Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet

A Hard Truth But Still Truth - Part 2 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2016-01-12

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver continues his exposition of Exodus 14, emphasizing the hard biblical truths of election and reprobation. He explains that God sovereignly placed Israel in a predicament to display His salvation and destroy His enemies. The sermon highlights that God will be glorified both in the salvation of His people and in the condemnation of the wicked. Applications include trusting God's providence, recognizing that all will know God either in mercy or judgment, and resting in the fact that salvation is entirely of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Our Bibles if we would please to Exodus chapter 14 and I Certainly did not in it intend for it to be so long Since I got back to finish the message that I started so I'm going to give a rather lengthy and introduction and reminder and and kind of go over the first message again just kind of to Tie things together just so when I finish today, you'll have everything in mind The title of the message is a hard truth, but still truth So let's begin reading in Exodus chapter 14 and we'll read down a number of ways We'll end up covering the entire chapter but let's begin by reading with verse 1 and And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hi-iroth, between Migdal and the sea, over against Baal-zephon. Before it you shall encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh will save the children of Israel, they are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

[John Weaver] And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them. And I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all of his host, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord." And they did so. It was told the king of Egypt that the people fled and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people and they said, why have we done this that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he pursued after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with a high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them in camping by the sea.

[John Weaver] beside Pi-hi or Hi-roth before Baal-zaphon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold the Egyptians marched after them, and they were so afraid. And the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD, and they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more. The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore, Christ, thou unto me, speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward.

[John Weaver] But lift thou up the rod, and stretch out thine 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, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. And I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God which went before the camp of Israel removed and went behind them. And the pillar of the cloud went before their face and stood behind them. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was a cloud and darkness to them, that is to the Egyptians, and gave light to these, the Israelites, so that the one came not near the other all the night."

[John Weaver] We'll stop there, but you remember I began my introduction a few weeks back by saying that there are many hard truths in the Bible. They're not only hard and difficult, because of our ignorance and our lack of discernment, but also because their flesh withering. And I pointed out how that really and truly no one that is unconverted can understand any of God's truth. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, but the natural man, that is the unsaved man, receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them. And God goes on and tells us why. Because he says there are foolishness unto him, because they are spiritually discerned. So the unsaved man does not have the spiritual discernment or the spiritual ability to understand the Word of God. So I've had people all down through the years tell me and say to me, well, I find it very difficult to understand the Bible or I can't understand the Bible. And my response is usually, well, One of two things, either you're not studying and seeking God for enlightenment, or number two, you're just lost.

[John Weaver] Because if a man just absolutely cannot understand anything in the Bible, there's really something very dreadfully wrong, that is for sure. But see, fallen man is so arrogant. so proud. He believes that this world is anthropocentric, that is that God created the world to revolve around man, and that man is the center of everything. When the world of course is theocentric everything revolves around God. And fallen man likes to think that God was made for him, not that fallen man was made for God.

[John Weaver] And I pointed out in my introduction how the Apostle Peter He even spoke of the writings of the Apostle Paul and how hard and difficult were some of those things to be understood. Let me quote again. 2 Peter 3 verses 14 through 16. Peter wrote, Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. an account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given, and him hath written unto you, as also in all of his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned

[John Weaver] and unstable rest, as they do also the other scriptures to their own destruction." So even Peter is saying, boy Paul wrote some mighty weighty things and the unlearned and the unstable always rest them. And you remember I dealt with the fact that there are many hard truths in the Bible. But you remember in John chapter 6 our Lord was teaching and talking about that He Himself was the bread of life. And those people said to Him, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? And the next verse says, Therefore many of the disciples went back and walked with him no more It was just very difficult and they could not take it So we have to understand that there are indeed some very hard and some difficult Truths in the Bible now Exodus chapter 14. You remember I told you dealt with what we would call election and reprobation Election would be where God chose Israel. Reprobation would be where God bypassed the Egyptians, allowed them to sin, and then judged them for their sin and their rebellion against Him.

[John Weaver] The Westminster Confession, after it talks about election, says this, rest of mankind God was pleased according to His inscrutable counsel of His own will whereby He extendeth or withholdeth mercy as He pleaseth for the glory of His sovereign power over its creatures to pass by and to ordain some to dishonor and wrath for their sin to the praise of His glorious justice." And so you have this passage in Exodus chapter 14, some that will praise God's salvation and some that will praise God's condemnation to the praise and glory of His justice.

[John Weaver] Now, let me very quickly tell you what I covered in the first message. I gave you three points. The first one was a divine plan. If you will look in the very first three verses, God tells Moses to camp at a certain place and the reason being he says in verse 3 for Pharaoh will save the children of Israel They are entangled in the land and the wilderness will shut them in so Pharaoh is going to think children of Israel are entangled, they are dumb, they are stupid, they know nothing about geography, they are certainly not military minded. And so now they have entangled themselves and they are going to be an easy target and an easy prey. And God is going to make sure that as He baits the hook for Pharaoh that Pharaoh is going to follow and take that hook as well. You have to also remember this, if you would, in verse 17, God said, And behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. And I will give me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, and on his chariots, upon all of his horses.

[John Weaver] So what has happened now, Moses has encamped and you've got the sea in front of them. You've got the Egyptian fortresses on one side and the mountains and the wilderness on the other side. And of course Pharaoh and his army are coming up on them fast and furious. So here is the divine plan. What is the divine prerogative? I covered that. He said in verse 4, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart.

[John Weaver] that he shall follow after them. And I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all of his hosts, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord." And they did so. Now notice if you would please that Pharaoh has been absolutely convinced that Moses and Israel knows nothing about the land. In order to make sure that Pharaoh takes the bait, God said, I'm going to harden his heart. Now, I know and you know that as you read through the book of Exodus, you will find that many times the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. But, when you get to Exodus chapter 7 and verse 3, before Moses ever confronts Pharaoh, God says and I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt now interestingly the word harden just simply means to strengthen to make strong and Resolute and to make more courageous. So how did God harden Pharaoh's heart and the answer is very simple. I God just allowed him to think that he could beat God, that he could work everything out and that he could overcome every obstacle that he would be a God unto himself.

[John Weaver] That's it. Just pride and arrogance and pure stupidity. Quoted also Romans 9 in verse 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardness so obviously God does indeed have the prerogative he hardens and he softens as well so we have the divine plan the divine prerogative and thirdly I covered a divine predicament and That is, the Israelites were in camp now and they were in this particular situation that they basically could not get out of. And I pointed out also, usually our predicaments that we get ourselves into Actually usually for my own stupidity for my own sin on rebellion and we think boy I wish I hadn't done this and I put look what I've done and look what I've gotten myself into but we have to understand that sometimes God Sovereignly allows us to get into predicaments not necessarily because of our own sin and not necessarily because of our own stupidity but in order to teach us certain lessons and And certainly he not only taught the Israelites, he also taught the Egyptians as well.

[John Weaver] But the lessons learned by each group were entirely different as well. So what God has done now is simply this. God has put Israel in the situation where the sea is in front of them. The Egyptians' fortress is on one side, wilderness on the other side, and Pharaoh is coming up. Stop and think about this. They didn't have a boat. They didn't have time to make a boat. They had no weapons.

[John Weaver] They were not trained militarily. They knew nothing about what to do. And they are now in a predicament and situation that if they ever get out of it, it will have to be by a miracle. and the grace of God. It's just that simple. By a miracle and by the grace of God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want to pick up from there today. When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them, we have to confess them, we have to acknowledge them, and we have to say, They're there. I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Years ago, I was listening to the radio and I was listening to Lester Roloff in his family altar program. I don't know how many of you ever knew Lester Roloff, but I knew him personally. I was in meetings with him. I love to hear him preach. I love to hear him sing. could not sing particularly. And often times when he is preaching right in the middle of his sermon he would just break out singing. And the fact is the power and the hand of God was upon him so greatly that usually I would sit there often times and just weep as he sang. I mean just I loved to hear him.

[John Weaver] And I counted him as a friend. I counted him as a brother. And I He was just a very unique individual. But as I was listening to him on the family altar program, he began reading from Ephesians chapter 1. And I hope you understand what is in Ephesians chapter 1, covering the doctrine of election and predestination. Well, I knew that Roloff was no theologian. He was a very practical man, but he was certainly not a theologian. And I could not wait to find out what this man was going to do with this passage from the Bible. And so he read the first 14 verses, and when he got through reading them, he said this, I do not understand this doctrine. I cannot explain this doctrine.

[John Weaver] However, it is in the scripture, and I bow to it. God will give me light when I need it. And I thought to myself, What a wonderful attitude. And that is exactly what our attitude should be toward anything that we do not understand at that particular time. We must just simply bow to it in the present and wait for God to give us light. You remember the Bible says in Mark 4 in verse 33, and with many such parables spake he unto them, listen carefully, as they were able to hear it. So our Lord only teaches us as we are able to hear it. And we have to understand that there are times that we are not able to hear certain truths.

