Day 3
Memory Verse – 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Life continued for people in God’s creation. God raised up, and people tore down. Finally, He found a man through whom He would bring the ultimate blessing for creation. Through Abraham and Sarah, the family of Israel would be established. In Genesis chapter 12, God reiterates the command to Abraham to be fruitful and multiply and care for creation. And then in chapter 17, the Lord reveals His specific purposes for this family.
Genesis 17:3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”
God created a nation from Abraham and Sarah that would bring blessing and order for the entire world!
But as we have seen twice now, disorder and chaos try to threaten and stop the promises of God. The enemy of God is not content to sit back and allow God’s people to enjoy His perfect creation. As with Adam and Eve and their corrupt descendants, and with Noah and Ham, the devil worked to bring chaos and disorder. In the case of the family of Abraham, the devil tried to bring about his order by enslaving them in the land of Egypt. And again, as with Noah and Abraham, God raised up a deliverer named Moses to bring His people from death to life. Moses means drawn out of the water. From the moment he was named, God was showing that He would use this man to bring life to the people. We have seen this before – twice! We know what is coming!
Read Exodus 14
Moses managed to liberate the people from Pharoah, their oppressor. But as they left the land of Egypt, the land of chaos and death, and headed toward their promised land, their new Eden, Pharaoh changed his mind. Big surprise! Guys, we should never expect our enemy to give up trying to bring chaos and death to us.
We pick up the story here in Exodus 14. The entire nation of Israel – all the descendants of Abraham – were trapped between certain slavery and death on one side and chaotic waters on the other side. But the Angel of God placed Himself as a cloud in between the people and their pursuers. And the Wind of God began to blow over the waters! All night the Ruach blew, until out of the waters, land emerged. As with the creation of the world and the subsiding of the flood waters, the emergence of land presented life and salvation! The people walked from death to life on this land, and as they reached the other side, the chaotic waters covered their enemies! If you want, read Exodus 15 – the song of Moses, the one drawn out of the water twice now! Pay careful attention to how often he talks about the chaotic waters and the wind of God delivering the people on dry ground to salvation. It’s incredible!
But again – and I am beginning to sound like a broken record – almost immediately after they were miraculously saved from Egypt, the people were not content to walk in salvation and life, but they began to grumble to Moses because they were first thirsty and then hungry. Why is it that our desire to be satisfied in this life – to have our mouths and bellies full – always manages to keep us from the new creation and full life that God has for us?