God led the Israelites around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea. If you remember the story, after God sent ten plagues on the Egyptians, Pharaoh relented and set the Israelites free. However, as he was in the habit of doing, he changed his mind, and sent his army after them towards the Red Sea.
And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?… For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and SEE the salvation [Yeshua] of the LORD [Yahweh], which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”… (Exodus 14:10-14, brackets mine)1
Moses told them to “stand still” while their enemies were rushing towards them. “Stand still and SEE the salvation of the LORD.” Can you imagine just standing there with a massive body of water before you and the strongest army in the world in fast pursuit approaching from behind? Imagine for a moment that you are Moses leading two million people, and you tell them not to be afraid and just do nothing but watch! Our motto is often “Don’t just stand there, do something!” When trouble or hardship or pressures come, the flesh demands that we do something. Fixing problems by DOING appeals to the flesh. But we need to hear the Spirit of the Lord from within saying, “Don’t fear. Stand still and LOOK AT ME! I will deliver you safely.”
Salvation is the Hebrew word “yeshuwah”2 (also spelled yeshua) which is the Hebrew word for “Jesus.” Yeshua (Jesus) means “”Yahweh [the LORD] is Salvation.”3 What does this mean? It means Jesus is Yahweh! Jesus is the Great I Am. Jesus is the beginning and the end. Jesus is the first and the last. Jesus is our all in all. When we see LORD (Yahweh) in the Old Testament, we are seeing Jesus!
The message God wants us to hear is the declaration that Moses gave to the people: “Stand still, look at Jesus, and see Him save you!” He will take care of us as He took care of the Israelites. Every last one of the enemies of God’s people were drowned in the sea, but every last one of the Israelites made it to the other side!!
(from pages 176-177 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
2H3444 (yĕshuw`ah), Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, website: http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H3444&t=KJV, accessed on 5-25-14
3Chris Poblete, “Yahweh Is Salvation,” The BLB Blog, Blue Letter Bible, 1-31-12. website: http://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blb/2012/01/31/yahweh-is-salvation/, accessed on 5-25-14 “
