The God of Dead End Streets
Exodus 11-15
James R. Davis

Have you ever been on a dead end street? I vividly remember getting on a particular dead end street. I was driving a Uhaul moving van towing a car. The dead end street had no culdesac. I had no place to turn around. I could not back up since I was towing a car.  I had dropped the driveshaft for towing. The only option I had was to unhook from the car. I then turned the car around by pushing it by hand.  I turned the truck around and then hooked back up to the car.

Have you ever been on a dead end street in life? The great war novelist, James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity, was interviewed. He was asked by a reporter, "How, in the middle of the horrors of war, do soldiers keep going? What enables them to fight on?"

Jones replied, "What you do is you decide that you are dead. Every soldier I knew in the horrors of war, just decides, 'I'm dead.' That enables you to live. You go ahead and die, so you can be surprised when, at the end of the battle, you're still alive.

Actually all of us are on a dead end street in life that will end at the grave. Right now, at this very moment all of us are as good as dead. When we move toward our dead end we become terrified.

Israel's Dead End Road

In Exodus 11:1-13:16 Moses recounts how Israel was led by God after the 10th plague, the plague of the firstborn. The leading of the Lord seems strange for he leads them in a direction that no one understands. He does not lead then by of the quickest route; he takes no short cuts.  He actually leads them to a dead end road.

Exodus 13:17-22
When Pharaoh let the people go God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place." After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

When God doesn't take the shortest route or the most direct approach in leading our lives, his way begins to look confusing. The way looks confusing to believers and unbelievers alike. "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. Pharaoh will think, 'The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.'"(Exodus 14:1-3)

The Lord routes them back into Egyptian territory. He brings them to the shores of the Red Sea, which is actually a dead end. The Egyptians saw the Israelites hemmed in by the desert, by the mountains, by the Philistines and by the shores of the Red Sea.

It is hard for the Egyptians to see the God of Israel because of the difficult circumstances surrounding God's people. They appear to be on a dead end street. Besetting circumstances have a way of blinding us to the reality of God's presence. Pharaoh looks at the circumstances and concludes that Israel's God is impotent under such circumstances.

So pharaoh decides to attack while his enemy is confused. It is amazing to me how Pharaoh was thinking. He had experienced the ten plagues brought to pass by God's almighty army. Each plague denounced the gods of Egypt as impotent. Pharaoh sees and experiences all the plagues. Yet, Pharaoh is like many of us who have a deep need to maintain control of our on life. It doesn't seem to matter how dead end the street we are on is.

So we create a fantasy world romanticize about the good ol' life before the dead end road. That seemingly makes living more comfortable. Today we immerse ourselves in fictional novels, pornography and romanticize about the way life ought to be.

Tony Campolo said in an interview with Servant magazine: "TV is for people who have no passion and need some vicarious form of experiencing it.  If it weren't for TV, most North Americans would go insane.  TV distracts us from the deadness of our souls and the emptiness of our lives." (Servant magazine, May/Jun 1994)

We do whatever is necessary to keep from facing what seems to be our inevitable demise or our besetting circumstances. If we are drawn to this long enough we will begin thinking that our fantasy world is the real thing. But we are still as good as dead.

Understanding the salvation God provides is not always easy. "As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 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!" (Exodus 14:10-12) There was certainly no cry, "Give me liberty or give me death."

God refused to take the Israelites through the land of the Philistines. He knew that if they faced battle they would retreat back to Egypt. They would take the easy way of escape back into their fantasy world. So God hems them in with the mountains on one side, the Philistines on the other side, the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh's army of horses and chariots in hot pursuit from behind. It is not that they have exhausted all their options. They are deliberately led into a corner where they are not given any options.

We Must Stand Still and See The Lord's Salvation

To the unskilled eye the Lord's leading has always seemed ponderous and aimless and even disastrous and outrageous. Why?

Satan can make every road God leads us down look like a dead end. We also see that God makes the roads look like dead end to throw our enemies off track. So as we look out we see nothing but chaos. Nothing makes any sense. If we move forward we are doomed for failure. Yet, when God is figured into the equation of life we begin to see, no matter how dire the circumstances, there are no dead ends.

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: [Emphasis mine] for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." (Exodus 14:13-14) With no way out they had no choice but stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

God tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (Psalms 46:10-11)

Have you ever wondered why you find yourself in circumstances beyond your control? It is in those times that God forces us to stand still and be quiet that enables us to see the salvation of the Lord. It was there on that dead end street that Israel realized that God fights their battles. "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long." (Exodus 14:19-22)

When John saw the church of Philadelphia in his vision, it was weak and insignificant. But John saw that God had placed before them an open door of opportunity that no one could shut. John reveals what the Lord said, "I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan . . .  come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you . . . I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth." (Revelation 2:7-13) God was doing the same thing to Pharaoh. Pharaoh was doomed to fall at Israel's feet.

