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The parasha
for this Shabbat is entitled Beshalach
which means “in his sending”, referring
to Pharaoh’s finally letting the Jewish people
go (after ten terrible plagues, and it takes us
through Exodus chapter 17. When God led us out
of Egypt, He didn’t take us straight north. Though
that would have been a much shorter route, it
would have taken us right into Philistine territory.
Instead Adonai led us through the Midbar (wilderness)
to the Red Sea. God went before us constantly,
manifesting His presence by a pillar of fire by
night and a pillar of cloud by day. We are told
at the outset of this passage that Moses took
Joseph’s bones with them - fulfilling the vow
Joseph elicited from the sons of Israel - that
when they eventually left Egypt, they should take
his bones with them. He wanted to be buried in
the land of his fathers, not a foreign nation.
Chapter
14 opens with a bit of strategy on God’s part.
He instructs Moses to lead the people south, which
will give Pharaoh the impression that the Jews
have been wandering aimlessly and are now trapped
at the shore of the Red Sea (lit. Sea of Reeds)
within Egypt. Predictably, Pharaoh, who has since
had time to calm down after the last and deadly
10th plague, now realizes he has just freed his
entire class of slaves. Goshen is now empty! His
grand building projects now sit half-completed!
So Pharaoh hardens his heart (with God’s help)
saddles up and takes 600 of his best charioteers
and a massive army with him, and pursues Israel.
When the sons of Israel see Pharaoh’s army approach,
they panic and cry out, saying, “Is it because
there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken
us away to die in the wilderness?” It’s Jewish
humor - a very funny statement if you understand
the Egyptian preoccupation with death and graves!
It wouldn’t
be the last time our people accused Moses of ill-will.
In fact, three times in just these four chapters
Moses is accused of trying to kill us (14:11-2,
16:3 and 17:3). But now, faced with what appeared
to be certain death at the hands of the mighty
Egyptian army, Moses responds with these unforgettable
words: “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation
of the Lord... for the Egyptians whom you have
seen today, you will never see them again forever.”
At God’s word, Moses has the people begin walking
forward (a literal step of faith) and he waves
his staff over the Red Sea. The Lord sends a powerful
east wind - so powerful that the sea is swept
back and divided in two, completely drying out
the ground in the middle to make the way of escape
for the Jewish people. Our people walked through
the midst of the Red Sea, a wall of water to the
right and a wall of water to the left, and not
so much as one Israeli sandal got damp!
All that
night the pillar of fire, which had gone before
them, was now behind them, preventing the Egyptians
from giving chase. At daylight, however, Pharaoh’s
army resumed their pursuit and drove right into
the Red Sea, which was still parted. God then
threw the Egyptian army into confusion and impeded
their chariots. The Egyptians understood immediately
that the God of the Hebrews was doing this, and
began to flee. God then commanded Moses to stretch
out his hand once more over the Red Sea, and now
it closed up over that army, and every single
one of them drowned. The Passover and our Exodus
from Egypt would become the single most significant
historical event for the Jewish people for thousands
of years to come. In age after age we would be
reminded that the Lord redeemed us from the land
of Egypt, from the house of slavery. We are told
that the people feared the Lord when they saw
this deliverance. Egypt, too, learned that their
gods were nothing and the God of Israel was the
only One.
Chapter
15 contains a song - a break from the historical
narrative. When that happens, we are meant to
pay special attention. Remember that in ancient
times, we did not have books to read, but we listened
as the Scriptures were read aloud in the synagogue.
Whenever a narrative was interrupted by something
different - a song, a poem, it was designed to
capture your attention! And what do we find in
the Song of Moses? Well, among other things, these
marvelous refrains:
“The
Lord is my strength and song, and He has become
my salvation ... Who is like Thee among the
gods, O Lord? Who is like Thee, majestic in
holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders...
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
Miriam
and the women danced and sang with timbrels. Our
people had been delivered! But Moses’ song was
more than a glorified sigh of relief; it was a
series of lofty theological assertions. Two facts
of extraordinary importance come through:
- The God of Israel is
the only God.
- Man cannot save himself.
Salvation comes from God alone.
I wish
I could say that chapters 16 and 17 are filled
with thankfulness and trust on our part, but instead
they are filled with kvetching. In the
Wilderness of Sin we ran out of food, got hungry
and kvetched. We accused Moses of bringing us
out into the wilderness to kill us. God sent manna
- supernatural bread from heaven. He also sent
quail. He also sent instructions. We didn’t follow
the instructions. We found out the hard way that
the manna didn’t keep overnight, but became foul
and worm-ridden. But somehow it stayed fresh from
Friday to Shabbat. Interesting!
Then we
came to Rephidim and had no water, so again we
kvetched. Again we accused Moses of bringing us
out into the wilderness to kill us. God provided
water. There’s no indication that we ever apologized
to Moses for either of those offenses.
In chapter
17 the Amalekites attacked Israel. Joshua led
Israel’s forces, and Moses went up on a hill and
held up his staff, and while he did so, Israel
prevailed. But when his arms got weary and came
down, Amalek prevailed. Aaron and Hur knew just
what to do - they sat Moses down and each of them
held up one of Moses’ arms until Joshua completely
defeated the Amalekites. Attacking Israel was
a big enough mistake in and of itself. But we
find out in Deuteronomy 25 that the Amalekites
attacked from the rear, specifically targeting
the weak and elderly and maybe those with very
young children - those straggling behind. God
declared His contempt for Amalek and later instructed
Israel to blot out the very memory of Amalek from
under Heaven! At this victory, Moses built an
altar and named it Adonai Nissi - the Lord
is my Banner! If we need a miracle, Adonai is
able to do one for us. In the midst of life’s
raging battles, the One who is our Banner is always
able to be seen, high and lifted up and greatly
exalted, leading us to victory!
A few
final points:
-
Some
people claim to believe in God, but don’t
believe the miracles in the Bible. The parting
of the Red Sea is a good litmus test for someone
like that. If they think it’s just a nice
story, or insist on a naturalistic explanation,
chances are they really don’t believe. Help
them to see that.
-
Our
people repeatedly rejected Moses’ leadership,
even after witnessing the miracles God gave
him to perform. Even after he led us out of
slavery in Egypt, we still managed to bad-mouth
him and accuse him of terrible things. Moses
was the first in what would prove to be a
long line of servants of God who would suffer
accusations and indignities at our hands.
The fact that Israel’s leaders and most of
our people rejected Messiah Yeshua when He
presented Himself 2,000 years ago, working
miracles and doing good, should come as no
surprise. Israel’s lack of appreciation didn’t
prevent God from fulfilling His promise to
bring us into the Land. Israel’s rejection
of Yeshua will likewise not to prevent God
from fulfilling the promises He has made concerning
their eventual restoration and blessing in
the Land. Some have failed to see the bigger
picture and have written the Jewish people
off, and that will prove to be a huge mistake.
-
Aaron
and Hur are forever remembered for their wisdom
and dedication to coming alongside Moses and
holding his arms up, which secured Israel’s
victory. Are you willing to be an Aaron or
a Hur - to come alongside your leaders and
hold up their arms, as it were, and enable
our community of faith to function with all
the more strength and blessing? If you haven’t
yet found an area of service, would you prayerfully
contemplate what your role should be?
Shalom,
Rabbi Glenn |