[John Weaver] We can hear them and we say, I don't believe that, or I don't think that's accurate. And six months later we think, wow, there it is. And we see it and we understand it. Well, the truth is as you look at Exodus 14 understand that God chose Israel and He rejected the Egyptians. We understand that God is absolutely sovereign. I'm going to pick up today with the fourth point, a divine providence. I want you to understand God has sovereignly brought Israel into this predicament. There is no escape.

[John Weaver] They can't get out of it. There's nothing that they can do, not one thing. And the Bible says in Romans 8 and verse 28, you can quote as well as I, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. And God's providence is going to always work things out which is best for us, for our good, and for His glory.

[John Weaver] Sometimes we wonder why we're being persecuted, hated, despised, chased, and hounded. Certainly, the Egyptians wondered that. Why did we ever leave Egypt? Moses, didn't we tell you this? Just let us alone. Let us serve them. It's better to serve them than to die in this wilderness. We wonder what in the world is coming to pass. And if you'll look in verse 13, Exodus 14 verse 13 look what Moses said and Moses said in the people fear ye not Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord Which he will show you today for the Egyptians whom you have seen today. You shall see them again no more Forever now, I want to point out a couple things just in passing notice verse 13 He says fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord First of all only God's people see his salvation Stop and think about that only God's people see his salvation Here's the second truth look at it in verse 13 fear ye not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord and which He will show to you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever."

[John Weaver] In other words, God's salvation also includes the destruction of His enemies. So what God was doing in this divine predicament, He was actually setting a trap and setting up His enemies for destruction. I want you to hold Exodus 14, but look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 1 and verse 28. Philippians chapter 1 and look in verse 28 Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians look in Philippians 1 and verse 28 Notice he says this, in nothing terrified by your adversaries. First of all, we have adversaries.

[John Weaver] And it doesn't matter how vocal they are, it doesn't matter how strong, it doesn't matter how powerful. Our Lord says that we are to be in nothing terrified by our adversaries. Note what else he says, which is to them an evident token of perdition. to you of salvation and that of God." Now just like our salvation is of God so their perdition, or their destruction, or their condemnation is of God as well. So when God says, when our enemies are terrifying us, or trying to terrify us, it is a token of their perdition. They are attacking and assaulting the people of God. It is a token.

[John Weaver] You remember especially those from the north, Used to, when you'd ride a bus, you didn't use money. You used tokens. And you had to put that token in, in order to get that ride. token represented the money that you had bought. God says when they attack My people that is a token, it is an evident token of their prediction that they are on their way to destruction.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 14 because you know the story I don't have to go over this in detail. But what God did was He washed away all of His enemies in one stroke. Israel Never saw Pharaoh and his host again except to see them dead now Here's my question If God is going to destroy His enemies How can we be absolutely sure that those enemies are going to be destroyed and by the way God's enemies are our enemies Notice if you would here's the answer in verse 14.

[John Weaver] He says the Lord shall fight for you and You shall hold your face You the Lord shall fight for you and you shall hold your peace I've always liked to paraphrase verse 14 with good South Georgia language. Here's what God says Shut up and watch God Just shut up and watch God By the way when God fights I wins. And when God fights His enemies lose. And when God fights the outcome is absolutely certain and sure. So, he says to Israel, just shut up, be quiet, be still, and watch God in His providence take care of this problem.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to understand something, two things are going to happen. He is going to deliver His people, and he's going to destroy his enemies. Okay?

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to see our responsibility, your responsibility, in light of the providence of God. Look what he says in verses 15 and 16.

[John Weaver] Now, the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore cryest thou unto me? speaking to the children of Israel that they go forward. But lift thou up by rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea." Now here is an interesting thing, it doesn't matter whether you are an individual like Moses who was a leader, who was actually a prophet and a king, and Yeshua in the Bible says.

[John Weaver] Or just simply one of the multitudinous numbers of God's people. It doesn't matter whether you are the leader or whether you are just an individual. Your responsibility is to be obedient, unquestionably obedient.

[John Weaver] Now look what God said, verse 15, And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore cryest thou unto me? What are you crying about Moses? Why do you keep asking? I've already told you I'm going to do this. You speak unto the children of Israel. They go forward. Moses, you hold up your rod. You divide the sea. Israel, you march. You move. You go at my command. So what God is telling us, regardless of our position in life, the answer is that we have to be unquestionably obedient. In the book of Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 3, let me just quote it, the Bible said, seek ye the Lord all ye meek of the earth which have wrought His judgment.

[John Weaver] Seek righteousness, seek meekness, it may be that you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. So God says in His divine providence our responsibility is to move, to do as He commands. The fifth thing I want to share with you today is this there must be a divine praise a divine praise We're going to be looking at this In a number of passages, but look if you would please beginning there in verse 17 God said and I behold I will harden the hearts of

[John Weaver] the Egyptians and they shall follow them and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh and upon all his host upon his chariots upon his horsemen and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I've gotten me honor upon Pharaoh upon his chariots upon his horsemen and the angel of God Which went before the camp of Israel? Removed and went behind them and the pillar of the cloud went be from before their face and stood behind them and and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. There was a cloud and darkness to them, to the Egyptians, but He gave light by night to these, to Israel, so that the one came not near the other all the night.

[John Weaver] And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground. And the waters were a wall unto them on the right hand and on the left. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen."

[John Weaver] Now here is what I want you to understand that is going to be pointed out very clearly in this chapter. There is going to be praise in salvation. but there's also going to be praise and condemnation. So it doesn't matter in one sense of the word whether here a group happens to be the enemies of God and God destroys them in His righteous judgment or here's a group God gives them grace and they repent and turn to him and in his mercy he saves them one group is going to praise his justice and his righteousness and his holiness and the other group is going to praise his grace his mercy and his love now Let me point something else out look if you would in verse 19 and the angel of God which went before the camp of Israel removed and went behind them and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them. And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. There was a cloud and darkness under them, to the Egyptians, but it gave light by night to Israel.

[John Weaver] And the one came not near the other all night." Now I want you to understand something here is an interesting and yet at the same time absolutely marvelous truth to me. And that is simply this, God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But God's truth, and God's Word, and God's will, and God's way will always be darkness to His enemies. That which gives light to one group gives darkness to the other group. In fact the interesting thing is the Bible speaks of those who do not know Jesus Christ as walking in what? Darkness. They walk in darkness. Truth often times is indeed difficult to understand. But the truth that God is giving us here is this, that God is going to be glorified not just in salvation but also in condemnation as well.

[John Weaver] So, those who are condemned, like the Egyptians, are going to praise His righteousness, His justice, and His holiness. Those who are delivered, like the Israelites, will praise His grace, and His mercy, and His love.

[John Weaver] Now, let me try to illustrate this, and then I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. If you have ever gone fishing and stopped at a bait store and bought some worms, usually what they do in South Georgia, you say, well, I want a box of those night crawlers or a box of those red wigglers. They will take that cup or box. They'll open it. pour them out in front of you here all these worms are just seething together and and wiggling every which way and then they'll pick them up and do like this and just kind of show you yeah they're alive and they're doing well and once they drop them they all go right back together

[John Weaver] so if you can just kind of envision in your own mind that here fallen man is nothing but a mass of sin wickedness and rebellion Here is a holy righteous God and he looks down on this seething mass of wicked humanity and the love of God comes up and says Save them all And then the justice of God comes up and looks down and says damn them all and And then the wisdom of God comes up and says, divide the lump. Let some praise your justice and let some praise your grace. And you know, that's exactly what God did. Let me show you.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Romans chapter nine. Hold Exodus 14, but go to Romans chapter nine. And let's begin reading there with verse 10, Romans nine. 10. Romans 9, verse 10. The Scripture says, and not only this but when Rebekah also had conceived by one, even by her father Isaac, for the children, now watch carefully, for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.

[John Weaver] It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

[John Weaver] Now let's just stop there just for a moment. Look what he says about Jacob and Esau in verse 11. The children being not yet born. They weren't born. They had not committed any acts of good or any acts of evil. He says that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him that calleth. So before Jacob and Esau were born God chose Jacob and God rejected Esau. Jacob and Esau had absolutely nothing to do with it. Their lives had nothing to do with it. It was the will God now watch carefully Watch the argument look in verse 14.

[John Weaver] What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Was God unrighteous to choose Jacob and not Esau? Look at the next phrase God forbid the word God forbid literally means perish the thought of Don't even let it enter into your mind. Don't even begin to think such a stupid thing No, let me ask you a question To whom does God owe salvation? Not one individual the very fact that God saves any is his grace and his mercy and So Paul says don't come here trying to tell me there's unrighteousness with God. I know better than that Watch how he explains in verse 15 for he that is God said to Moses. I Will have mercy on whom I will have mercy And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion God is not obligated to have mercy upon anyone He's not obligated to have compassion upon anyone now watch he does and I'm thankful that he does and So then, here's the conclusion on that, so then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

[John Weaver] So, if God happens to have compassion upon you, and mercy upon you, and you're saved, it's not because you used your will to achieve salvation. It's not because you used your will better than someone else. It's not because you ran well, or worked well, or merited it. No, no. He says it is because God showed mercy to you. It is all of God. It is not of man. Now watch. Verse 16 again,"'So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.'"

