Read Ellen G. White, “The Exodus,” pp. 281–290, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
God was for the Israelites despite their little faith. He wished to teach and guide them in how to think and behave as His chosen people. God led them patiently and directed them to a location where they would encounter fewer challenges. Ellen G. White explains: “The Israelites . . . had little knowledge of God and little faith in Him, and they would have become terrified and disheartened. They were unarmed and unaccustomed to war, their spirits were depressed by long bondage, and they were encumbered with women and children, flocks and herds. In leading them by the way of the Red Sea, the Lord revealed Himself as a God of compassion as well as of judgment.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 282.
Talking about the Song of Moses, the Andrews Bible Commentary says: “The certainty of this redemptive act of God in history assures us that we have nothing to fear for the future. The last stanza focuses on future enemies who would be faced in conquest of Canaan. Because of God’s powerful ‘arm,’ they would be ‘as still as a stone’ (v. 16). When we face certain impossibilities, when we feel cornered and do not know which way to turn, we can find assurance in ‘The Song of Moses,’ for it commemorates a great event in the history of God’s people.”—Andrews Bible Commentary, “Exodus” (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 214.
Discussion Questions:
Why do we find ourselves so often in the position of the Hebrews after their incredible deliverance from Egypt but before the challenge of the Red Sea? That is, in the face of so much evidence for God’s goodness toward us and of His power, why do we still find it so easy to show, and even express, a lack of faith?
Even after all that had happened, including the loss of the firstborn sons, why would Pharaoh still pursue Israel? What should this tell us about how dangerous it is for any of us to get hardened by sin (or to sin)?
Though we all face terrible trials at times, many of us have had (and still have) some very good days, some very good times, when nothing bad happens to us or to our loved ones. Why should we see these times as evidence of God’s grace and protection because, after all, we understand that we live in “enemy” territory? That is, why should we always remember to praise God in the good times, because we never know what calamities we have been spared from?
Supplemental EGW Notes
“Go Forward,” in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 20–27.
“In the End God’s Enemies Will Perish,” Christ Triumphant, April 9, p. 106.\
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.