Good morning, how are you's? It's nice to be back with you's, thank you very much for having me. It's nice to be back with you's. If you's have a Bible with you's, would you's mind turning to Exodus chapter 12 please, Exodus chapter 12. Just as you return to the place there, it didn't seem to get too much snow. Back down our way we got a big drop of snow. There yesterday I had the sled out and I was going down the hill so it wasn't as great a crack. It doesn't look like yous were able to do that down here. It didn't seem to get much snow. But Exodus chapter 12, and I'm sure some of you will know even as years have turned. And Exodus chapter 12 is the chapter of the Passover, so it is. It's about the Passover. But we're going to be reading just after the Passover, so we are. It's the night of the Passover where we'll be starting reading, but it's just after it's taken place. And we'll start our reading in Exodus chapter 12, verse 30, please. Exodus chapter 12. Verse 30, and just bear in mind, this is the Passover has just happened. God has gone through the land of Egypt, and the houses that had the blood in the doorpost, God didn't enter in, but the blood, or the houses that didn't have the blood of the lamb in the doorpost, God did enter in and he killed the firstborn. And this has just taken place, so it has in the land of Egypt. So Exodus chapter 12, verse 30. And Pharaoh rose up in the night. He and all his servants and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night and said, rise up and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel, and go, serve the Lord as ye have said. And then if we drop our eye down to verse 51, please. verse 51. And it came to pass the selfsame day that the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. Now if we turn to Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 please. Exodus chapter 13 verse 17. And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines. Although that was near, for God said, less preadventure, the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up, harnessed out of the land of Egypt, And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had straightly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. And they took their journey from Sucloth and encamped in Edom in the edge of the wilderness. And God went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. And amen, God bless the reading of his word. As we've already said, this is the night of the Passover. And the Passover is a wonderful picture, so it is. Because remember the people they had to take a lamb, they had to select a lamb and it had to be a perfect lamb. And of course that's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perfect, there was no blemishes in him. He was perfect without sin. And then they had to keep the lamb for four days and make sure nothing happened to it. And on the 14th day of the month, they killed the lamb. And they took the blood and they put the blood on the doorpost. And they sheltered in the house under the blood of the Lamb. And they were trusting in the blood of the Lamb to save them from the punishment, from the plague, as God passed through the land. And of course, when God saw the blood on the doorpost, He just passed over and the people were saved. That's who they were. And it's a wonderful picture of salvation, of how we need to trust in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the only, that's the only thing that can save us from the wrath of God, to save us from the punishment of hell and for our sins. Because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, and he rose again, he came back to life, and today he's in heaven, and as we all know, we have to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us for our sins. And it's only his blood that can do that. But today, we're not really gonna be looking at the Passover as such. We're going to be looking at the passage, the journey that the people took as they came out of Egypt. The passage, the way that God brought them. Of course they were leaving Egypt. That's where they were leaving and the people knew that they were going to the promised land. God had promised them a land and he said I'm going to bring you out from Egypt and I'm going to give you this promised land. And the people knew where they were going. I was talking to a person a while ago and they thought the people actually didn't really know where they were going. God brought them out and yes they were following God but they didn't really know. But I believe they did know where they were going because if you turn to Exodus chapter 3 please. Exodus chapter 3 you'll see God speaking to Moses. And of course Exodus chapter 3 took place before. Exodus chapter 12 and chapter 13 as well took place before. And God is speaking to Moses. And he says in Exodus chapter 3 verse 8, And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land. and a large onto a land flowing with milk and honey onto the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jezebites. Can you see where God has told Moses? He tells him where he's going to bring them out of the land of Egypt and he says, I'm going to bring you and I'm going to give you the land of the Canaanites and all these other different people. He says, that's the land I'm going to give you. Moses couldn't mistake the land that God was going to give them. It was this land of the Canaanites. But then if you turn to Exodus chapter four, verse 28, please. Exodus chapter four, verse 28, please. It says in Exodus chapter four, verse 28, and Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him and all the signs which he had commanded him. And Moses and Aaron went out and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. Can you see what