[John Weaver] Here's the illustration,"'For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.'" In what way is God going to show His power in Pharaoh? His power to judge. His power to condemn. His power to destroy, because Pharaoh is an enemy of God. Watch verse 18. Here's the conclusion.

[John Weaver] Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Wow. Verse 19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault for who has resisted his will? Here it is. Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God? You don't have any reason to talk. You don't have any reason to try to rebut God. Watch the argument. Shall the thing formed, say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me? Here it is.

[John Weaver] Have not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel into honor and another into dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath, And to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had aforeprepared unto glory." So, what God says is, look, I'm the potter. I can make one vessel to honor, one vessel to dishonor out of the same lump. I'm God.

[John Weaver] I can do as I please. And notice if you would, the question is asked, what if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? I want you to note, it's interesting that most of these men and women who were so resolute against God, and so hated God and hated God's people, and were the great enemies of God, Usually most of them had positions of power money He endured with much long-suffering He gave them what they wanted Is there anything wrong with God giving someone what they want and the answer is no They won't sin they won't rebellion they won't wickedness so God says you can have it it's just that simple now I Told you There's a divine praise even in condemnation.

[John Weaver] I want you to go back to the book of Exodus chapter 14 I Want you to look at this In Exodus chapter 14 We're going to read this beginning with verse 27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared. And the Egyptians fled against it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the hosts of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them.

[John Weaver] There remained not so much as one of them." So now we are talking about the complete destruction of Pharaoh and his armies. That's all chapter 14 is about, that and the deliverance of Israel. But I want you to look at chapter 15. Because chapter 15 is all about the praise and worship of God in this marvelous act. Now I want you to listen to me. When God delivers His people, He always destroys His enemies.

[John Weaver] So watch verse 1 of Exodus 15. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord in spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare Him a habitation. My Father is God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his hosts have He cast in the sea. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.

[John Weaver] The depths have covered them. They sank unto the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou hast overthrown them that rose up against Thee. Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble, and with a blast of Thy nostrils The waters were gathered together, the flood stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil.

[John Weaver] My lust shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, and the sea covered them. They sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is likened to thee, O Lord, among the gods? And who is likened to thee, glorious in holiness? fearful in praises, doing wondrous. Thou stretchest out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou and thy mercy hath led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength into thy holy habitation. The people shall hear and be afraid.

[John Weaver] Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestinia." Notice if you would, all of this is about praising God for His great deliverance, which included the destruction of His enemies. So here is the truth, God will be glorified, and God will be praised not only in the deliverance of His people, but in the destruction of His enemies.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make some applications and try to tie all of this together for you. Listen to this first one, All men were made for the honor of their Maker, and those whom He is not honored by, He will get honor upon. Those whom He is not honored by, He will get honor upon them. What did He say about Pharaoh? I will get me honor. upon Pharaoh and his armies.

[John Weaver] I want you to turn to two passages, Revelation 19 and then Proverbs 16. You know the passage in Revelation chapter 19. You may not be aware of the one in Proverbs 16, but look in Revelation 19 and verse 1. Look if you would at the praise and the worship at the destruction of the Lord's enemies. And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying, Hallelujah, salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God.

[John Weaver] For true and righteous are his judgments. For he had judged the great whore who did corrupt the earth and her fornication and had avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Hallelujah, and her smoke rose up forever and ever." Then if you'll go back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs 16. Look at verse 4. A very interesting verse and you might ought to meditate upon it some tonight. Proverbs 16 verse 4. Look what the Bible says.

[John Weaver] The Lord hath made all things for himself, yea even the wicked for the day of evil. Wow. So there are going to be some that's going to praise the honor of his wrath and his justice. As well as some praising his grace and mercy. Here's the second application. Israel was trapped. The sea in front of them, the wilderness and the fortresses on either side of them. Pharaoh was behind them.

[John Weaver] It looked as if they were about to be wiped out. Now, if you will try to take that situation and compare it with history, even compare it with what is going on today, where you have the rise of any and everything that is anti-God and anti-Christ, anti-Bible and anti-Christian, whether it's the religion of political correctness, Whether it's Islam, it doesn't matter what it is. You look and see today how Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ is so cornered, it looks as if we're about to be wiped out.

[John Weaver] The point I'm trying to make is this. Oftentimes when it looks as if God's people are about to be overthrown and wiped out, God turns the tables and it's the enemies of God and the enemies of God's people that are destroyed and wiped out. Just like God set up Pharaoh, He sets up His enemies and they will fall like ripened plums into His hands. So just because things look desperate and it looks as if church is going to be destroyed, you just remember the words of our Lord, the gates of hell shall not prevail.

[John Weaver] And they will not, because He is our foundation. Now, go back to Exodus chapter 14, because here is the third application. Notice if you would please, think about this, all men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know him. Look in Exodus chapter 14 in verse. Oh, let's see. Let's let's go to verse four. He said, I will harden Pharaoh's heart that he shall fall after them, and I will be honored upon Pharaoh and upon all his hosts that the Egyptians may know. They may know that I am the Lord and they did so. Wow. God said they're going to know that I'm God.

[John Weaver] You can read this phrase in the book of Ezekiel. I think it occurs about 70 times. And usually most of the time it is in the context of judgment when God said, and they shall know that I am the Lord. So God is going to make sure even His enemies knows that He is God. This is kind of parallel and almost like the passage in Philippians chapter 2 beginning there verse 9 talking about Jesus Christ when it says, Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, things in heaven, things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So, once for sure every man will confess and acknowledge the one true and the living God and that Jesus Christ is Lord and they should have loved him and should have served him may be too late but even in their condemnation even in their destruction they will acknowledge that God is God and

[John Weaver] Jesus Christ alone is salvation so all men will know God They will know him either in salvation or condemnation Let me show you another awesome application to me I Don't know about you, but to me this is kind of a horrifying An awesome fact and truth is that the enemies of God will know and discover in their condemnation and in their destruction a that God Himself is fighting against them. You just have to imagine this. Here are men that have fought all of their lives against God and His truth and His people and they think they've been somewhat successful until all of a sudden God begins to bring destruction upon them and they realize that God is fighting against them.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Exodus 14 and verse 25. Watch. In fact let's read verse 24, And it came to pass that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drove them heavily. So the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel. For the LORD fought for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea and the waters that the waters may come upon them, upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.

[John Weaver] Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts and in their minds when all of a sudden they realize, hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed. And not one of them escaped. Not one. It's kind of like They tell about Voltaire, the noted French infidel, who was dying, and he invited friends to come around and watch how an infidel died. And the record says that he laid back and closed his eyes, seemingly peacefully dying. And then all of a sudden, He sat straight up in the bed with a look of horror on his face and screamed, there is a God and fell back to it. Yeah, it has to be a horrifying experience to know that God is fighting against you. One last application. Here it is.

[John Weaver] I want you to understand this equally true. is the fact that those who are saved will know and discover that their salvation is totally of God Himself. If you'll go back, first of all, to Exodus chapter 14, verses 13 and 14, and Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

[John Weaver] So he said, here it is. God's going to take care of this.

[John Weaver] Now skip down to verse 30. Look what the Bible says. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. Who is it that saved them? The Lord saved them. You know, let me tell you. We may confess and acknowledge now, like Jonah, salvation is of the Lord. And we may say, I know I cannot save myself. I know that I cannot help save myself. I know that salvation is of the Lord. But guess what? When we get in the presence of God only by His grace and mercy, we will know powerfully that it was God and God alone who saved us. And just like the horror and the terror melted the hearts of his enemies when they realized that God was fighting against them, think of the grace and love and mercy that will melt your heart when you see that it's God and God alone that has saved you. May be a hard truth, but it's still truth. God will be honored in salvation and in condemnation.

[John Weaver] There is an election. There is a reprobation. Hard truth, but it's still truth. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. It may be flesh withering, Lord, And men by nature may not like it, but it's still truth. And we bow to Thee. We acknowledge it. We confess it. We believe it. We bow to it and ask You to give us light and understanding that we may rejoice in Thee and glorify Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. ♪ ♪ ♪ you

A Hard Truth But Still Truth - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	W5Bu4kyJu3o
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet
Genre	Sermon
Date	2016-01-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 105: A Hard Truth But Still Truth — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	70

Formatted Transcript

Opening

Our Bibles, if we would please, to Exodus chapter 14. And I certainly did not intend for it to be so long since I got back to finish the message that I started. So I'm going to give a rather lengthy introduction and reminder and kind of go over the first message again, just kind of to tie things together, just so when I finish today, you'll have everything in mind. The title of the message is "A Hard Truth, But Still Truth." So let's begin reading in Exodus chapter 14, and we'll read down a number of ways. We'll end up covering the entire chapter, but let's begin by reading with verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:1-4

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: 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."

