Day 11 - Ex 14:13-14 & Gen 35:5

^{Do not fear
Exodus 14:13-14 - 13} And Moses said to the people, “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. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

As the Israelites found themselves trapped with the Red Sea on one side and a host of Egyptians barreling down on the other, they were terrified and cried out to Moses in fear and the worst kind of complaining. Moses responded with such a merciful truth that it is really amazing. He says, "Fear not, Stand Firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.... The Lord will fight for you!" The only thing the Israelites had to do was be silent. Sometimes fear brings out the worst in us, and produces complaining and cursing and anxiety. God will fight for you, Moses assured, but just be quiet. That is all I ask. I will take care of it all, just don't say anything. When we fear God and not man, we will see the salvation of God. It will change our lives, our perspective and our decisions.

Fear God
Ge 35:5 - Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.

I wonder what it must have been like to have the terror God fall on these towns. You have to imagine that the Egyptians experienced this in the middle of the Red Sea. What did these other towns see, or hear or experience so that they didn't pursue the Israelites. I am not sure about these towns, but I know when I fear God appropriately, I don't pursue a lot of things that I normally would. This is one of the greatest reasons for a correct fear of God. The more we know of God, the less we pursue things that are not of God.