“The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” – Exodus 14:14
Ever since junior high, I’ve loved playing basketball. There’s something about it that just excites me. Unfortunately, my school was never very good. Throughout my junior high and high school years, we only won three or four games. Yes, you read that correctly. Over the course of seven years we only won three or four games. It was rough, but still it was a lot of fun, and the victories were always so much sweeter when you knew you wouldn’t have many of them.
Losing sucked, for sure. But that never bothered me so much. What did bother me, was when we’d get bullied by other teams. In nearly every game we played, our opponents were bigger, faster, stronger, taller, and just flat-out better than we were. Rather than winning gracefully, however, some of these teams would just bully us. I hated it, and that showed itself through some poor sportsmanship on my part.
In the midst of this frustration, there was one thing that always brought a smile to my face: when our coach fought for us. If the referees were letting us get bullied, I would feel so powerless. There was nothing I could do but get upset and complain…which got me nowhere. I felt helpless and alone, until someone else would step in. Nothing was more encouraging than knowing the coach had your back. It was nice to have the coach tell the referees to watch for something dirty the other team had been doing, or call a timeout just to tell us that we were displaying much better character than our opponent, or even to have him complain about an obvious call.
Sure, most of the time the coach’s efforts wouldn’t change much. But it was always nice to know that he had our back. In any facet of life, there’s something special about knowing that someone is fighting for you.
Now consider the context of Exodus 14. Israel has just fled from Egypt after hundreds of years in slavery. Pharaoh insisted that Israel remain in Egypt, but the LORD would not have that. He brought plague after plague down upon the Egyptians, until eventually Pharaoh relented. He let God’s people go…..which lasted all of one chapter. Now, in Exodus 14, Israel is out in the wilderness, on the coast of the Red Sea, and Pharaoh is after them. In his anger, he took off after Israel with his whole army.
Israel stands no chance against this army. They are overpowered. The Egyptians are bigger, faster, stronger, and more technologically advanced than Israel. When the the Israelites see the Egyptians marching towards them, they become afraid. Their fear quickly turns to anger as the cry out to Moses, “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (v. 12). The Israelites have accepted defeat. They believe that they are going to die, and as they await this total annihilation, Moses speaks: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work 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 be silent” (v. 13-14).
Just as my basketball team had no chance of winning most of our games, so too was Israel utterly incapable of winning a battle against the entire army of Egypt. Thankfully, Israel did not have to fight for themselves. In fact, Moses told them that they needed to do the very opposite: be silent. Other translations say, “Be still”. As total destruction inches ever closer towards them, Moses tells God’s people to be still. I haven’t read many books on war tactics, but I can’t imagine that this has ever been a recommended strategy for avoiding total annihilation. So why would Moses be asking them to do this now? Because there is another who is fighting for them. Someone has volunteered as tribute on their behalf. Their champion in this battle is the LORD. Be still, O Israel, because the LORD is fighting for you.
There is something comforting about seeing someone fight for you. It reminds you that you are not alone, and that someone cares for you. Even if they fail, it is still a great comfort to know that someone was on your side. This alone is enough to bring about great joy. When it comes to the LORD, however, the comfort does not stop there. This is the difference between earthly hope and heavenly hope. With my coach, it was great to know that he had our backs, but that hope ended there. He was not going to change anything, no matter how much he wanted to. With the LORD, this is never the case. When we hope in the LORD, it is a guarantee. He will fight for you, but more than that He will win.
And, spoiler alert, this is exactly what He does for Israel. In a miraculous display of His loving power, God parts the Red Sea and has Israel walk through it. When the Egyptians get to the sea, they follow after Israel. And what happened? “The sea returned to its normal course” (v. 27). The water came crashing down on Pharaoh and his entire army, and they were killed. Just like that, the LORD claimed victory for His people. And what did Israel do? What was their part in this mighty victory? They were still.
God continues this theme of fighting for His people throughout the rest of history, even today. The LORD is fighting for you. He is fighting for all those who trust in His name.
We too face an enemy that we have no power to defeat. The armies of sin and death surround us at every turn. We are helpless. We can never repay the debt of sin that we have incurred. What shall we do? We could fight for ourselves. That is certainly an option. We can go down swinging, but in the end we still go down. On our own this is a hopeless cause. If we fight, we will lose. We need another to fight for us. We need a champion, and by the grace of God we have been offered one. We are not on our own. Far from it, actually. We have the greatest possible champion fighting on our behalf. In His death and resurrection, Christ Himself has defeated our greatest enemy. Salvation is here for us. Sin has been conquered. The battle is won. We need only be still.