"And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea.

beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.

But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine 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, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

We'll stop there, but you remember I began my introduction a few weeks back by saying that there are many hard truths in the Bible. They're not only hard and difficult because of our ignorance and our lack of discernment, but also because they're flesh-withering. And I pointed out how that really and truly no one that is unconverted can understand any of God's truth. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." So the unsaved man does not have the spiritual discernment or the spiritual ability to understand the Word of God. So I've had people all down through the years tell me and say to me, "Well, I find it very difficult to understand the Bible," or "I can't understand the Bible." And my response is usually, well, one of two things: either you're not studying and seeking God for enlightenment, or number two, you're just lost.

Because if a man just absolutely cannot understand anything in the Bible, there's really something very dreadfully wrong, that is for sure. But see, fallen man is so arrogant, so proud. He believes that this world is anthropocentric, that is, that God created the world to revolve around man, and that man is the center of everything. When the world, of course, is theocentric—everything revolves around God. And fallen man likes to think that God was made for him, not that fallen man was made for God. And I pointed out in my introduction how the Apostle Peter, he even spoke of the writings of the Apostle Paul and how hard and difficult were some of those things to be understood. Let me quote again. 2 Peter 3 verses 14 through 16. Peter wrote, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned

and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." So even Peter is saying, boy, Paul wrote some mighty weighty things, and the unlearned and the unstable always wrest them. And you remember I dealt with the fact that there are many hard truths in the Bible. But you remember in John chapter 6, our Lord was teaching and talking about that He Himself was the bread of life. And those people said to Him, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" And the next verse says, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." It was just very difficult, and they could not take it. So we have to understand that there are indeed some very hard and some difficult truths in the Bible. Now Exodus chapter 14, you remember I told you, dealt with what we would call election and reprobation. Election would be where God chose Israel. Reprobation would be where God bypassed the Egyptians, allowed them to sin, and then judged them for their sin and their rebellion against Him.

The Westminster Confession, after it talks about election, says this: "The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice." And so you have this passage in Exodus chapter 14, some that will praise God's salvation and some that will praise God's condemnation, to the praise and glory of His justice.

Review of Part 1: Divine Plan, Prerogative, and Predicament

Weaver recaps the first three points from the previous message: God's divine plan to bait Pharaoh, His divine prerogative to harden hearts, and the divine predicament Israel faced with no human escape.

Now, let me very quickly tell you what I covered in the first message. I gave you three points. The first one was a divine plan. If you will look in the very first three verses, God tells Moses to camp at a certain place, and the reason being, He says in verse 3, "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in." So Pharaoh is going to think the children of Israel are entangled, they are dumb, they are stupid, they know nothing about geography, they are certainly not military minded. And so now they have entangled themselves, and they are going to be an easy target and an easy prey. And God is going to make sure that as He baits the hook for Pharaoh, that Pharaoh is going to follow and take that hook as well. You have to also remember this, if you would, in verse 17, God said, "And, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen."

So what has happened now, Moses has encamped and you've got the sea in front of them. You've got the Egyptian fortresses on one side and the mountains and the wilderness on the other side. And of course Pharaoh and his army are coming up on them fast and furious. So here is the divine plan. What is the divine prerogative? I covered that. He said in verse 4, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,

that he shall follow after them: and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so. Now notice if you would please that Pharaoh has been absolutely convinced that Moses and Israel know nothing about the land. In order to make sure that Pharaoh takes the bait, God said, "I'm going to harden his heart." Now, I know and you know that as you read through the book of Exodus, you will find that many times the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. But, when you get to Exodus chapter 7 and verse 3, before Moses ever confronts Pharaoh, God says, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt." Now interestingly, the word "harden" just simply means to strengthen, to make strong and resolute, and to make more courageous. So how did God harden Pharaoh's heart? And the answer is very simple. God just allowed him to think that he could beat God, that he could work everything out, and that he could overcome every obstacle, that he would be a god unto himself.

That's it. Just pride and arrogance and pure stupidity. I quoted also Romans 9 in verse 18: "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." So obviously God does indeed have the prerogative; He hardens and He softens as well. So we have the divine plan, the divine prerogative, and thirdly I covered a divine predicament. And that is, the Israelites were encamped now and they were in this particular situation that they basically could not get out of. And I pointed out also, usually our predicaments that we get ourselves into are actually usually from my own stupidity, from my own sin and rebellion, and we think, "Boy, I wish I hadn't done this," and "Look what I've done and look what I've gotten myself into." But we have to understand that sometimes God sovereignly allows us to get into predicaments, not necessarily because of our own sin and not necessarily because of our own stupidity, but in order to teach us certain lessons. And certainly He not only taught the Israelites, He also taught the Egyptians as well.

But the lessons learned by each group were entirely different as well. So what God has done now is simply this. God has put Israel in the situation where the sea is in front of them, the Egyptians' fortress is on one side, wilderness on the other side, and Pharaoh is coming up. Stop and think about this. They didn't have a boat. They didn't have time to make a boat. They had no weapons.

They were not trained militarily. They knew nothing about what to do. And they are now in a predicament and situation that if they ever get out of it, it will have to be by a miracle and the grace of God. It's just that simple. By a miracle and by the grace of God.

Now, I want to pick up from there today. When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them, we have to confess them, we have to acknowledge them, and we have to say, "They're there. I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God."

Attitude Toward Hard Truths

Believers should humbly bow to difficult doctrines they do not fully understand, trusting God to give light in His time, as exemplified by Lester Roloff's response to Ephesians 1.

Years ago, I was listening to the radio and I was listening to Lester Roloff in his Family Altar program. I don't know how many of you ever knew Lester Roloff, but I knew him personally. I was in meetings with him. I love to hear him preach. I love to hear him sing. He could not sing particularly. And oftentimes when he is preaching, right in the middle of his sermon he would just break out singing. And the fact is the power and the hand of God was upon him so greatly that usually I would sit there oftentimes and just weep as he sang. I mean, just I loved to hear him.

And I counted him as a friend. I counted him as a brother. And he was just a very unique individual. But as I was listening to him on the Family Altar program, he began reading from Ephesians chapter 1. And I hope you understand what is in Ephesians chapter 1, covering the doctrine of election and predestination. Well, I knew that Roloff was no theologian. He was a very practical man, but he was certainly not a theologian. And I could not wait to find out what this man was going to do with this passage from the Bible. And so he read the first 14 verses, and when he got through reading them, he said this: "I do not understand this doctrine. I cannot explain this doctrine.

However, it is in the Scripture, and I bow to it. God will give me light when I need it." And I thought to myself, "What a wonderful attitude." And that is exactly what our attitude should be toward anything that we do not understand at that particular time. We must just simply bow to it in the present and wait for God to give us light. You remember the Bible says in Mark 4 in verse 33, "And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it." So our Lord only teaches us as we are able to hear it. And we have to understand that there are times that we are not able to hear certain truths. We can hear them and we say, "I don't believe that," or "I don't think that's accurate." And six months later we think, "Wow, there it is." And we see it and we understand it. Well, the truth is, as you look at Exodus 14, understand that God chose Israel and He rejected the Egyptians. We understand that God is absolutely sovereign. I'm going to pick up today with the fourth point, a divine providence. I want you to understand God has sovereignly brought Israel into this predicament. There is no escape.

Divine Providence: God's Sovereign Care

God's providence works all things for good for His people, even when they are cornered by enemies. Moses commands Israel to stand still and see God's salvation, which includes the destruction of their foes.

They can't get out of it. There's nothing that they can do, not one thing. And the Bible says in Romans 8 and verse 28, you can quote as well as I, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." And God's providence is going to always work things out which is best for us, for our good, and for His glory. Sometimes we wonder why we're being persecuted, hated, despised, chased, and hounded. Certainly, the Israelites wondered that. "Why did we ever leave Egypt? Moses, didn't we tell you this? Just let us alone. Let us serve them. It's better to serve them than to die in this wilderness." We wonder what in the world is coming to pass. And if you'll look in verse 13, Exodus 14 verse 13, look what Moses said:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:13-14

"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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

Now, I want to point out a couple things just in passing. Notice verse 13: He says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:13-14

"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD."

First of all, only God's people see His salvation. Stop and think about that. Only God's people see His salvation. Here's the second truth, look at it in verse 13:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:13-14

"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

In other words, God's salvation also includes the destruction of His enemies. So what God was doing in this divine predicament, He was actually setting a trap and setting up His enemies for destruction. I want you to hold Exodus 14, but look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 1 and verse 28. Philippians chapter 1 and look in verse 28. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians—look in Philippians 1 and verse 28. Notice he says this:

Scripture Reading — Philippians 1:28

"And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

First of all, we have adversaries. And it doesn't matter how vocal they are, it doesn't matter how strong, it doesn't matter how powerful. Our Lord says that we are to be in nothing terrified by our adversaries. Note what else he says:

Scripture Reading — Philippians 1:28

"which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

Now just like our salvation is of God, so their perdition, or their destruction, or their condemnation is of God as well. So when God says, when our enemies are terrifying us, or trying to terrify us, it is a token of their perdition. They are attacking and assaulting the people of God. It is a token.

