Back Against The Wall

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Back Against the Wall


Exodus 14:5-31
If your back is against the wall it means you have been cornered by an unfavorable situation with no
further room to retreat and you must either fight back or die. (In difficulty, faced with a choice
between two unsatisfactory options).

Have you ever felt like your back was against a wall? Ever been between a rock and a hard place, with
nowhere to turn? Or maybe you’ve put in a lot of time going down a winding avenue of life only to find
it is a dead end.

Moses was a great man, and a great leader. He’s a great model for all men and fathers today! At this
point in the story he has led God’s people from slavery to freedom, and all 2-3 million of them are
marching toward the Promised Land. It’s the Exodus from Egypt! “Out of Africa!” Free at last for the
first time in over 400 years. The NT confirms this is a picture of our salvation from sin, the wicked
taskmaster that seeks to hold us in chains of bondage, bitterness, and burdens.

“He set me free, He broke the bonds of prison for me


I’m glory bound, my Jesus to see, and glory to God, He set me free!”

The Problem
Have you discovered yet that being saved doesn’t insulate nor isolate you from the problems of this sin
cursed world? For those who insist on believing salvation is the end to problems I say, ok, but it’s the
front end! Struggles and difficulties continue, and oft times increase when you get saved, for now you
have a new enemy coming after you! Pharaoh is a picture of Satan pursuing his losses.

The Christian life is not lived in straight lines. God deals us detours along the way, and they are for our
benefit. A straight line from Egypt to Canaan would have been about 150 miles NE and would take less
than 2 weeks to traverse. But God takes them SE...the long way around.

13:21 The glory cloud seems to be leading in the wrong direction, though. The same happens to all
of us. We have a goal, a destination in our mind, some place we want to go, something we want to
become or achieve. Sometimes we even know that God is in it and wants us to get there, but we just
can’t understand why it’s taking so long. Can you relate?

God’s delays are not denials. Don’t be discouraged if God has you on a detour route...He knows what
He’s doing! “My Lord knows the way thru the wilderness...all I have to do is follow!”

Another lesson: God knows what we can handle. If He led them in the straight line to Canaan, they
would have passed right thru the land of the Philistines, brutal warriors who were blood thirsty. But
God’s people were not ready for that. They weren’t seasoned warriors, they were slaves w/ no
weapons of war.
Well, as if this detour God has them on isn’t enough, God then leads them right to the banks of the Red
Sea, just as the Egyptian Army is sent to pursue them. Now they’re hemmed in and pinned down.
There’s no way out. Mountains of either side of them, a sea in front of them, and Pharaoh’s military is
fast approaching. It’s a dead end. Their back is against the wall.
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Ever been there? Their problem now turns to...

The Panic
14:10-12 Thanks a lot, Moses. And, um, we told you so! But you wouldn’t listen. “Let my people
go!” You just had to have your way...and now we’re all going to die!
They’re questioning his leadership. God has used him to lead them to freedom from slavery, and
now they’re questioning his ability to hear from God and do the right thing.

But God had seasoned Moses for such a time as this. While they are speaking words of fear, Moses
speaks words of faith...

v. 13-14 3 commands:
· “Fear not.” It’s the same thing the angel said to the virgin Mary when she learned she was with
child. It’s the same thing Jesus said to His disciples in their little boat in the midst of a great
storm. It’s the same thing the angel said to Mary Magdalene when she was baffled at Jesus’
body missing from His tomb.

To each of these God was saying, “You may not understand your circumstances right now, but don’t
worry, I’m still in control!”

Ill.—Someone has said there’s 366 times the Bible admonishes us not to fear, and if that’s true,
there’s one for every day of the year, including this leap year!

Ill.—a little boy had 1 line to deliver in the church play, but his knees were knocking back stage. He
just had to walk out and say, “It is I, be not afraid”. He walked out and saw the big crowd and said,
“It’s me, and I’m scared!”

Fear is when we can’t see God thru our circumstances.


Faith is when we see our circumstances...but thru God!
We can be troubled on all sides, but not perplexed. They looked left and right, front and back,
and there was no way out. But there’s still another direction to look...and that’s up! I believe God
wants our backs against the wall sometimes so we’ll do just that. You see, He gives water to those
who are thirsty, not full. He heals the sick, not those who are well.

· “Stand Still.” We don’t like to be told to wait, do we? We want to do something. We want to
try to help God out, or help ourselves out. Just standing still is unthinkable in our society today.
The most popular words in advertising today are: Now, Instant, Immediate, Fast.