has happened in these verses? Moses tells Aaron what God has told him. And then Aaron goes and tells the elders of the people, and he tells them what God has told Moses. And what did God tell Moses? Well, he told them that he was going to give them the land of the Canaanites. So the people, as they were coming out of the land of Egypt, they knew where they were going. They knew where they were going. They were going to the promised land. They were going to the land of the Canaanites. And there's not a bit of a picture for the believer. Because when we get saved from sin, from slavery, we know where we're going. We're going to heaven, so we are. We know where we're going, so we do. But we can see that the people know as they're leaving the promised land. And what a day it was. Their hopes were up. They must have been so excited. They must have been thrilled. What a day it was. For centuries they've been slaves in the land of Egypt. This generation of people, they knew nothing other than slavery. They've been slaves all their lives. And they've just been freed. They've just been told, yous can go. Get out of the land, go. Yous are free. no longer slaves, the excitement that must have thrilled their hearts, and they knew they were going to the promised land, so they were. What hope that must have been, you know, we have just been living in the land of Egypt, it's not really ours, we've been slaves, but now we're going to a place and God's going to give it to us, and it's going to be ours. Oh, they must have been so thrilled, not only that there, Of course as I said they were slaves which would have meant they didn't have very much but if you turn to Exodus chapter 12 verse 35 and 36 you'll see that just all of a sudden they've got rich. They've got rich just all of a sudden in this same night. Because in Exodus chapter 12 Verse 35 and 36 we'll see that it says, And they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. So they lent unto them such things as they required, and they spoiled the Egyptians. Can you see it? Just before they leave the land of Egypt, the Egyptians start giving them gold and silver, clothes, and they spoil the Egyptians. You might think that's a bit unfair, but they had been slaves for centuries, and they hadn't been paid right. And before they go, God makes sure they get their just pay. God makes sure, and they go out, and they're free, they're going to their promised land, and all of a sudden they're rich. What a night it must have been. Their hopes were up, they were so excited, and they were thinking, Like, let's go, we're going to the promised land. Great, let's go. And they know where the land is. And they're in the land of Egypt and the people, the Hebrews, the Israelites, they're in the land, or they're a part of Egypt, Goshen. And the obvious route, you really need a map to look at this, but the obvious route is to go east, along the coast of the Mediterranean, and then as soon as you can, go up north. That's the obvious route into the promised land. And that's probably the way they thought they were going to go, but that's not the way God took them. The quickest way would have been go east and then north. But that's not the way God took them. God actually took them sort of south east. That's the way he took them. Into the Sinai Peninsula, across the Sinai Peninsula. And maybe the people were thinking, well we're going to the promised land, the land of the Canaanites, but why are we going this way? Why are we going south east? We're going the wrong way. Maybe that's what they thought. But we've seen the passage, sort of the way they were going, but now we're going to look at the providence of God. The providence of God. Because God was clearly leading the Hebrews. God was clearly leading the children of Israel. Even though the Mabee thought they were going their own way, they knew it was God that was leading them. We see this in Exodus chapter 13 and verse 21. Because it says in Exodus chapter 13 verse 21, and the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire. to give them light to go by day and night. Can you see from this verse that it's just not merely a pillar of cloud and it's not just merely a pillar of fire, but God is in the pillar of cloud and he's in the pillar of fire. God is leading his people himself. He's leading them. And the people knew that he's in the pillar of cloud, that he's in the pillar of fire, and they knew they were going to the land of the Cainites, but they might be thinking, we're going the wrong way, but they know God's leading them. But maybe in their heads, they might be wondering just a wee bit, is this the right way? Why are we going this way? Why are we going this way? Does it make sense? And they're maybe questioning a wee bit, maybe they're doubting a wee bit or just wondering but they know God's leading them so they follow anyway. Sometimes it's hard for us as believers to know why God brings things into our lives or he gets us to do certain things. Maybe we don't understand it but we've got to trust him. if he's leading us we should follow. It's not the way they would have chosen and sometimes the way God wants us to do things and it's not really the way we would choose it but we've got to trust God. God had his reasons. We see in Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 that God had his reasons for going more south east because it says and it came to pass When Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, let us preadventure that people repent when they see war and they return to Egypt. God knew this wasn't the obvious route, the way that he was taking them. He knew the obvious route would have been to go just east and then sort of north when they sort of cleared the Mediterranean. He knew that