You remember especially those from the north, used to, when you'd ride a bus, you didn't use money. You used tokens. And you had to put that token in, in order to get that ride. The token represented the money that you had bought. God says when they attack My people, that is a token, it is an evident token of their perdition, that they are on their way to destruction.

Now I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 14, because you know the story, I don't have to go over this in detail. But what God did was He washed away all of His enemies in one stroke. Israel never saw Pharaoh and his host again, except to see them dead. Now here's my question: If God is going to destroy His enemies, how can we be absolutely sure that those enemies are going to be destroyed? And by the way, God's enemies are our enemies. Notice if you would, here's the answer in verse 14. He says, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. I've always liked to paraphrase verse 14 with good South Georgia language. Here's what God says: "Shut up and watch God." Just shut up and watch God. By the way, when God fights, He wins. And when God fights, His enemies lose. And when God fights, the outcome is absolutely certain and sure. So, He says to Israel, "Just shut up, be quiet, be still, and watch God in His providence take care of this problem."

Now I want you to understand something, two things are going to happen. He is going to deliver His people, and He's going to destroy His enemies. Okay?

Human Responsibility: Unquestioning Obedience

In light of God's providence, the believer's duty is to obey God's commands without hesitation, whether leader or follower, as seen in God's instructions to Moses and Israel to move forward.

Now, I want you to see our responsibility, your responsibility, in light of the providence of God. Look what he says in verses 15 and 16. "And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea." Now here is an interesting thing, it doesn't matter whether you are an individual like Moses who was a leader, who was actually a prophet and a king, and Joshua in the Bible says— Or just simply one of the multitudinous numbers of God's people. It doesn't matter whether you are the leader or whether you are just an individual. Your responsibility is to be obedient, unquestionably obedient.

Now look what God said, verse 15: "And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me?" What are you crying about, Moses? Why do you keep asking? I've already told you I'm going to do this. "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." Moses, you hold up your rod. You divide the sea. Israel, you march. You move. You go at My command. So what God is telling us, regardless of our position in life, the answer is that we have to be unquestionably obedient. In the book of Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 3, let me just quote it, the Bible says, "Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment;

seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger." So God says in His divine providence our responsibility is to move, to do as He commands. The fifth thing I want to share with you today is this: there must be a divine praise. A divine praise. We're going to be looking at this in a number of passages, but look if you would please beginning there in verse 17. God said, "And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Divine Praise: God Glorified in Salvation and Condemnation

God receives praise both from the saved, who magnify His grace and mercy, and from the condemned, who ultimately demonstrate His justice and holiness. The same truth is light to believers and darkness to unbelievers.

And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now here is what I want you to understand that is going to be pointed out very clearly in this chapter. There is going to be praise in salvation, but there's also going to be praise in condemnation. So it doesn't matter in one sense of the word whether here a group happens to be the enemies of God and God destroys them in His righteous judgment, or here's a group God gives them grace and they repent and turn to Him and in His mercy He saves them. One group is going to praise His justice and His righteousness and His holiness, and the other group is going to praise His grace, His mercy, and His love. Now let me point something else out. Look if you would in verse 19: "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night."

Now I want you to understand something. Here is an interesting and yet at the same time absolutely marvelous truth to me. And that is simply this: God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But God's truth, and God's Word, and God's will, and God's way will always be darkness to His enemies. That which gives light to one group gives darkness to the other group. In fact the interesting thing is the Bible speaks of those who do not know Jesus Christ as walking in what? Darkness. They walk in darkness. Truth oftentimes is indeed difficult to understand. But the truth that God is giving us here is this, that God is going to be glorified not just in salvation but also in condemnation as well.

So, those who are condemned, like the Egyptians, are going to praise His righteousness, His justice, and His holiness. Those who are delivered, like the Israelites, will praise His grace, and His mercy, and His love. Now, let me try to illustrate this, and then I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. If you have ever gone fishing and stopped at a bait store and bought some worms, usually what they do in South Georgia, you say, "Well, I want a box of those nightcrawlers or a box of those red wigglers." They will take that cup or box. They'll open it, pour them out in front of you. Here all these worms are just seething together and wiggling every which way, and then they'll pick them up and do like this and just kind of show you, "Yeah, they're alive and they're doing well." And once they drop them, they all go right back together.

So if you can just kind of envision in your own mind that here fallen man is nothing but a mass of sin, wickedness, and rebellion. Here is a holy, righteous God, and He looks down on this seething mass of wicked humanity, and the love of God comes up and says, "Save them all." And then the justice of God comes up and looks down and says, "Damn them all." And then the wisdom of God comes up and says, "Divide the lump. Let some praise Your justice and let some praise Your grace." And you know, that's exactly what God did. Let me show you.

The Potter and the Clay: Romans 9

Using Romans 9, Weaver argues that God, as the potter, has the right to make vessels of honor and dishonor from the same lump of humanity, showing mercy to some and hardening others for His glory.

Look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 9. Hold Exodus 14, but go to Romans chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Romans 9, verse 10. The Scripture says, "And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Now let's just stop there just for a moment. Look what he says about Jacob and Esau in verse 11: "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth." So before Jacob and Esau were born, God chose Jacob and God rejected Esau. Jacob and Esau had absolutely nothing to do with it. Their lives had nothing to do with it. It was the will of God. Now watch carefully. Watch the argument. Look in verse 14.

"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?" Was God unrighteous to choose Jacob and not Esau? Look at the next phrase: "God forbid." The word "God forbid" literally means "perish the thought." Don't even let it enter into your mind. Don't even begin to think such a stupid thing. No. Let me ask you a question: To whom does God owe salvation? Not one individual. The very fact that God saves any is His grace and His mercy. So Paul says, "Don't come here trying to tell me there's unrighteousness with God. I know better than that." Watch how he explains in verse 15: "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." God is not obligated to have mercy upon anyone. He's not obligated to have compassion upon anyone. Now watch, He does, and I'm thankful that He does. And so then, here's the conclusion on that: "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."

So, if God happens to have compassion upon you, and mercy upon you, and you're saved, it's not because you used your will to achieve salvation. It's not because you used your will better than someone else. It's not because you ran well, or worked well, or merited it. No, no. He says it is because God showed mercy to you. It is all of God. It is not of man. Now watch. Verse 16 again: "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."

Here's the illustration: "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth." In what way is God going to show His power in Pharaoh? His power to judge. His power to condemn. His power to destroy, because Pharaoh is an enemy of God. Watch verse 18. Here's the conclusion. "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." Wow. Verse 19: "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" Here it is: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?" You don't have any reason to talk. You don't have any reason to try to rebut God. Watch the argument: "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" Here it is.

"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory." So, what God says is, "Look, I'm the potter. I can make one vessel to honour, one vessel to dishonour, out of the same lump. I'm God. I can do as I please." And notice if you would, the question is asked, "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?" I want you to note, it's interesting that most of these men and women who were so resolute against God, and so hated God and hated God's people, and were the great enemies of God, usually most of them had positions of power, money. He endured with much longsuffering. He gave them what they wanted. Is there anything wrong with God giving someone what they want? And the answer is no. They want sin, they want rebellion, they want wickedness. So God says, "You can have it." It's just that simple. Now I told you there's a divine praise even in condemnation.

The Song of Moses: Praise for Deliverance and Judgment

Exodus 15 is a song of praise celebrating God's triumph over Pharaoh's army, illustrating that God's deliverance of His people necessarily involves the destruction of His enemies, and both bring Him honor.

I want you to go back to the book of Exodus chapter 14. I want you to look at this. In Exodus chapter 14, we're going to read this beginning with verse 27:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:23-28

"And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them."

So now we are talking about the complete destruction of Pharaoh and his armies. That's all chapter 14 is about, that and the deliverance of Israel. But I want you to look at chapter 15. Because chapter 15 is all about the praise and worship of God in this marvelous act. Now I want you to listen to me. When God delivers His people, He always destroys His enemies.

So watch verse 1 of Exodus 15:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 15:1-10

"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; 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 host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;

my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina." Notice if you would, all of this is about praising God for His great deliverance, which included the destruction of His enemies. So here is the truth: God will be glorified, and God will be praised not only in the deliverance of His people, but in the destruction of His enemies.

Now, let me make some applications and try to tie all of this together for you. Listen to this first one: All men were made for the honour of their Maker, and those whom He is not honoured by, He will get honour upon. Those whom He is not honoured by, He will get honour upon them. What did He say about Pharaoh? "I will get me honour upon Pharaoh and his armies."

Applications: Trusting God in Desperate Times

Weaver applies the passage by urging believers to trust that God will turn the tables on His enemies, that all people will know God either in salvation or condemnation, and that the saved will eternally know their salvation is wholly of God.

