Worship vs Trust: Reflections On Crossing the Red Sea

worshipI was reading about the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus last night when something jumped out at me – no, it wasn’t a Jasmine or any of the local cats. Instead it was the last part of verse 31 in chapter 14:

And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

This sounded odd to me as I figured the people of Israel would have ‘trusted’ God earlier – like before or during the ten plagues. Going back, I discovered that they didn’t trust God before the Red Sea crossing. They bowed down and worshiped Him:

  • And when they heard that the LORD was concerned about them and had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. – Ex 4:31b (when Moses first came to the people)
  • Then the people bowed down and worshiped. The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. –Ex 12:27-28 (right after the Plague of the Firstborn)

In reflecting on these passages, I came to realize that there is a difference between believing and worship God and fully trusting Him.

The Israelites believed that Moses was sent by God and that God carried for their wellbeing – at which point, they worship Him. This is similar to how we, as modern day followers of God, believe that God forgave us of our sins. We believe Him and worship Him.

Yet, I’m not sure if we really trust Him.

  • Do we trust Him with our dreams? The deepest desires of our hearts? Do we still trust Him after disappointments?
  • Do we trust Him with our jobs? Our finances? Our future?
  • Do we trust Him with our family? Our marriages? And our kids?

trust2It is hard to fully trust Him. It took God delivering Israel from all threats of Egypt – not simply the removal of Israel from the land of Egypt – but the threat of Egypt. Pharaoh and his army were dead. They no longer could lord over them as slave masters. It was at this point that Israel trusted God as they had seen Him wipe away every last shred of the past.

Has God done that to us?

If so, what are the landmarks in your life that you can hang on to – proving that God loves you and has delivered you from the past? The Israelites celebrate the Passover as remembrance of God’s deliverance from Egypt – as remembrance of the trust they have in God.

Or, in other words, when was your Red Sea crossing? Or are you still waiting and worshiping?