Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ – Exodus 14:3

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 24, 2018): Exodus 14

The Chinese military philosopher Sun Tzu argued that “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” If you understand your limitations, and the limitations of those who oppose you, you will not have to fear the battle because you will have already won the war. This act of understanding is one the hardest battles that any of us fight. But it is essential for our continued health and security.

It seems that God agreed with Sun Tzu. He knew the tendencies of Egypt, and of the people that he had chosen. Egypt, once the shock of losing the firstborn of their children of had subsided, was going to come after their Israelite slaves. Their economy depended on the service that Israel freely provided. They had allowed Israel to leave in the heat of the moment, but it was a decision that the Pharaoh and his leaders were going to regret. Their economy could not continue without their slaves, and as far as the slaves were concerned, they would freely return to slavery when the going got tough. And God did not want the showdown to happen at a time of Pharaoh’s convenience. And so he instructs Moses to act as if he is confused, tempting Pharaoh to attack quickly.

There is no doubt that God essentially set a trap using the understanding of both cultures to lure them into a final confrontation. It can’t really be called a battle; Israel was no more than an unorganized and unarmed group of slaves. And Pharaoh was about to respond with his best. What happened next in the desert would be a final confrontation for the two combatants, at least during the lifetimes of Pharaoh and Moses. Pharaoh would lose his best men, and the people of Israel would slowly come to the understanding that there could be no turning back and returning to their former lives in Egypt. Here the bridge was about to be burned. Pharaoh would have to admit defeat and let Israel go regardless of the effect that such an action would have on Egypt, and Israel would realize that they would now have to go it on their own.

Okay, in the case of Israel, the lesson would seem to come a little more slowly. But it would come. God, who knew both Israel and Egypt, knew what had to happen for the nation to move forward, and orchestrated those events to happen in the desert just within Egypt’s reach.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 15