was the obvious route. But he knew that was the land of the Philistines. And he knew if he brought the people that way, well, then the Philistines would attack them. They would attack them, they would fight them. And he knew the people, well, they'd get a bit afraid and they'd run back to Egypt. So he thought, I'll not take them that way. I'll take them southeast and I'll take them through the Sinai Peninsula, so I'll go that way. God had his reasons, so he did. And the people maybe didn't know that there, but that was God's reasons. And we see in Isaiah 55 verse 8 and 9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts in your thoughts. See God's ways and his thoughts are so much higher than ours. He knows everything and if he tells us to do something we should do it. We maybe don't see the reasons why but just trust him. We just should trust him. See if you read Exodus chapter 13 verse 17 again. Notice it doesn't say who God's talking to and it's almost as if he's not actually telling anyone this. We'll just read it again. And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, let us pray adventure, the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. It says God said, but it doesn't say who he's talking to. It doesn't say he's talking to Moses or anyone else. We can't be sure, but I think it's maybe right to say that God didn't actually tell Moses. And he just led them this way, and maybe the people didn't know that his reasons. And we don't always know God's reasons, but he has a reason for everything. And at times we don't understand God's direction. We don't understand why he guides us and directs us and brings certain things into our lives. But we have to have faith in him. He's the one that knows all things and he's the one that we should follow and just put our trust in him. Even if it doesn't make sense, Proverbs chapter 3 verse 5 and 6 says Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path. See it says trust in the Lord. Don't be leaning on your own. Understand if it doesn't make sense to you, don't be worrying about it. Just trust in God. Trust in God. If it doesn't make sense to you, don't worry about it because it makes sense to God and he knows his reasons why. Just a bit like Abraham. Remember what it says about Abraham in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 8. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place, which he should after see for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out, not knowing whether he went. Remember he was in the area of the Chaldees. That was his home. And yet God said, Abraham, right, I want you to get up. I want you to pack up. I want you to move out. God didn't tell him where he was going, he just told him up, get out. I want you to leave there if they call these. He didn't know where he was going, he didn't understand the reasons why, but he just obeyed God, so he did. But could you imagine how hard it would be for Abraham? His family, his friends would say, Abraham, why are you packing up? He says, well, God's told me to. He says, well, you're packing up, where are you going to go to? I don't know. I didn't know where God wants me to go. And they'd say, you're mad. He says, aye, but I trust God. God's told me and I have faith in Him. And Louis Abraham maybe didn't know where he was going, didn't understand everything. He trusted God and we should be like that. It's hard to do it sometimes, but that's the way we should be. Just trust God. It's important to follow God. Imagine if Abraham had a stead in the air if they called these. Think of all the promises and the covenants and the blessings that Abraham would have missed out on if he hadn't followed God. And just think, if you don't follow God, what would you miss out on? What would you miss out on if you didn't follow God? You know, if the Israelites, if they hadn't followed God and the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, they would have been getting away from God. They wouldn't have had close fellowship with Him. It was only when they were following Him that they had this close fellowship. And we want close fellowship with God, we have to stay close to Him. We can't really follow Him afar off. Remember Peter? Didn't he follow the Lord Jesus Christ from afar off? He followed Him from afar off, but what happened then? He ended up denying the Lord Jesus Christ three times. And he denied Him with fools and curses. It's dangerous following the Lord of fire off. We have to stay close to him. So we have to. But in Exodus chapter 13 verse 22, it says, He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. Can you see God never took the pillar of cloud or fire away. He was always there. He was always with his people. and is not a great reminder of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 5. Let your conversation be without covenants and be content with such things as you have for he has said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. God never took the pillar of the cloud or fire away he was always with his people and he has promised us the believers the church I'm always with you, I'm never gonna forsake you, no matter what you're going through, no matter what situation you're in, no matter who else leaves you and forsakes you, I'm with you. I'm with you through good and bad, through thick and thin, I'm gonna stick with you, I'll never leave you. And what a promise that is for us. God is always with us. But to have close fellowship with him, we really need to be following his leading, don't we? And we need to be living the way that he wants. Now we're going to look at how practical the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire was. It's interesting how practical it was because in Psalm 105 verse 39 