“THAT GREAT WORK” By: Larry Criss, Pastor Fairmont Grace Church “And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord,...” ( Exodus 14:31) When I was a boy at home, my father, after he got home from work and had his supper, would watch the evening news. The anchorman was Walter Cronkite, and he would end every broadcast with these words: “And that’s the way it is, this August 10, 1962.” The last two verses of Exodus 14 sum up what had just taken place much the same way, by telling us exactly how it was that Israel was delivered from the Egyptians. Salvation: All God’s Work – “Thus the Lord saved Israel that day” (v.30) It was all God’s doing. Consider their great enemy, and consider them, and how else could it have happened? This is a type, a picture of that far greater work of the salvation of God’s true Israel, His redeemed. Man, being what he is by nature, dead in trespasses and sins, and having such enemies to his salvation as the devil, the world, and his own fallen state, requires nothing less than the power of God to deliver him. And just like Israel at the Red Sea, had God left us alone, we would have surely perished. How blessed are those words we read so often in Scripture: “But God.” That and that alone is why this sinner has been, is being, and will be saved to the uttermost. Salvation: A Great Work – “And Israel saw that great work.” (v. 31)What a great work the salvation of sinners required. It involves the purpose of God the Father, the redemption by God the Son, and the regenerating power of God the Holy Spirit. As much as you ascribe to yourself any part of so great a salvation, you rob God, for God’s word declares “Salvation is of the Lord.” What an unspeakable joy it must have been for Moses that day to stand on the other side of the Red Sea and see their enemy destroyed, and all those God led forth standing safe with him. Paul wrote in Romans 11 “And so all Israel shall be saved” (v 26), and it will be to the eternal glory of our Great Deliverer, King Jesus, to say: “Behold I and the children which God hath given me.” Great Wonder and Praise – “..and the people feared the Lord.” Israel stood in awe of that great God Who could do such a work. But to a sinner, brought down to know he’s the sinner, and God’s justice demanding payment and he has nothing to pay, to then hear the only mediator declare: “Thy sins are forgiven thee,” that sinner will stand in wonder and awe at such mercy and grace. A woman earnestly seeking God’s mercy prayed: “Lord, if you will save a sinner like me, You’ll never hear the end of it.” In a song of thankful praise to God in Chapter 15, they sang : “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” And that’s the way it is.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 15:29:00 +0000
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