I want you to turn to two passages, Revelation 19 and then Proverbs 16. You know the passage in Revelation chapter 19. You may not be aware of the one in Proverbs 16, but look in Revelation 19 and verse 1. Look if you would at the praise and the worship at the destruction of the Lord's enemies:

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:1-3

"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

Then if you'll go back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs 16. Look at verse 4. A very interesting verse and you might ought to meditate upon it some tonight. Proverbs 16 verse 4. Look what the Bible says.

"The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." Wow. So there are going to be some that's going to praise the honour of His wrath and His justice, as well as some praising His grace and mercy. Here's the second application. Israel was trapped. The sea in front of them, the wilderness and the fortresses on either side of them. Pharaoh was behind them. It looked as if they were about to be wiped out. Now, if you will try to take that situation and compare it with history, even compare it with what is going on today, where you have the rise of any and everything that is anti-God and anti-Christ, anti-Bible and anti-Christian, whether it's the religion of political correctness, whether it's Islam, it doesn't matter what it is. You look and see today how Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ is so cornered, it looks as if we're about to be wiped out.

The point I'm trying to make is this: Oftentimes when it looks as if God's people are about to be overthrown and wiped out, God turns the tables and it's the enemies of God and the enemies of God's people that are destroyed and wiped out. Just like God set up Pharaoh, He sets up His enemies and they will fall like ripened plums into His hands. So just because things look desperate and it looks as if the church is going to be destroyed, you just remember the words of our Lord, "The gates of hell shall not prevail." And they will not, because He is our foundation. Now, go back to Exodus chapter 14, because here is the third application. Notice if you would please, think about this: all men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know Him. Look in Exodus chapter 14 in verse—oh, let's see. Let's go to verse 4. He said, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so. Wow. God said they're going to know that I'm God.

You can read this phrase in the book of Ezekiel. I think it occurs about 70 times. And usually most of the time it is in the context of judgment when God said, "And they shall know that I am the LORD." So God is going to make sure even His enemies know that He is God. This is kind of parallel and almost like the passage in Philippians chapter 2 beginning there verse 9 talking about Jesus Christ when it says,

Scripture Reading — Philippians 2:9-11

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

So, once for sure every man will confess and acknowledge the one true and the living God and that Jesus Christ is Lord. And they should have loved Him and should have served Him. It may be too late, but even in their condemnation, even in their destruction, they will acknowledge that God is God and

Jesus Christ alone is salvation. So all men will know God. They will know Him either in salvation or condemnation. Let me show you another awesome application to me. I don't know about you, but to me this is kind of a horrifying, an awesome fact and truth: that the enemies of God will know and discover in their condemnation and in their destruction that God Himself is fighting against them. You just have to imagine this. Here are men that have fought all of their lives against God and His truth and His people, and they think they've been somewhat successful, until all of a sudden God begins to bring destruction upon them and they realize that God is fighting against them.

Look in your Bibles to Exodus 14 and verse 25. Watch. In fact let's read verse 24: "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts and in their minds when all of a sudden they realize, "Hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed." And not one of them escaped. Not one. It's kind of like they tell about Voltaire, the noted French infidel, who was dying, and he invited friends to come around and watch how an infidel died. And the record says that he laid back and closed his eyes, seemingly peacefully dying. And then all of a sudden, he sat straight up in the bed with a look of horror on his face and screamed, "There is a God!" and fell back dead. Yeah, it has to be a horrifying experience to know that God is fighting against you. One last application. Here it is.

I want you to understand this equally true is the fact that those who are saved will know and discover that their salvation is totally of God Himself. If you'll go back, first of all, to Exodus chapter 14, verses 13 and 14: "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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." So he said, "Here it is. God's going to take care of this."

Now skip down to verse 30. Look what the Bible says: "Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." Who is it that saved them? The LORD saved them. You know, let me tell you. We may confess and acknowledge now, like Jonah, "Salvation is of the LORD." And we may say, "I know I cannot save myself. I know that I cannot help save myself. I know that salvation is of the LORD." But guess what? When we get in the presence of God only by His grace and mercy, we will know powerfully that it was God and God alone who saved us. And just like the horror and the terror melted the hearts of His enemies when they realized that God was fighting against them, think of the grace and love and mercy that will melt your heart when you see that it's God and God alone that has saved you. May be a hard truth, but it's still truth. God will be honoured in salvation and in condemnation.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Sovereignty of God in Election and Reprobation

Summary: God sovereignly chooses some for salvation (election) and passes over others, hardening their hearts for destruction (reprobation), all for His glory.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Exodus chapter 14... dealt with what we would call election and reprobation. Election would be where God chose Israel. Reprobation would be where God bypassed the Egyptians, allowed them to sin, and then judged them.'

God's Glory in Both Salvation and Judgment

Summary: God is glorified not only in saving His people but also in the righteous condemnation of the wicked, as both display His attributes.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'One group is going to praise His justice and His righteousness and His holiness, and the other group is going to praise His grace, His mercy, and His love.'

Human Inability and Divine Deliverance

Summary: Israel's predicament with no human escape illustrates that salvation is entirely a work of God, requiring only that His people trust and obey.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'They are now in a predicament and situation that if they ever get out of it, it will have to be by a miracle and the grace of God.'

The Hardness of Biblical Truth

Summary: Some biblical doctrines are difficult and flesh-withering, but believers must accept them by faith, even when they do not fully understand.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them... I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God.'

The Certainty of God's Victory Over His Enemies

Summary: God will ultimately destroy all who oppose Him and His people, and this destruction is as certain as His salvation.

Evidence: Weaver declares, 'When God fights, He wins. And when God fights, His enemies lose. And when God fights, the outcome is absolutely certain and sure.'

The Believer's Response: Faith and Obedience

Summary: In the face of impossible circumstances, God's people are called to stand still, see His salvation, and move forward in obedience to His commands.

Evidence: Weaver paraphrases Exodus 14:14 as 'Shut up and watch God,' and emphasizes the command to 'go forward' in obedience.

Key Arguments

God hardens hearts to accomplish His purposes

Summary: God actively hardens the hearts of the wicked, like Pharaoh, to ensure they pursue His people and thus bring about their own destruction and His glory.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God said, "I'm going to harden his heart."... God just allowed him to think that he could beat God... Just pride and arrogance and pure stupidity.'

Salvation includes the destruction of God's enemies

Summary: God's deliverance of His people is inseparable from the judgment of His adversaries, as seen in the Red Sea event.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God's salvation also includes the destruction of His enemies... He was actually setting a trap and setting up His enemies for destruction.'

God's truth is light to believers and darkness to unbelievers

Summary: The same divine truth that illuminates and guides God's people blinds and condemns those who reject Him.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But... will always be darkness to His enemies.'

God has the right as Creator to choose some and reject others

Summary: Using the potter and clay analogy from Romans 9, Weaver argues that God is not unjust in electing some to salvation and leaving others in their sin for destruction.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Romans 9:21 and says, 'What God says is, "Look, I'm the potter. I can make one vessel to honour, one vessel to dishonour, out of the same lump. I'm God. I can do as I please."'

All people will ultimately acknowledge God, either in salvation or judgment

Summary: Every person will one day confess that God is Lord, either willingly in salvation or forcibly in condemnation, fulfilling God's purpose to be known.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'All men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know Him.'

The enemies of God will realize too late that God fights against them

Summary: In their destruction, the wicked will discover with horror that God Himself is their adversary, as the Egyptians did when their chariot wheels were removed.

Evidence: Weaver describes, 'Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts... when all of a sudden they realize, "Hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed."'

Scripture References

Exodus 14:1-4

Context: God instructs Moses to encamp Israel in a seemingly vulnerable position to bait Pharaoh into pursuing them, as part of His plan to gain honor over Egypt.

Exodus 14:4

Context: God declares He will harden Pharaoh's heart so that Pharaoh will pursue Israel, resulting in God being honored and the Egyptians knowing He is the LORD.

Exodus 14:8

Context: The LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh pursues Israel, while Israel goes out with a high hand.

Exodus 14:10-12

Context: Israel sees the Egyptians approaching and cries out in fear, complaining to Moses that it would have been better to serve Egypt than die in the wilderness.

Exodus 14:13-14

Context: Moses tells the people not to fear, to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, for the LORD will fight for them.

Exodus 14:15-16

Context: God tells Moses to stop crying out and to command Israel to go forward, while Moses lifts his rod to divide the sea.

Exodus 14:17-18

Context: God says He will harden the Egyptians' hearts to follow Israel into the sea, gaining honor over Pharaoh and his army, so that Egypt will know He is the LORD.

Exodus 14:19-20

Context: The angel of God and the pillar of cloud move between Israel and Egypt, giving light to Israel but darkness to the Egyptians, preventing them from approaching.

Exodus 14:21-22

Context: Moses stretches out his hand, and the LORD drives back the sea with a strong east wind, making dry ground for Israel to cross with walls of water on either side.

Exodus 14:23-28

Context: The Egyptians pursue into the sea, but the LORD troubles them, removes their chariot wheels, and causes the waters to return, drowning the entire army.

