Exodus 14:24-25, During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”
The last watch of the night would be between 3 and 6 am. That is the time of the night it is usually the darkest and the coldest. But there is no rest for either the Israelites or the Egyptians, as they are fleeing and pursuing through the walls of water that were the Red Sea. If you remember, back in verse 20, the pillar of fire and cloud was giving light to the Israelites and darkness to the Egyptians. The Lord looked down from the cloud and threw the Egyptians into confusion.
The word for confusion means to confuse or discomfit. I’m not sure the last time I used discomfit in a sentence, so I looked it up. It means to make feel uneasy, confuse, fluster, unnerve, disturb, disorient, or to mortify. The Egyptians didn’t know what to do, is the idea. Maybe they saw the walls of water and realized they were in a bad place. Maybe they realized they were in the dark and the Israelites were in the light. And then their chariots wheels jammed, and they had a hard time controlling the vehicle.
And they realized the Lord was fighting against them for Israel. That in itself is enough to discomfit someone! Abe Lincoln was once asked if the thought the Lord was on the side of the union or the confederacy. Lincoln’s reply, I just want to make sure I am on the Lord’s side. And that needs to be the attitude we have. All of the different sides don’t matter: Russia or the Ukraine, Hamas or modern Israel, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, man or woman, the list of different sides is endless. We need to be very careful which side we choose, it is not about our preference, it is about being on the Lord’s side. It is about following God no matter what anyone else does. These Egyptians are going to learn that in a hard way.
Father, help me always choose you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The last watch of the night would be between 3 and 6 am. That is the time of the night it is usually the darkest and the coldest. But there is no rest for either the Israelites or the Egyptians, as they are fleeing and pursuing through the walls of water that were the Red Sea. If you remember, back in verse 20, the pillar of fire and cloud was giving light to the Israelites and darkness to the Egyptians. The Lord looked down from the cloud and threw the Egyptians into confusion.
The word for confusion means to confuse or discomfit. I’m not sure the last time I used discomfit in a sentence, so I looked it up. It means to make feel uneasy, confuse, fluster, unnerve, disturb, disorient, or to mortify. The Egyptians didn’t know what to do, is the idea. Maybe they saw the walls of water and realized they were in a bad place. Maybe they realized they were in the dark and the Israelites were in the light. And then their chariots wheels jammed, and they had a hard time controlling the vehicle.
And they realized the Lord was fighting against them for Israel. That in itself is enough to discomfit someone! Abe Lincoln was once asked if the thought the Lord was on the side of the union or the confederacy. Lincoln’s reply, I just want to make sure I am on the Lord’s side. And that needs to be the attitude we have. All of the different sides don’t matter: Russia or the Ukraine, Hamas or modern Israel, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, man or woman, the list of different sides is endless. We need to be very careful which side we choose, it is not about our preference, it is about being on the Lord’s side. It is about following God no matter what anyone else does. These Egyptians are going to learn that in a hard way.
Father, help me always choose you. In Jesus’ name, amen.