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Exodus 14:30–31
“The Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”
God brought Israel to Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea and hardened Pharaoh’s heart to chase His people in order to get glory over the Egyptian king and to reveal Himself to the Egyptians. He accomplished all this when He took the Israelites safely through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptian army when it tried to follow (Ex. 14:1–29). Others besides the Egyptians, however, learned that Yahweh, the covenant Lord of Israel, is God when the Israelites escaped Pharaoh’s army. News of Egypt’s defeat and Israel’s later successes in the wilderness would eventually make its way to the city of Jericho in Canaan, where Rahab would be converted to faith in the God of Israel and shelter the spies whom Joshua sent into the land (Josh. 2:1–14).
The Egyptians and many Canaanites learned that the Lord is God from His miraculous deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea, but so did the Israelites. Today’s passage says that the Israelites came to fear the Lord and to believe in Him after they “saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians” (Ex. 14:30–31). Of course, this was not the first time that the people of Israel had put their faith in God. Following Moses out of Egypt and believing that the Lord had sent him as their deliverer required some trust in our Creator (Ex. 4:27–14:29; see Heb. 11:23–29). But their earlier faith was not perfect (Ex. 5:20–21; 14:10–12), and the miracle at the Red Sea strengthened their trust in the Lord and encouraged them to move forward in faith.
Exodus 14:31 tells us that Israel believed not only in the Lord but also “in his servant Moses.” God’s mighty work was an apologetic or defense not only of Himself but also of Moses, demonstrating that Moses was called to represent the Lord to God’s people. Indeed, so closely was Moses as the mediator of the old covenant associated with the Lord that no one then could truly believe in God without also believing the words of Moses (see Num. 12). This is the case today as well. Indeed, to believe the teachings of Moses truly leads one to Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant and only Savior of sinners (John 5:46).
John Calvin notes that Israel’s believing in Moses instructs us today in how to receive the preaching of God’s Word. “Whenever God propounds His word to us by men, those who faithfully deliver His commands must be as much attended to as if He himself openly descended from heaven.” When the Lord’s Word is faithfully taught, we are not allowed to disregard it.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
The Reformed tradition often speaks of the preached Word of God as being the Word of God. This is not because of anything inherent in the preacher but rather because preaching reflects the power and authority inherent in God’s Word. When Scripture is proclaimed accurately, we are to heed it because preaching is God’s Word being brought to bear on our lives.
For Further Study
- Exodus 24:7
- Numbers 16
- 2 Timothy 3:16–17
- Hebrews 4:12–13