Exodus 14:30-31

Context: The LORD saves Israel that day, and Israel sees the Egyptians dead on the seashore, leading them to fear the LORD and believe Him and Moses.

Exodus 15:1-10

Context: Moses and Israel sing a song of praise to the LORD for His glorious triumph, describing the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea.

Romans 8:28

Context: Weaver cites this verse to affirm that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, even in predicaments.

Philippians 1:28

Context: Believers are not to be terrified by adversaries, as their opposition is a token of perdition for the enemies but of salvation for God's people.

Romans 9:10-13

Context: Paul uses Jacob and Esau to illustrate that God's election is not based on works but on His calling, showing that God loved Jacob and hated Esau before they were born.

Romans 9:14-18

Context: Paul argues that God is not unrighteous in election, quoting Exodus 33:19 to show that God has mercy on whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills, using Pharaoh as an example.

Romans 9:19-23

Context: Paul rebukes those who question God's sovereignty, using the potter and clay analogy to show God's right to make vessels of honor and dishonor, enduring the wicked to display His wrath and power.

Revelation 19:1-3

Context: A great multitude in heaven praises God for His true and righteous judgments in destroying the great whore, with her smoke rising forever.

Proverbs 16:4

Context: The LORD has made all things for Himself, even the wicked for the day of evil, indicating that God ordains the wicked for judgment.

Philippians 2:9-11

Context: God has exalted Christ so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Historical References

Lester Roloff

Context: Weaver recounts hearing Lester Roloff on the Family Altar program reading Ephesians 1 and humbly admitting he did not understand the doctrine of election but bowed to it, waiting for God to give light.

Voltaire

Context: Weaver tells the story of the French infidel Voltaire, who on his deathbed reportedly sat up in horror and screamed 'There is a God!' before dying, illustrating the terror of realizing God is against you.

Important Quotes

When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them, we have to confess them, we have to acknowledge them, and we have to say, 'They're there. I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God.'

Significance: This quote encapsulates the sermon's call for humble submission to difficult biblical doctrines, even when they are not fully understood.

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Significance: Weaver quotes Exodus 14:14 as the central promise of divine deliverance, emphasizing that God's people can trust Him to fight their battles.

Shut up and watch God.

Significance: Weaver's colloquial paraphrase of Exodus 14:14, stressing the need for silent trust in God's providence rather than fearful complaining.

God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But God's truth, and God's Word, and God's will, and God's way will always be darkness to His enemies.

Significance: This highlights the dual effect of divine revelation: it saves and illuminates believers while hardening and condemning unbelievers.

All men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know Him.

Significance: This underscores the inevitability that every person will ultimately acknowledge God, whether in saving grace or in judgment.

Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts and in their minds when all of a sudden they realize, 'Hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed.'

Significance: Weaver vividly portrays the terror of the wicked when they discover too late that God is their adversary, not their savior.

May be a hard truth, but it's still truth. God will be honoured in salvation and in condemnation.

Significance: The concluding statement of the sermon, reiterating the central theme that God's glory is displayed both in saving some and judging others.

Discussion Questions

How should we respond when we encounter biblical truths that are difficult to understand or accept?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that we must bow to hard truths even when we don't fully comprehend them, trusting God to give light in His time.

In what ways does the account of Israel at the Red Sea illustrate the doctrine of God's providence?

Context: Weaver explains that God sovereignly placed Israel in a predicament with no human escape to display His salvation and destroy His enemies.

What does it mean that God's salvation includes the destruction of His enemies, and how should this affect our view of current opposition to the church?

Context: Weaver points out that God's deliverance of His people is tied to the judgment of His adversaries, and that apparent threats to the church will ultimately be overturned.

How does the potter and clay analogy in Romans 9 help us understand God's sovereignty in election and reprobation?

Context: Weaver uses Romans 9 to argue that God has the right as Creator to make vessels of honor and dishonor from the same lump of humanity.

Why is it important to recognize that all people will one day acknowledge God, either in salvation or condemnation?

Context: Weaver stresses that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, either willingly now or forcibly in judgment.

What does the terror of the Egyptians when they realized God was fighting against them teach us about the fate of those who oppose God?

Context: Weaver describes the horror of discovering too late that God is one's enemy, using the Egyptians' experience and the story of Voltaire.

How does the truth that salvation is entirely of the Lord bring comfort and assurance to believers?

Context: Weaver concludes that just as the wicked will know God's judgment, the saved will eternally know that their salvation is solely by God's grace and power.

Applications

Humble Submission to Hard Truths

Summary: Believers should acknowledge and bow to difficult biblical doctrines, even when they do not fully understand them, trusting God to provide understanding in His time.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them... I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God.'

Trust in God's Providence Amid Trials

Summary: When believers face seemingly impossible situations, they should stand still and trust God to fight for them, knowing that He works all things for their good and His glory.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Oftentimes when it looks as if God's people are about to be overthrown and wiped out, God turns the tables and it's the enemies of God... that are destroyed.'

Obedience in the Face of Fear

Summary: Regardless of their position, believers must obey God's commands without hesitation, moving forward in faith even when the path seems impossible.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes, 'Your responsibility is to be obedient, unquestionably obedient... Moses, you hold up your rod. You divide the sea. Israel, you march.'

Rest in God's Sovereign Justice

Summary: Believers should not be terrified by adversaries, recognizing that their opposition is a sign of their own destruction and that God will ultimately vindicate His people.

Evidence: Weaver cites Philippians 1:28, 'in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation.'

Acknowledge Salvation as Entirely of God

Summary: Believers should humbly recognize that their salvation is not due to their own will or effort but solely to God's mercy, leading to eternal gratitude.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When we get in the presence of God only by His grace and mercy, we will know powerfully that it was God and God alone who saved us.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:17:57Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T06:51:58Z