it says he sprayed a cloud for a covering and a fire to give light in the night. He sprayed a cloud for a covering. Remember, where were they? They were in the wilderness, walking through the Sinai Peninsula, the wilderness. And think how hot it would have got during the day. The people who were walking, the sun was beating down. If they were out in the sun, they would have got scorched. But God, in his mercy, he gave them a pillar of cloud. And when they were under the pillar of cloud, the sun didn't scorch them. They were kept away from the sun because of the cloud. And how practical it was, God was protecting them from the sun. But then it says, and the fire to give light in the night. At night time it's simple to say but at night time it's dark so it is. And God gave them a pillar of fire so they could see where they were going. So they didn't trip over anything or over a rock or something like that there. He gave them a light so they could see where they were going. Can you see how God provided for his people? Now the scholars also tell us that he gave the people a pillar of fire to give them heat at night because at night time in the wilderness it got awful cold so it does. It gets awful cold in the wilderness at night and God didn't want the people getting real cold. So he gave them the pillar of fire to keep them warm. That's what the scholars say. I can't prove that from the Bible but if you read up on it that's what most of the scholars say that the pillar of fire also kept them warm at night. And can you see God cared for his people? He provided for his people. and he was meeting all their needs. when they followed him. When they followed him, they were sheltered from the sun during the day, they had light at night, and they were kept warm. He provided and he cared for them. So he did. You know, God cares for you, and he'll meet all your needs when you're following him, so he will. If the people hadn't have followed God, and if they hadn't followed the cloud or the pillar of fire, well then they wouldn't have gotten all those blessings. And if you don't follow God, He might not give you all those blessings, but when you follow Him, He has promised to provide all your needs. Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 says, but my God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And what a blessing that is. He provides all our needs for us. He's promised that He'll always be with us. But we've looked at the passage. We've looked at the providence of God. We've looked at how practical the pillar of cloud and fire is. But now we're going to look at the predicament, the predicament that people were in. Because we see God instructs Moses in Exodus chapter 14 verse 1 and 2. God gives Moses some more instructions. And it says in Exodus chapter 14 verses 1 and 2, and the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and camp before Pyharoth, between Mildew and the sea, over against Beelzoth. Before it shall ye encamp by the sea. Sorry if I pronounce some of those names wrong, but they're a bit awkward, so they are. But you can see God's instructions. Just look at verse two. Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn that they turn. God has been leading them in this pillar of cloud and fire, and he's been directing them in a certain direction, and then all of a sudden he tells Moses, turn. We're going to go in a different direction. We're going to turn. I know we've been going in this direction, but Moses tell the people to turn. We're going to go in a different direction. And maybe the people think, turn. But God's been leading us, and now he wants us to change direction. Are we lost? Does God know what way he's directing us? Have we been going the wrong way all the time? Why are we turning? Why are we turning? And this is actually what Pharaoh thinks. Look at Exodus chapter 14 verse 3. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land. The wilderness has shut them in. See, word gets back to Pharaoh that the people have turned. They've changed their action. And Pharaoh's sort of starting to think they're lost. They don't know where they're going. That's what Pharaoh thinks when they turn. And he also sees where they end up. He hears where they've ended up. He knows where they are. And he knows the place they are and he thinks they're totally lost. They don't have a clue where they are. And look, the land's closed them in. They've got nowhere to go because let's look at the place where they are. Look at verse two again. Speak unto the children of Israel that they turn and encamp before Pi-haroth, between Mildew and the sea, over against Baal-zoth. Before it shall ye encamp by the sea. Can you see where they are? They're beside the sea, and they're at this place called Tai Haroth, which means mouth of gorges. And this place, Mildu, it means tar. And all the scholars believe it's speaking of mountains. So they're beside the sea, they're surrounded by mountains, and they've got nowhere to go. Josephus, he's a Jewish historian, so he is. And this is what he writes about the place that the people were encamped. shutting them up between inaccessible precipice and the sea. For there was on each side a ridge of mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness. Can you try and picture it in your head? Before them is the sea. They're surrounded by mountains and the mountains go all the way into the sea. And they're so rough and rugged, they can't pass them. They can't get over them. There's only really one way in and one way out. And this is where God has led them to. The seas before them, they're surrounded by mountains. There's one way in, really, and there's one way out. And they're thinking, why has God brought us here? They're surrounded. So they are. And in life, sometimes we can feel a bit trapped. And sometimes we can feel, especially as believers in the Christian walk, that we have nowhere to turn and we don't know what to do. But we should always trust God. If God has brought us to that place, always trust him. And we're going to see how God turns everything about. We've seen the passage, we've seen the providence of God, we've seen how practical the pillar of cloud and fire was, we've seen the predicament they're in, but now things start to get even worse. And we're going to look at how they're pursued. They're pursued. Not only are they in this terrible predicament, but they're now become pursued by the Egyptians. Look at Exodus chapter 14 verse 8. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he pursued after the children of Israel. And the children of Israel went out with a high hand. Pharaoh and the Egyptians are now chasing the Israelites who they are. Pharaoh starts to think, I've let my slaves go. Those slaves that served us, I've just let them go. What have I done? And look, they're lost in the land. They don't know where they're going. They're trapped. They can't escape. I'm going to go and get my slaves back. And that's what he thinks. He's going to get his slaves back. And actually this chapter 14, verse 7, we see that he takes 600 chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt. Josephus, he says that there was 200,000 foot soldiers that came as well, according to Josephus. And Israel, well, some of them probably thought they were lost. They looked where they were and they thought, we're trapped. We're absolutely knackered because we've had a long journey, so we had. And we have no weapons to fight. And they didn't know what to do. They were tired, they were weary, didn't know where to turn. And maybe you feel a bit like that spiritually. You feel tired, maybe you feel weary, and maybe you feel like you can't fight the fight anymore. But if you do so, Turn to Isaiah 40 and verse 31 and we'll see what it says if you feel like that there. Isaiah 40 verse 31. It says in Isaiah 40 verse 31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. See what God's word says? Wait upon the Lord. Wait upon the Lord. And that's where you'll renew your strength. You'll renew your strength. See, you just can't go on trying to follow the Lord and without taking a bit of time and just waiting upon Him. We need to make time to get into God's Word, we need to make time to pray to Him, otherwise we'll run out of strength. So we need to take time to renew our strength and we do that by waiting upon the Lord. Be still and know that I am Lord. That's what we've got to do, take time out and to spend time with God. It's hard to do but we've got to make the time and that's how we'll renew our strength. So it is. But now we're going to look at how the people were perplexed. We've seen the passage, we've seen the providence of God, we've seen how practical the pillar was, we've seen the predicament, we've seen how they've been pursued. Now we're going to look at the people perplexed. But was Israel The people of Israel, they've now become perplexed. They've actually stopped trusting God. They've been following God. And now they get to this situation and they see everything that's going on. The Egyptians are chasing us. We're surrounded. We can't go forward. We can't go sideways. And the Egyptians are chasing us. We can't go back. What do we do? They see the situation and they're perplexed. They don't know what to do and they stop trusting God. And they start taking out their frustrations on Moses. We see that in Exodus chapter 14 verses 11 and 12. Exodus chapter 14 verses 11 and 12. And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt with us to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tally in Egypt, saying, let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians than they should die in the wilderness. Can you see what they're saying to Moses? Why did you bring us out? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us here to die? It would have been better if you had just left us in Egypt. You should have just left us alone. And they're taking it out on Moses, their frustrations, and they just wish they were back in the land of Egypt and they hadn't been brought out. And sometimes as believers we can sort of get frustrated sometimes and sometimes we can almost regret our salvation. They're saying we wish we were back in Egypt, we wish we hadn't have been brought out and sometimes as believers we can not even feel like that there. They forgot it was God that had brought them out of Egypt. They forgot that it was God that had sent the plagues and had done the Passover. And it was God that made Pharaoh say, let the people go. They forgot it was God that had laid them in the pillar of cloud and fire. They forgot everything that God had done to bring them to this place. They stopped trusting in him. They started to doubt and to worry. They started looking at the situation rather than looking up to God and trusting Him. And sometimes we can be in a hard place as believers, and we can be in difficult and dire situations. And whatever circumstances, they might be hard, but we've got to remember the things that God has done for us in the past. Remember how He saved us. Remember what He done for us on the cross. Remember how almighty he is. He's the all-powerful. He created everything just by speaking high and he can change the circumstances just like God there. We need to focus on God and not our situations. Don't be looking down at the situation. Lift up your eyes and look to the Lord God Almighty. Isaiah 26 verse 3 says, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. whose mind is stead on thee, because he trusteth in