When Paul was passing through Caesarea on his way to Jerusalem to preach the good news the prophet Agabus came to him. " . . . He took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done." (Acts 21:10 -14) Agabus prophesied by the Holy Spirit's directions. He revealed what Satan had in store for Paul. The people saw Paul's journey to Jerusalem as a dead end road. Paul saw it as an open road that would result in the furtherance of the gospel. (Philippians1: 12)

Dead End Roads Are A Signal to Move Forward

The Bible is a book about lives that are on dead end roads without God. Noah's Ark testifies to the dead end road of humanity without God. Abraham descendants were as good as dead until God raised Isaac from Sarah's dead womb. Joseph was on a dead end road until God used his life to pave the road to Egypt for Abraham's descendants. There they developed into a large population. Now they have come to a dead end road that runs into the Red Sea.

Exodus 14:15-22
And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. [Emphasis mine] "But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. "And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. "Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen . . . Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left."

I think that we like the story of the Exodus so well because no where is humanity's salvation more beautifully portrayed. No where is grace more eloquently spoken of and yet the word "grace" is never mentioned.

No where in the Bible do you find humanity in a more hopeless situation. The hand of God has led them to the brink of jumping into the Red Sea. They have no recourse; they are totally helpless to save themselves. They have done nothing in and of itself to merit anything from the hand of God. Here are people that don't know right from wrong. They are from the lowest strata of humanity. They have been at the mercy of a godless people for 430 years. They have no sense of direction. They have no law to guide them. They just arrived at a dead end street. All they know how to do is cry out, "Why is this happening to me?"

It was here that they had to face the fact that they were as good as dead. It is at this place that they are forced to be still and accept the salvation that only God can provide through his gracious intervention. It is here that they are forced to move forward into God's salvation.

Life without God is a dead end street. There is no hope of salvaging our lives without God. After the crossing of the Red Sea God leads Israel to the foothills of Mount Sinai. God gives them his law that was actually designed to show them and us the futility of human effort. Paul said that the law was given so that transgression might increase. Paul said, "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin." (Romans 3:19-20)

The law teaches that all human efforts lead to a dead-end road . . . that is the place to which you must come before you discover the salvation of God. You must come to that dead end road before you can become a Christian. You must realize the futility of life lived without God.

Someone said that you have to die to become a Christian! No, not really. You are already dead! We are dead in sin; wherever sin leads it is truly a dead end road. But it is a dead end without God. It is the same predicament in which Israel found herself. Like Israel we have no choice but to follow God through the water to salvation that only he can provide. Salvation is the same for everyone.

1 Corinthians 10:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Romans 6:3-7
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Israel Rejoicing In God's Salvation

Exodus 15:1-13
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; he is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom like a stone. "Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces. And in the greatness of Your excellence you have overthrown those who rose against You; you sent forth Your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. And with the blast of Your nostrils the waters were gathered together; the floods stood upright like a heap; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.' You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; you have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.

Conclusion:

Seeing isn't the same as believing. Understanding the guidance of God and seeing our way clear to obey his leading are two entirely different matters. God had taken the Hebrews by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. Have you ever taken a child by the hand to lead him through a dangerous parking lot? Have you ever had the child to pull against you not wanting to go in the direction you are leading? The Israelites are like that; they are having difficulty seeing their way clear to follow. The Israelites understand unequivocally that God is in front of them in a cloud to guide them by day and in a pillar of fire to give them light to travel by night. But they can see nothing but a dead end street. No one in their right mind would take a dead end street to get to their destination.

An executive said, "I loved my life as an executive, the big salary, the car, the power, the two afternoons a week of golf. At the office, they called it 'downsizing.' I knew it was death." Six years later he said, "But it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got a whole new life. It was different, it was painful, unwanted and unwished. But I would have never quit that job. I would have never risked that. Looking back it was for the best. I'm a better person today because of that trouble six years ago." Out of a dead end road came life.

It is only when you realize that you are as good as dead that you can move forward into living. Think about it, if you are on a dead end street, you have nothing to lose. You have already lost it all anyway. God just hasn't pried your fingers lose yet, but it is as good as gone. It is when you realize that you don't have anything to lose that you can freely step forward into the salvation that God has to offer.