I can take my car title or even a post dated check down here to a place and get some ‘Fast Cash’ for
the low APR of just 350%! I can get my oil changed at ‘Fast Lane’. I can eat ‘Fast Food’ and go pick
up my ‘Fast Photos’ during that hour. To pay for it all I can get another advance at ‘Fast Tax’ and if I
want, maybe even pick up a Fast Woman!

We don’t like to wait. If someone is ahead of us in line, we are pacing. No wonder the concept of
waiting on God is foreign to us. But the Bible says...

Psalms 27:14
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
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Waiting on the Lord is when we quietly and calmly trust Him until He provides clear direction. It is the
opposite of panic. It’s different than trying to fix things or make things happen.

God answers prayers all right, but unless He says ‘yes,’ we don’t like His other answers. We don’t like
‘no’. And we also don’t like it when His answer is ‘slow.’ We take that as a ‘no’ as well! Or when His
answer is ‘grow’ [you’re not ready] we take that as a ‘no’ too. We want Him to say ‘go’ when often His
answer is ‘stop’. Let go and let God take over. If God did let us have our way we’d quickly see how little
we can do in our own strength and we’d never see what God can do in His time and in His way!

Ill.—how often I see pastors who won’t take God’s answer of ‘wait’, and they take matters into their
own hands and create a boiling pot full of trouble.

What if Moses hadn’t been a good leader? For one thing, if he had taken a vote they all would have
returned to slavery. How about if he had weighed his options, humanly speaking, and tried to make a
way across the sea. What were his options? Hmmm ... Row vs. Wade? No boats, and too deep!

Stand still, stay with God, and don’t get ahead of Him. You could try in your own strength to swim
across the Red Sea, but if you would have just waited He was just about to part the waters for you.
Ill.—I know of a pastor who was given a new car. He had a nice one already, and could have sold it, but
he had a family in the church whom he knew needed a car. He purposed in his heart to give it to them.
But before he got to them they went out and got a loan they couldn’t afford because they ‘had to have a
car’. If they had just waited and prayed, God had a plan in the works for them!

Fear not, stand still...

· “And see the salvation of the Lord.” When our back is against the wall is when God does His
very best work. “Man’s extremities are God’s opportunities!” Because when God gets us out of
such a jam it is clear Who deserves the glory and we are quick to credit Him!

Notice that this miracle came in 3 stages:

1. The diverting of the glory cloud.


v. 19-20 God gave them a cloud, not a map, compass, or gps. This cloud served 2 purposes. To guide
them, and also to shelter them. They were in an arid desert place, very hot by day, very cold by night.
This cloud sheltered them from the searing sun and then it turned into a heavenly heater at night [pillar
of fire] It’s nice to sleep w/ a pillar!

Well, the cloud moved behind them like a wall between them and their enemies. And He’s not only our
Savior, He’s also our protector! David in the Psalms said He’s my high tower, my refuge, my shield, my
defense. No weapon formed against me shall prosper.
Psalms 73:23
Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.

2. The dividing of the waters.


v. 21-22

I don’t have a problem believing in this miracle. God made the sea and the dry ground under the water.
The liberals say, no, it’s a misprint; it was the Reed Sea, which was more shallow, only a few inches in
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many places. Well then God did an even bigger miracle in drowning the entire Egyptian army in ankle
deep water! Can you imagine being there for this great miracle?!

Moses was just a man, and in his hand was a simple rod, but when he held it in the air in obedience and
faith, it became the rod of God!

3. The drowning of the Egyptians.


v. 23-28 Pharaoh was reaping what he had sowed. For what was it that Pharaoh had done to all the
male Jewish babies? Drowned them! “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever a man
soweth that shall he also reap!”

Maybe your back is against the wall. Be encouraged, fear not, stand still, and see what God can do. God
didn’t deliver His people from slavery only to drown them when they were cornered. And God didn’t
save you only to forget about you now.

Have you any rivers


That seem uncrossable?
And have you any mountain
That you cannot tunnel through?

God specializes
In things thought impossible
And He will do what no other
No other power but holy power can do

(God specializes)

“Got any rivers that seem uncrossable?


Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible.
And He knows a thousands ways to make a way for you!”

The problem and the panic led to this miracle and then the praise followed, which we’ll look at tonite,
along w/ your testimonies.
What Red Sea has God brought you thru?
What giant body of water are you still facing?
How can we encourage one another?

1. Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will
strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness.
2. Psalm 9:9-10: The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And
they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that
seek thee.
3. Psalm 145:9: The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
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4. John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world
ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
5. Philippians 4:6-7: Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth
all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
6. Philippians 4:13: For I can do all things through Christ, with strengthens me.

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