thee. See, if you're trusting in God, he'll keep your mind in perfect peace. If you're trusting in him, if your mind is stead upon God, he'll keep you in perfect peace. And as believers, how wonderful that is when we have that peace, when we just know We're trusting in God and God's in control and he can do whatever he wants so he can and we're trusting on him and he's in control, he's the sovereign, he's the almighty and we're just trusting on him. We're not trying to sort things out ourselves, we're leaving it up with God because it is God that has brought the circumstance into our life and we're trusting on him. He's the one that's in control, he knows better than us. Trust in God and he'll give us that perfect peace, so he will. They had forgotten that God was sovereign. They had forgotten that it was actually Pharaoh, or that God that had hardened Pharaoh's heart. You see that in Exodus chapter 4 verses 4 and 8. Exodus chapter 14 verses 4 and 8. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them, and I will honor upon Pharaoh. And upon all his host, and all the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so. And then down to verse eight as well. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he pursued after the children of Israel. Can you see why Pharaoh actually came after the children of Israel? It was because God hardened his heart. God wanted Pharaoh to come after them. And God had brought this about. And God was sovereign, and the king, the pharaoh, his heart was hardened because of the Lord. And the Lord is in control. And he had brought this trial to the Israelites. And maybe you're in a bit of a trial, or you're in a hard situation. Well, maybe God's brought it upon you for some sort of a reason. It's not always easy thinking like that there, but maybe God has brought a trial into your life for a reason. 1 Peter 1, verse 7 says that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold, that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Christ Jesus. Remember Job. Remember what God said about Job to Satan. God was speaking to Satan, and this is what God said about Job in Job chapter one, verse eight. There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man. and one that fears God and eschews evil. What a character reference that is, isn't it? God himself, saying about Job, he's a perfect man. He's upright in everything that he does. He fears God and he eschews evil. In other words, he stays away from evil. He's a good man. There's none like him in the world. What a man he is. What a character reference that is from God. Job was a good man, yet, What happened after that there? Well God allowed Satan to take his wealth, to take his children and then ultimately his health. And what had Job done to deserve this? Well, nothing really. He didn't do anything wrong, because God had said that he was a perfect man, upright, one that feared God and eschewed evil, stayed away from evil. And Job, maybe he was wondering, why has all this happened to me? Why have I lost my children? What have I done to lose my health? What have I done to lose all my wealth? And he didn't understand the reasons why, he didn't know why all this was brought about, but Job said in Job chapter 13 verse 15, do he slay me? Yet will I trust in him. And everything was going belly up in his life. He had done nothing wrong. So he hadn't. And he just said, well, I don't know why everything's going like this. Everything's going pear-shaped, but I trust God. I trust God, even though everything's going wrong. And when everything seems to be going wrong, or things seem to be getting hard in our lives, how hard is it to actually do that, to trust in God? But that's what we've got to do. We've got to trust in God. When life gets hard, We've got to remember what Romans chapter 8 verse 28 says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. And it's easy saying that there when everything's going well, but when everything's going wrong, all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purposes. Even when everything's going wrong, it's still all working together for good, so it is. And it might be hard to believe, and it might be hard to do, but Psalm 62 verse 8 says, trust in him at all times. It's easy to trust God when everything's going well, but it's a wee bit harder to trust God when everything is going wrong, but we still got to trust him because he's in control. He's brought the situation or the trial into our lives, and we've just got to trust him because he knows best. His ways are higher than our ways, and he's in control. So we've looked at The passage, we've looked at the providence, we've looked at how practical a pillar was, we've seen the predicament, how they've been pursued, and how they were perplexed. But now we're going to look at the purpose. Israel couldn't see the purpose of why God had brought this whole situation about. They couldn't understand it. But God had brought it about for a very specific reason. He was gonna bring glory to his name. Through this whole trial, through this whole situation, he was gonna use this here to bring glory to his name. Look at Acts chapter 14, verse four. God says, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he shall follow after them, and I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. That's the reason why God has brought this all about. Because he's going to get his honour and he's going to teach all the Egyptians that he is the one through God. And although the Israelites couldn't understand this, this was the reason for it. They maybe didn't understand that at the time but God had brought this all about for this very, very reason. And maybe you don't understand why God has brought things into your life, but maybe he