Conditional Promises

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. (Ex.23:20-22, 27, 31)

God initiated a Covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12, the effects of which will remain true to his descendants for all generations. There God asked Abraham to let go of all his earthly possessions and to follow His directions. At this point nothing was clear about God’s directions, but there were few solid promises. God kept reassuring Abraham, and his descendants later, about these promises as He elaborated on His directions little by little. God spelled out conditions and demanded compliance from all Israel.

Several generations later, when the Israelites were heading towards the land of Canaan, God was fulfilling His Covenant promise to Abraham. He still kept elaborating His directions in the form of laws and instructions as seen in this passage.

God Our Defender

God promised Abraham that He will bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse him. Now God tells Abraham’s descendants that their enemies will be His enemies and He will oppose Israel’s enemies. He will destroy their weapons, arrest their advances, and chase them away. They will fear the God of Israel, not Israel, and thus, God will get the glory. God promised Abraham a geographic territory for his descendants. Now God describes the boundaries of that land to the people of Israel. The land was their’s to possess. God promised to drive away the inhabitants and cleanse the land for their occupation. All these are dependent on their faithful obedience to God’s directions.

God Our Guide

Here, God reveals a bit more of His directions. He promises to send an Angel (Messenger, Representative) to go before them and instruct them, to protect them and guard them. He will not tolerate rebellion but expects submissive obedience. God keeps His promises and we need to keep ours too.

The Angel points to the Lord Jesus Christ and more to the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit. In many places we see the Angel of the Lord is the Lord Jehovah Himself. Here, the Angel has God’s Name in Him-Elohim, Yhwh, Adonai, the eternal I AM. God tells the people: “listen to this Angel and do all that I tell you”. Interestingly, God was pointing towards the coming of His Son and then the ministry of the Holy Spirit in preparing God’s people outside Israel to inherit the ‘promised land’.

God’s Laws

And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; …“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, …“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.“   (Ex. 20:1-11)

This is the first part of the Ten Commandments God gave to His people through Moses. This reveals God’s demands regarding His people’s relationship with Him.

God’s Laws are for God’s people

This is not emphasized as a universal code of conduct, though God is the Owner and Master of everything. It has specific reference to God’s own people, people chosen by God to be His own possession from among all the peoples of the world. This is not for them to observe, and by doing so, be adopted as God’s people. Rather, it is for them to live up to because they have been chosen to be God’s people. In this case, one had to be born as a descendant of Abraham to be a member of God’s people.

So in the Church, the body of Jesus Christ. One has to be ‘born again’ as a child of God, by the regenerating power of the Spirit of God. Those who are thus born into the family of God are given the Word of God. Others can go through it and find the God it reveals. No one can gain acceptance into God’s family by trying to follow the book. Obedience is the prerogative of God’s people. Others are brought into the family through the obedience of His children.

God’s Laws reveal God’s standards

This reveals God’s heart, His plan for His own people and the rest of the world. It reveals God’s holy standard and calls us to grow towards it. It is God’s expectation of His people. God made it clear that by obeying the Law no one could be justified before God. What was revealed in the Old Testament was a foreshadow of the final and perfect, revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. His blood alone, not that of animals, could atone for the sins of mankind.

They should not give the place of their God to anyone or anything else. This is blasphemy because their God has no equals, He is the Creator of everything, the Eternal One. They should not be carried away to make models and images of mysterious or incomprehensible objects. They should not take the name of their God lightly, for He is an awesome God. He should be worshiped and time should be set apart to be away from all other occupations and to be in His presence together as a community of God’s people.

Covenant People

‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. (Ex.19:4-6, 10-12)

The Lord God brought the people of Israel out of bondage and set them apart to be His people. This was a choice God made and established through a covenant between Him and the people.

God Initiated Covenant

It was God who initiated this covenant and not man. Thus, it is founded on God’s faithfulness rather than the efficacy of human deeds. God is calling people to keep the covenant conditions as He does. He wants them as His treasured possession out of all the peoples of the world.

But, Israel blew it, for our good of course.

God Imputed Righteousness

Today the church, the body of Christ, is invited into a relationship with God through the covenant initiated at the cross of Calvary. Our sin has been transferred into Christ’s account and His righteousness credited into ours. To meet with the Holy and awesome God we need this righteousness. He is a consuming fire as much as He is love. Sin will never be tolerated and permitted into His holy presence. So, purify ourselves or be ready to face the fire.

Will He say, “I did everything on my part but you blew it!”

