“Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.” (Ex 14:2-3 AV)
What may seem like a trap could be God’s way of dealing with your immediate enemy. Pharaoh had released Israel to leave Egypt. When they did, Pharaoh had an obvious change of heart. He lost his firstborn, and when the mourning was over, after Israel he went. The LORD could have instructed Israel to encamp anywhere. But the LORD chose a place where even the enemy knew they would be sitting ducks. It was because God had hemmed them in that motivated Pharaoh to attempt and destroy Israel. There they sat. The next verse tells us Israel cried out! They were a bit anxious. Moses, whom they bucked every inch of the way, now seemed to make a very unwise tactical move. He led them to a place of no escape. Being hemmed in actually worked in the favor of Israel. First, it enticed the enemy to attempt something and fail in the process. Being hemmed in would eventually lead to their miraculous deliverance. But what being hemmed in also accomplished is it changed the marginally committed into the fully committed. There was nowhere to go. They could not escape. They had no choice but to stay where God had put them and watch what God could do. What may feel like a trap may actually be a precursor to God’s great deliverance.
When the LORD does something like this, it can be very frightening. Knowing there is nothing we can do to actuate our own deliverance is a pretty helpless state in which to live. This is another part of my life that has too many examples from which to draw. It seemed as though the LORD put me in circumstances my whole life when I could do nothing but trust God in the process. What may have seemed like a hopeless situation became a way for the LORD to prove Himself to me. Not that I deserved that, but He did because He loved me. And He still does. And, He always will. One of those times was as an adolescent. My brothers and I were playing at the neighborhood park and one of my younger brothers said something he should not have said. A gang of other kids began to encircle us. We were on a merry-go-round and it looked as though there was no escape. A fight was soon to break out. That was, until my brothers began to spin it and I stuck out my broken arm with a rather large cast on it. It soon became evident to the gang encircling us that anyone who got too close might receive a broken jaw for their efforts. We learned that day that quick thinking and tenacity often prevail. But we would not have learned that had we not been thrust into a situation that seemed as though it may not turn out well.
We have stubborn enemies who do not give up easily. The devil, the world, and the flesh will do anything to destroy us. They will not quit. The heart is wicked and desires all that God hates. Things like envy, pride, or malice do not dissipate very easily. The old man wants to stick around as long as he can and he will make his presence known every chance he gets. These stubborn enemies must be dealt with in dramatic and absolute ways. It is like the diet I am on. I chose not to do a gimmicky diet. Rather, I chose to make permanent lifestyle changes. Gone is extra sugar and high-carb diets. It is not that I have sworn them off completely. I haven’t. I have simply chosen to cut way back and consume them only on a rare occasion. This is not easy at first. The flesh had to be told, ‘no’. The same is true of all three of our enemies. It is not easy. The LORD lays a trap for them and we might be the bait. Don’t panic. God had deliverance already planned. He is right around the corner. Let patience have her perfect work. What seems like a corner is actually a wide hallway hidden by a door.
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