can use that situation to bring glory to his name. Maybe you don't see how it's all gonna work out, but he could use it to bring glory to his name. We all know what happens next. Don't we? We all know what happens next. What did God do? Well, the Egyptians had pursued them, but God went between the Israelites and the Egyptians. He went between them and he kept them separate all night. And then he sent the wind And this wind blew all night, and it opened up the Red Sea. It parted. The Red Sea parted, so it did. And then the ground was dry. And God let the Israelites pass through the Red Sea. I think that must have been amazing. I try and picture that sometimes in my head. Just imagine, on the left and on the right, just a wall of water. And they're just walking through it, just like on dry ground as they're going down. And then they start to come up the other side, right through the Red Sea. And God is keeping the Egyptians at bay. And then when the Israelites are coming out, God then lets the Egyptians chase after them. And the Egyptians, they chase after them. And when they get into the Red Sea, what does God do? He starts to take the wheels off the chariots, so he does. And then he closes the Red Sea in on them, so he does. And all the Egyptians die in the Red Sea. We see that in Acts chapter 14, verse 28, And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen. And all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them, there remained not so much as one of them. They all died in the Red Sea. Even Pharaoh, he died in the Red Sea because Psalm 136 says, but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea. Pharaoh himself died in that Red Sea and all his host, all his army. And I believe God was punishing the Egyptians for what they had done years before. What had they done? What did the Egyptians do? They took the babies of the Hebrews of the Israelites and drowned them in the Red Sea. So what was God doing? He was punishing them and drowning them in the Red Sea. God was punishing them for what they had done to the Hebrews all those years before. and he drowned Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. No one could have foreseen this. When the Israelites were in that situation, the sea before them, the mountains surrounding them, the Egyptians chasing after them with their army and with their weapons, they were totally perplexed. They'd never in their wildest dreams could have dreamt up what God was going to do, but God knew what he was going to do. God was in control of the situation the whole time so he was, and they should have just trusted in him. And whatever situation you're in, keep trusting in God. You may be in a situation you can't see what to do, or you can't see how God's going to work in it, but keep trusting in Him. Because God could work in that situation to bring glory to His name. And all the Egyptians and everyone knew that God was the one through God because of what He'd done through that situation, and He brought glory to His name. Keep trusting in God. You don't know how you can work in that situation and to bring glory to His name. Just keep trusting in Him. Keep making time to get into God's Word to renew your strength. And keep your mind on Him and not the situation, because then you'll keep your mind in perfect peace. So thank you very much for listening. Perhaps David could close and we read a prayer please. Father we give you thanks once again for your Word, for your goodness truth. As sweet as thou art to our taste, sweeter than honey through our mouth, and through thy precepts we get understanding. Therefore, hate every false way. And so far, we thank again for the explanation this morning of the children of Israel, Lord, that they believed in their God. Everything went well. It's when disbelief came in, the things started to happen, Lord. I'm sure that that speaks to us, Lord, to trust in the Lord. We thank you, Father, that your word tells us that thou would never leave us nor forsake us. We're told not to faint not, not to fret not, and not to fear not. And so, Father, at times we do. But, Lord, we thank you for the example this morning, Lord, that we trust in our Savior and Lord. that Lord, he'll never leave us nor forsake us. And no man can pluck us from his hand. And we thank you Father for thy word. We thank you Lord for undertaking for Simon this morning. It's been a joy Lord and a challenge to sit and listen Lord to the word that's came forth and we pray that Lord that will not only be hearers of the word, but help us in what we do in these days, Lord. And so far, we would ask you, Lord, that you would continue with them, undertake for them in the days that lie ahead for them, that Lord, that you would make them a mighty man for God, Lord. This is my heart's desire. I'd love to see young men being raised up for God's purpose. In our own times, Lord, we were just a wee bit old, Lord, for doing these things, Lord. But we thank you, Father, that we are saved and that we're being kept by the salvation of the Lord. And we pray that you would go before our borough and undertake firm, Lord. Last week, Lord, we heard the ballast sound in our young man. And we heard the week before, Daniel, another young man, Lord, and we thank you for these young men that you're going to undertake and go before them and undertake. We can leave this room today, this building this morning, and thank you for what we've heard, Lord, and it's a bit of a challenge to our souls. We ask you, Lord, to take us from this place, take us home in safety, and that when we return again, our brother, Simon, will be responsible for the gospel, the wonderful gospel of our Saviour and Lord. We give you thanks in the name of our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.