Foundations for a Christian Worldview: The People of God (4)

And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” Exodus 14.13, 14

The deliverance from Egypt
The Law of Moses reports some of the most consequential events of redemption history: creation, fall, covenant, and above all, God’s deliverance of His people from captivity in Egypt. The deliverance from Egypt is the great type of salvation to which the rest of Scripture refers, to demonstrate the saving grace and power of God, and the necessity of believing in Him for the salvation He freely offers.

No sooner had God graciously and powerfully wrested His people from the grip of Pharaoh, than their ungrateful, unbelieving hearts began to doubt. The Red Sea on their east, and the army of Pharaoh bearing down on them from the west, it seemed to the people of Israel that they had nowhere to go. Their deliverance had been a sham. Their hopes were not to be realized. And they began to complain against those who had persuaded them to prepare for the gracious and powerful salvation of the Lord: “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness” (Ex. 14.11, 12).

This generation of adults would never be persuaded to put their full weight down on God. Though they saw Him, over and over, provide for their needs and defend them against their foes, yet they doubted His Word, balked at entering His promised land, and were condemned to die in the wilderness, without ever realizing the salvation God had prepared for them. The writer of Hebrews summarizes the tragic end of all who will not believe the Lord for salvation: “For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Heb. 3.16-19).

The salvation of God comes to His chosen people freely, out of the infinite springs of His unfathomable grace. But that salvation must be received by those to whom it is offered, and it is received apart from any works on our part, but solely by believing in Him Who offers it. Moses shows us how that faith is to be expressed.

Do not be afraid.
“And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid.’” Fear of man and circumstances is a powerful inhibitor of faith. The people of Israel feared they had lost what security they knew by trying to escape their Egyptian masters. They feared that their lives were over, and that they would be left to die in the desert. If they had feared God, their faith would have remained strong.

Fear can keep people from believing in the salvation of God. They fear they’re losing life as they’ve always known it, even though what they’ve known has never completely satisfied them. They fear that, if they receive the Lord’s salvation, they will deprive themselves of that good and true end for which they’ve hoped and worked all these years – however that end is conceived.

They fear to believe, and think they might prefer to continue languishing in their unsatisfactory bondage to sin rather than look confidently to the Lord.

To all such people the servants of the Lord must say, “Do not be afraid.”

Stand still!
“Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD…” In Israel’s case, the alternative to standing still and waiting to see what God would do was to run for their lives – to flee the very work God was preparing to do on their behalf, relying on their own efforts to try to preserve something of what they feared they were about to lose.

God’s salvation comes to us all at once, but we don’t realize it all at once. We must wait on the Lord, looking to Him and His Word to unpack the full and abundant life we have in Jesus Christ. We must say to those to whom we offer the Lord’s salvation, “Don’t think your old life is better than this. Don’t put up resistance to the promises and grace of God. Stand still. Wait and see what God will do, as He brings His great gift to fruition in your soul.”

Waiting on the Lord, looking to His Word, and standing in faith before Him – however small the space of faith may be which we occupy at the moment – these are the steps of faith that will receive the gift of God’s gracious salvation.

Look to your peace.
“And you shall be at peace.” This is what Moses said to the frightened and doubting people of Israel. He urged them to look ahead to the result of God’s great salvation, what they would know once He had acted on their behalf. Ultimately, this peace – rest, as the writer of Hebrews has it – would not be fully realized until they entered, subdued, and occupied the land of promise, which they never quite fully managed to do.

But the promise of peace remains. We say to those who are afraid they will be giving up too much by believing the Gospel: “Look to the peace that passes understanding, the rest for your soul, the forgiveness of your sins, the removal of guilt and shame, and the power for making all things new – all the blessings of new life that come with trusting in Jesus.”

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for – a true and better life of peace and hope – and the evidence of things not seen – that God’s Word is true, and that He will act for our salvation as we put aside our fears and stand still in Him and His Word (cf. Heb. 11.1).

Salvation and the full, true, good, and glorious life of righteousness, peace, and joy salvation brings, come to those who fear God, stand on His Word and wait for Him to act, and who look to the exceeding great and precious promises that are ours to enjoy in Jesus Christ.

For reflection
1. How does fear operate to keep Christians from growing in their salvation? If we’re not growing in our salvation, should this be a matter of concern? Explain.

2. What does it mean to “Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD”? How would you explain this to an unbelieving friend?

3. The peace we know in Jesus is a peace that passes all understanding (cf. Jn. 14.27; Phil. 4.6, 7). How would you explain that peace to an unbelieving friend?

Next steps – Preparation: Put together a presentation of the Gospel based on the instructions Moses gave to the people of Israel: “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the Lord’s salvation. Look to the promise of peace.” Try sharing that presentation with an unbelieving friend.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.Foundations for a Christian Worldview: The People of God (4)