September 17, 2017
Good morning,
Welcome to the Blue Lake Presbyterian church
Today’s sermon is titled “rescued”
I like to kick it off with something comical.
Moses, Jesus and an old man go golfing. Moses tees of first. He hits the ball and it is heading right for the water in front the putting green. Moses raises his club, the water parts, and the ball makes it to the green.
Jesus gets up to swing, cranks it out, and it is headed for the water as well. Jesus closes his eyes and the ball skips across the water and lands on the green two feet from the hole.
Then the old man drives the ball. It looks like the ball is going to drop directly into the water. But a fish jumps out and takes the ball, right at that time an eagle drops from the sky, grabs the fish. As the eagle flies over the green, a bolt of lightning strikes the eagle, making it drop the fish.
When the fish hits the green, the ball pops out and rolls straight into the hole, making it a hole in one. Jesus looks at Moses, and says: that does it. This is the last time I bring my dad along.
In a little bit we will hear more about the boundless miracles of God.
Last week, I was on my way to a convention in Palm Beach Florida, the organization hosting this convention sent out a notice the day before that based on the storm’s path, everything looked fine and the convention was on.
Even though I had some trepidation about it, I boarded the flight from Arcata, with a two hour layover in SFO. Checking the forecasts, I was getting uneasy continuing this trip, with the possibility of getting stuck in Florida, with airports shutting down and flights being cancelled while Hurricane Irma was encroaching.
Rather than boarding the flight to Miami, I took the return flight to Arcata instead. By the time I returned, the convention had been cancelled after all. Irma proved to be a super storm, the most powerful hurricane recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. Thousands were rescued from islands in the Caribbean and Florida.
Just weeks earlier hurricane Harvey, pummeled the Houston area with over 50 inches of rain. It became the most costly natural disaster in US history. More than 10,000 people were rescued from roof tops, from hospitals, rest homes, and from cars stuck in floodwaters. Volunteers from all over rushed to Houston to help in the rescue efforts.
We vividly remember images of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 12 years ago, one of the largest natural disasters to ever hit the US. According to a US Coast Guard report, an estimated 60,000 people were rescued from rooftops and flooded homes. The Coast Guard alone rescued over 33,000, one of the largest rescue operations in Coast Guard history.
But the ultimate rescue mission, in the history of mankind took place 3500 years ago in the days of Moses.
This brings us to today’s reading in Exodus 14:19-31
19The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other, all night. 21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back, by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them, on their right and on their left.23The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers.
24At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
26Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh, that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained.
29But the Israelites, walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 30Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
This rescue mission and the subsequent destruction of the entire Egyptian army is ingrained in the history of the Jewish people. Rabi Irving Greenberg writes: the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution are important miles stone in history, but when Jews observe Passover, they are commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, which is perhaps the most important event of all time.
The majority of Jewish holidays find their origin in the events of the Exodus, and are spelled out in Leviticus 23.
The bible says in Exodus 12 the people of Israel left Egypt and counted 600,000 men, plus women and children, an estimated 2.7 million people.
God had promised Abraham, in Genesis 22, I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.
Last time we talked about Joseph and the reunification with his brothers and his father Jacob, and the whole family moving to Egypt, because of a famine in the land of Israel. The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants, was sixty-six.
Then 430 years later, the number grows from 66 people to a population of 2.7 million. That seems like a lot, doesn’t it?
Ronald Reagan while signing the INF treaty in 1987 used an Old Russian proverb: “Doveryai no proveryai” which means “Trust but verify”. Somehow I like that proverb; it is my second nature to validate and double check numbers.
Although I have no reason to doubt these numbers, I was curious to find out at what rate the population of the Israelites had grown in 430 years.
As a benchmark, the average annual population growth in last 100 years in America was 1.3%, in Europa 0.6%, in the Middle East 2.1% and South America 2.3%.
In order to go from just 66 people to 2.7 million in 430 years it equates to an average annual growth rate of 2.5%, in other words, in light of God’s promise to Abraham this number is very plausible.
The Pharaoh that was hospitable to Joseph and his family four centuries ago was a Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty in Egypt. But he is obviously long gone, buried in a Pyramid in Lahun.
But in the days of Moses, there is a much more oppressive Pharaoh, believed to be Thutmose II, of the 18th dynasty. Egyptian records show that he died with no son to succeed him.
Pharaoh is getting very concerned with this rapidly growing population of Israelites in his land. They are slaves, doing hard work, but being mistreated. God calls on Moses to rescue his people from the heavy hand of the Egyptians, but Pharaoh is not willing to release his guest workers, the ones doing the dirty work in Egypt. God sends a series of ten plagues, one of which is the plague of locusts.
What are locusts? One of the crops we grow in Oxnard showed some distorted looking plants, as the weeks went on, the symptoms got worse. After testing to identify what was affecting these plants, we learned that this was a rare disease, not a virus nor bacteria, but a unique organism that can only be spread by leaf hoppers.
