Many, many years ago my parent’s neighbours threw a huge party, I had to study for a test the next morning and was trying my utmost best to concentrate but to no avail. After many unsuccessful requests for silence that kept falling on deaf ears my dear husband took to the streets and flattened the party goers’ car tyres. When they eventually wanted to leave roundabout dawn the next morning they had to take off the tyres, roll them to the nearest garage (which was not particularly close) to get it pumped up again, after all a car only has one spare wheel…. We lived against a hill so downhill was one thing but coming back was quite something especially if you were still quite drunk but also very tired and weary after a whole night’s partying…. Off course we were all finding this very amusing and even though they suspected us to be the culprits they could not prove we were guilty because technically it could have been anyone in the neighbourhood. This morning I read from Ex 14 and discovered a story in the Bible that reminded me of that incident.
Exodus 14:19-20 and 24-25
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night….
24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled [discomfited] the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off [or bound] their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Very often in the bible God is named after a particular part of His nature or character that He displayed in a specific situation. For example when Israel fought against the Amalekites where Moses (with the help of Aaron and Hur) kept the staff lifted over Israel, Moses Named God YHVH Nissi stating that God is the Banner over His People. In the story of the Red Sea I would have liked to Name God the “YHVH that sabotages chariot wheels”. I mean can you imagine God causing a cloud of darkness on the Egyptian side while providing light for Israel and then in the dark cloud He tip toes around the army’s chariots to bind or take off … whichever way he did it… sabotaging the chariot wheels!!!????
To a certain extent it feels disrespectful to even try to imagine such a picture of God in my mind and yet that is exactly what the Word tells us he did. However, what does it tell us about the character of our God, about his nature? I think it tells us something about his grace. He must have had intensely deep grace for the Egyptians. God could have obliterated them on the first day of the plagues, he didn’t… why not? He wanted them to see that he is the one and only true God. So he took on their so-called gods one by one… overcame them, demonstrated his sovereignty, this all took TIME. Now he was taking on their earthly army making a bunch of slaves, with very little weapons let alone sophisticated weaponry like chariots, victorious over the mighty Egyptian army.
The Egyptians were scared, very scared. Hardened soldiers wanted to flee from the face of Israel as they recognize that the God of Israel fights for his people. Yet they do not turn around and go back to their country, nor do they defect to Israel serving the God who fights for his people. They cling to their weapons, even driving their discomfited chariots with either bound wheels or without wheels!? Pride is a dangerous thing. They ended up at the bottom of the Red Sea… The one thing the Egyptians had was TIME, plenty of it. They had months and months of time to reconsider, time to repent, time to turn back to Egypt, time to bow the knee and worship the God who sabotages chariot wheels. Time is one of God’s most graceful gifts. What a disgrace when we do not see God’s grace, do not embrace it even when He gives us a lifetime of time to do it.
The God who sabotages chariot wheels is by nature an extremely graceful, patient, slow to anger God but also he is a righteous God. Grace-time also has an end, if it does not have an end grace will become unrighteousness for it will allow evil to overcome. We still have grace-time, what are we doing with it? Or are we stubbornly driving our discomfited chariots with bound wheels into the Red Sea because we are too proud to acknowledge and worship on bended knee the graceful God who tip-toes around in darkness to sabotage chariot wheels to give us yet another chance, yet another few minutes?
Exodus 14:19-20 and 24-25
19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night….
24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled [discomfited] the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off [or bound] their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Very often in the bible God is named after a particular part of His nature or character that He displayed in a specific situation. For example when Israel fought against the Amalekites where Moses (with the help of Aaron and Hur) kept the staff lifted over Israel, Moses Named God YHVH Nissi stating that God is the Banner over His People. In the story of the Red Sea I would have liked to Name God the “YHVH that sabotages chariot wheels”. I mean can you imagine God causing a cloud of darkness on the Egyptian side while providing light for Israel and then in the dark cloud He tip toes around the army’s chariots to bind or take off … whichever way he did it… sabotaging the chariot wheels!!!????
To a certain extent it feels disrespectful to even try to imagine such a picture of God in my mind and yet that is exactly what the Word tells us he did. However, what does it tell us about the character of our God, about his nature? I think it tells us something about his grace. He must have had intensely deep grace for the Egyptians. God could have obliterated them on the first day of the plagues, he didn’t… why not? He wanted them to see that he is the one and only true God. So he took on their so-called gods one by one… overcame them, demonstrated his sovereignty, this all took TIME. Now he was taking on their earthly army making a bunch of slaves, with very little weapons let alone sophisticated weaponry like chariots, victorious over the mighty Egyptian army.
The Egyptians were scared, very scared. Hardened soldiers wanted to flee from the face of Israel as they recognize that the God of Israel fights for his people. Yet they do not turn around and go back to their country, nor do they defect to Israel serving the God who fights for his people. They cling to their weapons, even driving their discomfited chariots with either bound wheels or without wheels!? Pride is a dangerous thing. They ended up at the bottom of the Red Sea… The one thing the Egyptians had was TIME, plenty of it. They had months and months of time to reconsider, time to repent, time to turn back to Egypt, time to bow the knee and worship the God who sabotages chariot wheels. Time is one of God’s most graceful gifts. What a disgrace when we do not see God’s grace, do not embrace it even when He gives us a lifetime of time to do it.
The God who sabotages chariot wheels is by nature an extremely graceful, patient, slow to anger God but also he is a righteous God. Grace-time also has an end, if it does not have an end grace will become unrighteousness for it will allow evil to overcome. We still have grace-time, what are we doing with it? Or are we stubbornly driving our discomfited chariots with bound wheels into the Red Sea because we are too proud to acknowledge and worship on bended knee the graceful God who tip-toes around in darkness to sabotage chariot wheels to give us yet another chance, yet another few minutes?
Come worship with Melanie the God who removes the chariot wheels of the enemy:
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