First Response

One of the most well known Biblical stories is Israel's flight from Egypt. A series of crazy, unexplainable, and bizarre events, the story begins with Moses encountering God in the form of a burning bush. God calls Moses to be a leader among Israel; their calls to God have been heard and God intends to deliver them.

The story's intensity escalates as God delivers a series of plagues upon Pharaoh and his people. At the same time, the drama nature of the story evolves as God further reveals Himself with each action God takes. After failing to acknowledge God, Pharaoh finally wises up and releases Israel from slavery. Israel begins their flight from Egypt when Pharaoh has a change of heart. He sends his army to retrieve the weary nation. With Pharaoh's army on their heels, Israel's hurries to escape their past when their route dead ends at the Red Sea. They nearly give themselves up when Moses stands before them and exclaims, "Do not be afraid, but stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." (Ex. 14:13-14) What amazing words! All of have similar moments when we need to be reminded that "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." After speaking these words, Moses is instructed by God to lift his staff in the air, to spread his arms wide, and to command the sea be parted. We all know what happened next-- Israel passed through the parted sea on dry ground just before the waters returned crashing upon Pharaoh's army.

What a miraculous story. Not only is it dramatic and suspenseful, but it is one of the most significant events in story of God. This historic event is one of the first times that God was made known to the world. God revealed Himself to be merciful and loving, but also present and active. We all would be changed by this event, because with this special moment in history God was made known in a new, meaningful, and personal way.

There is a reason I remind you of this story today, beyond its significance as a divine act of self-revelation. Following the drama of their escape from Egypt, we hear "Then Moses and the Israelites sang (a) song to the Lord." (Ex. 15:1) Their first response to God's mercy and love, His presence in their lives, and to the divine-self revelation they had encountered was to sing a song of praise to the Lord. Their first response was to acknowledge God...something the Pharaoh struggled to do.

Throughout our lives we all experience blessings. Some of the time we experience God's mercy and love, other times we are aware that God is acting on our behalf, and then there are those very special moments when God reveals Himself to us in a unique and meaningful way. No matter what those times may be, I hope we can be bold enough to acknowledge God. I pray we will admit that our blessings have come from the hands of the Lord. This does not mean you have to always sing a song. Simply, our first response should be to praise the source of all blessings; we should acknowledge God.