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 his servant.
Exodus 14:31 NIV
After all of the plagues that hit Egypt, including the death of the firstborn, Israel was expelled from Egypt. But Pharaoh later changed his mind and called out his army to return them to Egypt, catching up to them on the shores of the sea. But God parted the waters of the sea, and Israel crossed on dry land. The Egyptian army pursued Israel into the sea. And then the waters closed upon the Egyptian army, and they were drowned in the sea. When Israel saw what God had done, they feared him and put their trust in him and in Moses.
Trust in the Lord
It is hard to imagine that the people would have made any other response after witnessing what God had done. If the story ended here, it would be tempting to view this as a storybook ending. That they lived happily ever after.
But, unfortunately, that was not the case. They had already demonstrated the fickleness of their trust in God. After watching Egypt be destroyed by the plagues, they were allowed to leave. And you have to imagine that they were excited to have such a powerful God to take care of them.
Until they found themselves stuck between the sea and the army. And then they were terrified and complained. And even after crossing the sea, they continued to complain about their circumstances, repeatedly failing to demonstrate real trust in God.
It is tempting to be overly critical of those who experienced the events of the Exodus and the fickleness of their faith. But I believe that we can learn from them if we will. Don’t just trust God when things are good. But trust him even in uncertain or difficult circumstances. We do not always know what God is doing, or how he will bring us through the challenges we face. But trust him. If we walk with him in faith, nothing will be able to overcome us.