No other insect or contact is capable of spreading this disease, only leafhoppers. We learned that locusts, grasshoppers and leafhoppers are all part of the same family. So we got a small glimpse of the destruction that locusts can cause.
Ten plagues came upon the land of Egypt, but ultimately it was the plague of the death of all first born sons of Egypt including Pharaoh’s son, that made Pharaoh concede and finally allow the Israelites to leave.
Off they go, led by a cloud to guide them during the day and in a pillar of fire at night, according to Exodus 13
After a few days, the Egyptian army is in full pursuit of the Israelites. But in an interesting turn of events, God directs Moses in Exodus 14:2 to make a turn and camp along the Red Sea shore at Pihahiroth.
The Red Sea has two forks, the Gulf of Suez on the west of Sinai and the Gulf of Aqaba on the east side. There is much speculation where the crossing would have taken place.
Some put the crossing by Lake Timsah; a salt lake north of the Gulf of Suez, another scenario puts the crossing on the south side of the Gulf of Aqaba through coral reefs in relatively shallow water.
But a fascinating study by scientist and marine biologist Dr Lennart Moller of the Karolluska Institute in Stockholm uses the premise, that the Israelites were led trough the “Wadi Watir” a meandering and winding maze of dried up river beds, with mountain formations on both sides.
Jewish historian Josephus wrote in the first century: For there was on each side a ridge of mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight.
The Israelites eventually get to this place that opens up called: Pihahiroth, which means mouth of the gorges. It is a huge sand plain that extends into the Gulf of Aqaba, called the Nuweiba peninsula, an area that could easily hold 2.7 million people.
Here the Israelites are trapped, 2000 ft high rock formations on the north side and the south, the Egyptian army in the west and a huge body of water facing east.
The Nuweiba peninsula is formed by sediment from rivers running into the Gulf of Aqaba. Scientists have discovered a land bridge that extends from the Nuweiba peninsula to the shore on the other side in Saudi Arabia.
In the year 2000 Dr Moller did an expedition at this site. He found evidence of unusual coral structures, some resembling shapes of chariot wheels that are scattered all over of the sandy surface of this land bridge.
Just imagine what the Israelites must have felt like. Here they are, with nothing but water in front of them, galloping horses and chariots closing in behind them. It seems like there is no hope, it seems like darkness is upon them, it seems like God has forsaken the Israelites, it seems like the end is near.
They either get slaughtered by the Egyptian army, or put in chains and go back to Egypt to spent the rest of their lives as slaves, it seems like the rescue mission is coming to an end.
But then Moses raises his hand over the Red Sea. Scripture says The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land…… To some people this seems improbable. But is it?
Last Sunday, when Irma was barreling onto the coast of Florida, there were news reports of miles of ocean that had disappeared along the Bahamas, as far as the eye could see, there was dry land. Then later in the day there were reports of Tampa Bay completely drained, supposedly this had never happened before. But maybe it had,,,, Moses could tell some stories.
What must have been in the mind of those people standing there at Nuweiba beach, their lives flashing by, this was it.
But here is the good news: Moses said in Exodus14:13 don’t be afraid, don’t run away. Stand where you are and watch the Lord, save you today……..
FRIENDS, STAND WHERE YOU ARE AND WATCH THE LORD SAVE YOU TODAY,
What is your Red Sea moment? How often do you feel like you have been driven into a place where there is no way out?
A place where you may have been diagnosed with a troubling medical condition, or a bad report from the doctor,
A place, where you no longer see the light with your mortgage payments, or credit card bills,
A place where addiction is ruling your live and you no longer can see a way back,
A place where all the walls seem to have closed in on you,
A place where there no longer is any hope, no pathway out, no solution to the escalating problems.
A place with overwhelmingly difficult circumstances,
A place where it feels like you hit rock bottom,
Just like Moses listened to God, so can we. God loves us, He gave us his only son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to forgive our sins, to take off our burdens, to break the chains.
He is the light of the world, the light in the darkness; Jesus is the one that can rescue us.
We have some Teen Challenge students here this morning, last week Teen Challenge had their annual fundraising dinner and they raised $95,000.- The testimonies we heard that evening from some of the students were heartwarming.
At one point, through whatever the circumstances were, they found themselves in the dark valley, but they were rescued, they were saved by the never-ending love of Jesus Christ.
The Lord entered into their hearts and souls and it changed their lives forever, and the happiness that exudes from these students is contagious.
Friends, when you have your Red Sea moment, put your trust in Jesus,
Accept him as Lord and Savior,
Start a relationship with Jesus Christ and he will take you by the hand; he will carry you out of the dark valley.
He will rescue you, and save you from the powers of darkness, and he will provide you with eternal peace.
Just like the cloud by day and column of fire by night led the Israelites through the desert and the Red Sea,
Jesus Christ will be our guiding light, our beacon of hope and he will save and rescue us, and lead us through the narrow gate on the path way to eternal life.
Thank you,
God Bless you,
Amen
Podcast: Play in new window | Download