Be Still and Move On!

When I was a little girl my slightly eccentric grandmother used to sing me a song with some crazy opposites in it. It went like this: ‘Twas midnight on the ocean, not a streetcar was in sight. The sun was shining brightly for it rained all day that night. A barefoot boy with shoes on stood sitting in the grass… come to think of it, the rest of it wasn’t really the kind of thing you repeat on a Bible Study website, but you get the idea.

This week’s passage gave me a similar feeling. Read it and see if you know the part I’m talking about. (Hint: it’s in the title of the lesson.)

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5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

13 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

15 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen." (Exodus 14:5-18)

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What’s The Story? God has just brought a million Hebrew slaves out of Egypt and into the wild desert to form for Himself a new nation and Moses is leading them toward the Promised Land by God’s instructions. Pharaoh is not happy about it and God allows him to chase after the Hebrews to bring Himself more glory and establish Himself as their God. In verse 14 Moses says, “be still” and in verse 15 God tells the Israelites to move on. Well, which is it? Does the Bible contradict itself? Was Moses not speaking for God here? Or do I just not understand the bigger perspective? I’ll put my money on option #3. Let’s see if we can get a handle on it.

It’s All About Context. When one part of Scripture is hard to understand it’s good to do two things: First, look at the verses before and after the confusing ones. Secondly, look at some other places in the Bible where that same word or concept is used to see if the combination of contexts unlocks some meaning. Strangely, this exact Hebrew phrase, “be still”, does not occur any other place in the Old Testament. There is a similar expression used in Psalm 46:10 that you may be familiar with. The English translation is the same, but the original Hebrew is different. I will give you the verses immediately preceding the one we’re looking at, as well.

“Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolation he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:8 - 10)

Both passages carry with them the connotation of submitting one’s will to a greater power. However, the Hebrew term in Psalm 46 means to hang limp, lose courage, or withdraw. There is a military connection here as the preceding verses in this psalm describe God’s power to make wars and conquer enemies. The very specific and unique term used in Exodus, on the other hand, means to become silent or deaf. To hold one’s tongue. In both places the message is clear: God is God and we are not.

Moses is telling the Hebrews to be quiet and watch for God’s movement because God has been speaking to him and he’s beginning to believe that great things are about to happen. But talking is sometimes noise that can get in the way of experiencing God’s activity. It was true for the Hebrews and it’s true for us. And just like there is a difference in a truly satisfying conversation with a friend and chit chat, there is a difference between genuinely voicing what’s in our hearts to God and simply complaining and making noise because life isn’t turning out the way we want it to.

We see examples of both kinds of communication here. Look at the kind of talking that’s going on in verse 10: They [the Hebrews] were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They were afraid and turned to God for help. Is that the kind of talking God likes to hear? I believe Scripture points to an affirmative response. He wants to be our refuge in times of trouble and He wants to hear our hurts and deepest emotions. Verse 10 is not noise; it is a genuine outpouring of emotion to the God who is their only hope of being saved.

Verses 11 and 12, however, are different. Look at the object and tone of these Hebrews’ communication: They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” First of all, these Hebrews are not crying out to God for help; they are crying out to Moses in anger. Big difference. Secondly, there’s not much in their appeal that calls for a response; they are just complaining. That’s why Moses’ response in verse 14 makes sense. He says, in essence, to the Hebrews who are truly afraid, “the LORD will fight for you”. Reassurance. To the Hebrews who are complaining about him, he tells them that if they would be quiet and look for God, they would see Him because He is their only chance out of the situation they’re in.

What about you? In your relationship with God, do you tend to go to Him first with your deepest emotions? Or do you tend to go to other people to voice your complaints? I feel the conviction immediately as I write these words that I am guilty too many times of the latter. Is it a lack of faith? Is it just easier? Am I too busy or too lazy to do the work of being still and silent before the God who made me and loves me madly? This week’s assignment may help us get to some of the root issues. If we dare. Here’s the challenge:

1. Choose a part of a day in the coming week to be still before God. Don’t talk; don’t read the Bible; don’t answer the phone. Be alone and purpose to silence yourself before God. If you hear Him speak to you, write it down or respond another way that seems appropriate to you. But you may also just want to enjoy the time in quiet. You may want to ask Him to speak to you about something specific, or let Him guide the time you spend together.

2. Spend time another day in quiet with God, but this time begin by acknowledging His power, His sovereignty, and His holiness. You may want to begin with a worship song or hymn to kick off your time. Or read some of the Psalms that extol God’s character. Be still in response to His greatness and ask Him to reveal Himself to you in a new way.

3. When you have completed both experiences, spend some time reflecting on them. What did you hear? How did it feel to connect with God in this way? How were the times different? How were they similar? How will you incorporate what you’ve experienced/learned into your future times with God? Explore and share with someone the various aspects of your experience.

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is as you take the challenge to spend time alone with God, listening to His voice in your deepest place – the place where only you and He can go together. I look forward to hearing about your experiences.