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Exodus: 14:5-18
When it was reported to the king of Egypt
that the people had fled,
Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them.
They exclaimed, “What have we done!
Why, we have released Israel from our service!”
So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers
six hundred first-class chariots
and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all.
So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh
that he pursued the children of Israel
even while they were marching away in triumph.
The Egyptians, then, pursued them;
Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers,
caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea,
at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
Pharaoh was already near when the children of Israel looked up
and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them.
In great fright they cried out to the LORD.
And they complained to Moses,
“Were there no burial places in Egypt
that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert?
Why did you do this to us?
Why did you bring us out of Egypt?
Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said,
‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’?
Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians
than to die in the desert.”
But Moses answered the people,
“Fear not! Stand your ground,
and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.
These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?
Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,
split the sea in two,
that the children of Israel may pass through it on dry land.
But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate
that they will go in after them.
Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army,
his chariots and charioteers.
The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,
when I receive glory through Pharaoh
and his chariots and charioteers.”
The word of the Lord.
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Imagine waiting 470 years to have a prayer answered.
That’s 171,550 days, or 4.1 million hours, or 24.7 billion seconds of waiting, trusting that God will act.
That’s how long it took – 470 years – for God to answer Israel’s prayer, delivering them out of slavery in Egypt, through the desert, and finally back home to the Promised Land.
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Our first reading this week comes from the Book of Exodus, describing part of this 470-year journey.
Today the Israelites are fleeing Pharoah and his army. Moses raises his staff and parts the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass safely through. The Egyptians, on the other hand, drown in the rushing waters.
But even after God delivers them, the Israelites must another endure forty years in the desert, some 14,600 days of heat, sand, and barely enough food.
Understandably, they grumble against God, saying things like, “Why did you lead us here only to let us die?”
Like some waiting on God to answer a prayer, the Israelites often suffered from a lack of trust.
Still, God delivered them.
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Like the Israelites, have you ever felt like it took God “forever” to answer you?
Perhaps we didn’t wait 470 years, but we waited long enough, until our patience – and maybe our faith – ran dry.
When it feels like God is taking his time to answer us, we must remember two things: first and foremost, God is faithful. He keeps his promises.
But, secondly, God’s timing is not our timing. As it’s written in the Psalms, “In your eyes, a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone; no more than a watch in the night.”
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To all of us who are waiting for the Lord to act, may we ask him for the patience we need to proceed in peace, knowing – in time – he will answer.
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Image credits: (1) God is Faithful – Always, Celebrate Kids (2) Moses by Jeff Brown (3) Becoming the Oil and the Wine