The Deliverance Package

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” …The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” (Ex.14:13-14, 18)

The Lord delivered the Israelites from bondage with His mighty hand and still the people were not so clear about their destiny. Neither did they realize God’s promise to their ancestors. But God kept fulfilling His promise because of His faithfulness.

God Plans Everything in Detail

God in His wisdom has planned everything, to the minutest detail. His plans may look weird or illogical but that is how He proves that He alone is God and worthy of all glory.

God Prepares His people for the Battle

The earthly life is a journey for God’s people, a journey to the Promised Land, a journey to their eternal home. During the journey there are battles that we need to fight. We are incapable of winning them in our own strength. So God comes along and helps us. He prepares us for those times and makes us strong enough to stand up against the assault of the enemy. He trains us and equips us through various experiences.

He put Moses through the royal training at the Pharaoh’s palace and the shepherd’s experience in the wilderness. It took God eighty long years before He put Moses on the job.

God Protects His people with His own Hand

God puts you on a mission does not mean He will leave you on your own to fight. He stays with you all the way. He will shield you when the darts come against you and lead you to victory.

His presence with the Israelites was evident in the pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during nights. It shaded them, gave them light, prevented the enemy from reaching them. What more can we ask?

God Fights the Battle for His People

God makes the strategy, tells you to make the moves, but does everything else so that the enemy is defeated without you shooting even a single shot. He divided the waters and commanded the people to move ahead. He made the enemy follow them into the sea bed. He made the wheels of their chariots go stuck in the sand until His people reached the other side. He then makes the water return and drown the enemy.

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. (2Chr.20:15)

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” (1Sam.17:47)

God Gives His People Victory but Demands the Glory

God gives us victory in our daily battles and will give us the final victory over sin and death. He fulfills His promise, always, because He is the “Faithful One”. He leads us and will lead us till we reach our eternal destination. He uses stupid-looking ways to accomplish humanly impossible things. His purposes are always achieved in His own way. And He demands the glory that belongs to Him and Him alone. He always proves that He deserves all glory, yet, how often we try to rob Him of this by taking the credit for what He does?

His deliverance package is complete-covering the past, the present and the future. And its all free!

God’s Ways Accomplish God’s Purpose

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. (Ex.13:17-18)

But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”(Ex.14:4)

It is God who can set people free from the bondage of sin. Those who cry in desperation seeking God’s help will find it. They will follow God’s way and are redeemed by God’s power. What God did with the Israelites through Moses was a foreshadow of what He would do with the entire human race through Jesus Christ.

God brought them out of slavery and was leading them to a permanent land which He had promised their forefathers. But the people were indifferent to God’s ways since they were not convinced about God’s plans for them. They were not prepared for the tiresome journey ahead.

Longer Routes

We read in Ex.13:17 that the Lord did not take them through the shortest route because He knew what could happen. The shortest route was through the Philistine territory. The Philistines would stop them and there could be a fight and that would be enough reason for them to return to Egypt.

He sees the end from the beginning as He is God. Past tense and future tense does not apply to Him. He is beyond the boundaries of time. Everything is “Today” for the eternal “I AM”.

“”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa.55:8-9)

There could be times in the life of every Christian when he/she will doubt the goodness of God and the wisdom in His plan. There could be delays in God’s answering your prayers. We need to trust Him and take Him at His Word. If He was willing to bring us out of slavery by His mighty power, He is willing to lead us into the Promised Land. We need to be submissive and obedient, even when we are tempted to doubt His wisdom. He may be shielding us from the enemies’ assaults till we are ready to face them. He will shade you from the heat of the day and give you light in the dark. His presence shall go before you and with you.

Tight Spots

The Lord led them to a wilderness situation close to the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them as they heard the sound of the chariots and horses from behind. They knew that the Pharaoh and his army would pounce on them very soon. They had no way of escape. They thought it would have been better to slog and die in Egypt because they would have at least got a burial. They knew they were between the devil and the deep sea. They would have cursed themselves and their leader Moses for the plight they were in.

God has something else in mind. He wanted to defeat the enemy of His people and prove that He is God. He allowed the situation to worsen and then took hold of it when no human can can. We see this happen even in the New Testament. God moves at His appointed time, the perfect time. He is never early or never late, but on time, all the time.

We, as Christians, may be put to such tight spots to teach us that we are totally dependent on God. When we admit this and trust in Him to deliver us the way He wants, we will experience miracles. This is easier said than done. But we need to learn this principle as sojourners in this world.