"BUT GOD!"

Exodus 14:1-5              (ESV)
"1 Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 "Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'
4 And I will HARDEN PHARAOH'S HEART, and he will pursue them, and I WILL GET GLORY OVER PHARAOH AND ALL OF HIS HOST, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." And they did so."


.......FRUSTRATION!!!......... At times, I get very irritated over the "wise and prudent" (Matthew 11:25) attempts to do things to "solve" a problem.  A Promise Keeper speaker, when addressing race relations, used to say "We don't have a skin (color) problem, We have a SIN problem"!  Society tends to attempt to cure the symptoms, without addressing the disease which are causing the symptoms!

In Exodus 13:15 scripture indicates that Pharaoh's heart was hardened against letting the Israeli people go.  Now the Egyptians of the time of "The Exodus" were the mightiest nation known to man.  They had all of the resources one could have hoped to attain.  BUT GOD!!!!  GOD instituted the PASSOVER, where the Angel of Death claimed the life of every first born male, even animals, of every house that DID NOT have "blood on the lintel and on the two door posts" (Exodus 12:23).  When Pharaoh saw the power of JEHOVAH GOD (YHWH) he ordered the Israelites to leave Egypt.

GOD then ordained that the Children of Israel appear to be "wandering" by the Red Sea.  GOD "hardened" Pharaoh's heart!  Pharaoh was mourning the loss of his son!  BUT GOD!!!  GOD caused Pharaoh to chase after the Israelis, and then GOD killed Pharaoh and the Egyptian army, so much so that "not one of them remained"!

Why do we try to change things ourselves?  We have a GOD who has proven to us so many times what HE can do.  We too are forgetting how GOD has worked in the past, not only in scripture, but in our very lives.  We can (and should) pray to Almighty GOD, and TRUST HIM to supply our every need (Philippians 4:19).  Just as GOD hardened Pharaoh's heart and GOD was able to get glory over Pharaoh and all of his host, GOD is able to deliver us from our bondage and solve our problems!  We have to TRUST in HIM!