either die of starvation or must make ourselves someone else’s servant. Fear presses me to return to the ways of Egypt and fend for myself.

Waiting on God is one of the most difficult things that God asks me to do. Will He come through or will He just show me where I have been wrong? My heart struggles to trust Him. It cuts against the Adamic habit of my heart to take care of myself.

Oh, I believe that He is good. If you were to tell me the difficulty that you face, the Scriptures would freely flow from my mouth with conviction to encourage your heart to trust Him. Oh, I know that God is good!

However, my heart struggles to believe that the same God will be good to ME!

God knows my weakness. Therefore, He carefully leads me step by step to places where I must trust Him…

and then He makes me wait!

I want to pick up the theme of trusting God for guidance since that is where I am personally.

This is a difficult subject for me. I am in the midst of a completely new venture. I have left the state that I have lived in for the past 31 years, the only church that I have attended since becoming a Christian 27 years ago, the house that I have built and lived in for the past 19 years and the job that I have done for the past 11 to move to a completely new state and attend a new church. I did this because I thought it to be the will of God.

For the first four months in my new state, I had to travel quite a bit for various reasons. I used the time to reconnect with my wife and children whom I had barely seen for the previous seven months. (if you want to read about it, click on the link “Lord of the Castle”)

For the past two months, I have been looking for employment. After several weeks with no success, I started to trade stocks in an attempt to bring in some money only to be naively blindsided by the current banking crisis.

Each step of the way, I thought that I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do with both my time and my talents. However, here I sit, unemployed, hoping the stock market revives so I won’t have lost our small savings and wondering how I got here.

As it was in the garden, the enemy’s first attack is “Has God said… Did God really tell you to take the actions that you have taken thus far?”

I know that I was not cavalier (put your mouse over the word, right click and look it up) in my attitude when I made each decision. To the best of my ability, I sought to “acknowledge Him in all my ways”. And when I review my choices in hindsight once again, I come to the same conclusion: I did what He wanted me to do.

The voice of doubt and self-accusation, whether my own or the enemy’s, taunts me: “Doesn’t God promise to bless those who obey Him? Then why are you STILL unemployed? Why has your investing FAILED?”

In times like these, my emotions are not trustworthy. Accusations of folly, irresponsibility, being hyper-spiritual, etc. flood my mind and emotions. Having arrived at this place by seeking to do His will, shall I now let my emotions lord it over me?

Thank God, I am not alone.

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.  Romans 15:4 (NKJV)

Read that again…

“…that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

In times like this, the Scriptures truly do become my comfort. I have plenty of examples to show that I am not the first to go through this challenge. They truly do “strengthen…(me) with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.” (Col. 1:11 NKJV)

Help for my soul is just an arm’s length away.