Clean Transcript

A Hard Truth But Still Truth - Part 2 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Our Bibles, if we would please, to Exodus chapter 14. And I certainly did not intend for it to be so long since I got back to finish the message that I started. So I'm going to give a rather lengthy introduction and reminder and kind of go over the first message again, just kind of to tie things together, just so when I finish today, you'll have everything in mind. The title of the message is "A Hard Truth, But Still Truth." So let's begin reading in Exodus chapter 14, and we'll read down a number of ways. We'll end up covering the entire chapter, but let's begin by reading with verse 1: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: 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."
#1 | 0:13 to 1:17 | cleaned
"And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so. And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: and he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea.
#2 | 1:17 to 2:05 | cleaned
beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. 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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.
#3 | 2:07 to 3:02 | cleaned
But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine 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, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
#4 | 3:02 to 3:49 | cleaned
We'll stop there, but you remember I began my introduction a few weeks back by saying that there are many hard truths in the Bible. They're not only hard and difficult because of our ignorance and our lack of discernment, but also because they're flesh-withering. And I pointed out how that really and truly no one that is unconverted can understand any of God's truth. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." So the unsaved man does not have the spiritual discernment or the spiritual ability to understand the Word of God. So I've had people all down through the years tell me and say to me, "Well, I find it very difficult to understand the Bible," or "I can't understand the Bible." And my response is usually, well, one of two things: either you're not studying and seeking God for enlightenment, or number two, you're just lost.
#5 | 3:49 to 4:57 | cleaned
Because if a man just absolutely cannot understand anything in the Bible, there's really something very dreadfully wrong, that is for sure. But see, fallen man is so arrogant, so proud. He believes that this world is anthropocentric, that is, that God created the world to revolve around man, and that man is the center of everything. When the world, of course, is theocentric—everything revolves around God. And fallen man likes to think that God was made for him, not that fallen man was made for God.
#6 | 4:58 to 5:31 | cleaned
And I pointed out in my introduction how the Apostle Peter, he even spoke of the writings of the Apostle Paul and how hard and difficult were some of those things to be understood. Let me quote again. 2 Peter 3 verses 14 through 16. Peter wrote, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned
#7 | 5:31 to 6:19 | cleaned
and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." So even Peter is saying, boy, Paul wrote some mighty weighty things, and the unlearned and the unstable always wrest them. And you remember I dealt with the fact that there are many hard truths in the Bible. But you remember in John chapter 6, our Lord was teaching and talking about that He Himself was the bread of life. And those people said to Him, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" And the next verse says, "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." It was just very difficult, and they could not take it. So we have to understand that there are indeed some very hard and some difficult truths in the Bible. Now Exodus chapter 14, you remember I told you, dealt with what we would call election and reprobation. Election would be where God chose Israel. Reprobation would be where God bypassed the Egyptians, allowed them to sin, and then judged them for their sin and their rebellion against Him.
#8 | 6:20 to 7:31 | cleaned
The Westminster Confession, after it talks about election, says this: "The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by; and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice." And so you have this passage in Exodus chapter 14, some that will praise God's salvation and some that will praise God's condemnation, to the praise and glory of His justice.
#9 | 7:32 to 8:14 | cleaned
Now, let me very quickly tell you what I covered in the first message. I gave you three points. The first one was a divine plan. If you will look in the very first three verses, God tells Moses to camp at a certain place, and the reason being, He says in verse 3, "For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in." So Pharaoh is going to think the children of Israel are entangled, they are dumb, they are stupid, they know nothing about geography, they are certainly not military minded. And so now they have entangled themselves, and they are going to be an easy target and an easy prey. And God is going to make sure that as He baits the hook for Pharaoh, that Pharaoh is going to follow and take that hook as well. You have to also remember this, if you would, in verse 17, God said, "And, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen."
#10 | 8:14 to 9:23 | cleaned
So what has happened now, Moses has encamped and you've got the sea in front of them. You've got the Egyptian fortresses on one side and the mountains and the wilderness on the other side. And of course Pharaoh and his army are coming up on them fast and furious. So here is the divine plan. What is the divine prerogative? I covered that. He said in verse 4, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart,
#11 | 9:23 to 9:50 | cleaned
that he shall follow after them: and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so. Now notice if you would please that Pharaoh has been absolutely convinced that Moses and Israel know nothing about the land. In order to make sure that Pharaoh takes the bait, God said, "I'm going to harden his heart." Now, I know and you know that as you read through the book of Exodus, you will find that many times the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. But, when you get to Exodus chapter 7 and verse 3, before Moses ever confronts Pharaoh, God says, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt." Now interestingly, the word "harden" just simply means to strengthen, to make strong and resolute, and to make more courageous. So how did God harden Pharaoh's heart? And the answer is very simple. God just allowed him to think that he could beat God, that he could work everything out, and that he could overcome every obstacle, that he would be a god unto himself.
#12 | 9:51 to 11:07 | cleaned
That's it. Just pride and arrogance and pure stupidity. I quoted also Romans 9 in verse 18: "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." So obviously God does indeed have the prerogative; He hardens and He softens as well. So we have the divine plan, the divine prerogative, and thirdly I covered a divine predicament. And that is, the Israelites were encamped now and they were in this particular situation that they basically could not get out of. And I pointed out also, usually our predicaments that we get ourselves into are actually usually from my own stupidity, from my own sin and rebellion, and we think, "Boy, I wish I hadn't done this," and "Look what I've done and look what I've gotten myself into." But we have to understand that sometimes God sovereignly allows us to get into predicaments, not necessarily because of our own sin and not necessarily because of our own stupidity, but in order to teach us certain lessons. And certainly He not only taught the Israelites, He also taught the Egyptians as well.
#13 | 11:07 to 12:25 | cleaned
But the lessons learned by each group were entirely different as well. So what God has done now is simply this. God has put Israel in the situation where the sea is in front of them, the Egyptians' fortress is on one side, wilderness on the other side, and Pharaoh is coming up. Stop and think about this. They didn't have a boat. They didn't have time to make a boat. They had no weapons.
#14 | 12:25 to 12:54 | cleaned
They were not trained militarily. They knew nothing about what to do. And they are now in a predicament and situation that if they ever get out of it, it will have to be by a miracle and the grace of God. It's just that simple. By a miracle and by the grace of God.
#15 | 12:55 to 13:16 | cleaned
Now, I want to pick up from there today. When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them, we have to confess them, we have to acknowledge them, and we have to say, "They're there. I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God."
#16 | 13:16 to 13:44 | cleaned
Years ago, I was listening to the radio and I was listening to Lester Roloff in his Family Altar program. I don't know how many of you ever knew Lester Roloff, but I knew him personally. I was in meetings with him. I love to hear him preach. I love to hear him sing. He could not sing particularly. And oftentimes when he is preaching, right in the middle of his sermon he would just break out singing. And the fact is the power and the hand of God was upon him so greatly that usually I would sit there oftentimes and just weep as he sang. I mean, just I loved to hear him.
#17 | 13:44 to 14:28 | cleaned
And I counted him as a friend. I counted him as a brother. And he was just a very unique individual. But as I was listening to him on the Family Altar program, he began reading from Ephesians chapter 1. And I hope you understand what is in Ephesians chapter 1, covering the doctrine of election and predestination. Well, I knew that Roloff was no theologian. He was a very practical man, but he was certainly not a theologian. And I could not wait to find out what this man was going to do with this passage from the Bible. And so he read the first 14 verses, and when he got through reading them, he said this: "I do not understand this doctrine. I cannot explain this doctrine.
#18 | 14:28 to 15:20 | cleaned
However, it is in the Scripture, and I bow to it. God will give me light when I need it." And I thought to myself, "What a wonderful attitude." And that is exactly what our attitude should be toward anything that we do not understand at that particular time. We must just simply bow to it in the present and wait for God to give us light. You remember the Bible says in Mark 4 in verse 33, "And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it." So our Lord only teaches us as we are able to hear it. And we have to understand that there are times that we are not able to hear certain truths.
#19 | 15:20 to 16:04 | cleaned
We can hear them and we say, "I don't believe that," or "I don't think that's accurate." And six months later we think, "Wow, there it is." And we see it and we understand it. Well, the truth is, as you look at Exodus 14, understand that God chose Israel and He rejected the Egyptians. We understand that God is absolutely sovereign. I'm going to pick up today with the fourth point, a divine providence. I want you to understand God has sovereignly brought Israel into this predicament. There is no escape.
#20 | 16:05 to 16:55 | cleaned
They can't get out of it. There's nothing that they can do, not one thing. And the Bible says in Romans 8 and verse 28, you can quote as well as I, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." And God's providence is going to always work things out which is best for us, for our good, and for His glory.
#21 | 16:55 to 17:20 | cleaned
Sometimes we wonder why we're being persecuted, hated, despised, chased, and hounded. Certainly, the Israelites wondered that. "Why did we ever leave Egypt? Moses, didn't we tell you this? Just let us alone. Let us serve them. It's better to serve them than to die in this wilderness." We wonder what in the world is coming to pass. And if you'll look in verse 13, Exodus 14 verse 13, look what Moses said: "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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever." Now, I want to point out a couple things just in passing. Notice verse 13: He says, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD." First of all, only God's people see His salvation. Stop and think about that. Only God's people see His salvation. Here's the second truth, look at it in verse 13: "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."
#22 | 17:21 to 18:46 | cleaned
In other words, God's salvation also includes the destruction of His enemies. So what God was doing in this divine predicament, He was actually setting a trap and setting up His enemies for destruction. I want you to hold Exodus 14, but look in your Bibles to the book of Philippians chapter 1 and verse 28. Philippians chapter 1 and look in verse 28. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians—look in Philippians 1 and verse 28. Notice he says this: "And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God." First of all, we have adversaries.
#23 | 18:46 to 19:31 | cleaned
And it doesn't matter how vocal they are, it doesn't matter how strong, it doesn't matter how powerful. Our Lord says that we are to be in nothing terrified by our adversaries. Note what else he says: "which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God." Now just like our salvation is of God, so their perdition, or their destruction, or their condemnation is of God as well. So when God says, when our enemies are terrifying us, or trying to terrify us, it is a token of their perdition. They are attacking and assaulting the people of God. It is a token.
#24 | 19:31 to 20:12 | cleaned
You remember especially those from the north, used to, when you'd ride a bus, you didn't use money. You used tokens. And you had to put that token in, in order to get that ride. The token represented the money that you had bought. God says when they attack My people, that is a token, it is an evident token of their perdition, that they are on their way to destruction.
#25 | 20:12 to 20:42 | cleaned
Now I want you to go back to Exodus chapter 14, because you know the story, I don't have to go over this in detail. But what God did was He washed away all of His enemies in one stroke. Israel never saw Pharaoh and his host again, except to see them dead. Now here's my question: If God is going to destroy His enemies, how can we be absolutely sure that those enemies are going to be destroyed? And by the way, God's enemies are our enemies. Notice if you would, here's the answer in verse 14.
#26 | 20:42 to 21:26 | cleaned
He says, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. I've always liked to paraphrase verse 14 with good South Georgia language. Here's what God says: "Shut up and watch God." Just shut up and watch God. By the way, when God fights, He wins. And when God fights, His enemies lose. And when God fights, the outcome is absolutely certain and sure. So, He says to Israel, "Just shut up, be quiet, be still, and watch God in His providence take care of this problem."
#27 | 21:26 to 22:17 | cleaned
Now I want you to understand something, two things are going to happen. He is going to deliver His people, and He's going to destroy His enemies. Okay?
#28 | 22:18 to 22:27 | cleaned
Now, I want you to see our responsibility, your responsibility, in light of the providence of God. Look what he says in verses 15 and 16.
#29 | 22:27 to 22:38 | cleaned
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea." Now here is an interesting thing, it doesn't matter whether you are an individual like Moses who was a leader, who was actually a prophet and a king, and Joshua in the Bible says—
#30 | 22:38 to 23:09 | cleaned
Or just simply one of the multitudinous numbers of God's people. It doesn't matter whether you are the leader or whether you are just an individual. Your responsibility is to be obedient, unquestionably obedient.
#31 | 23:10 to 23:26 | cleaned
Now look what God said, verse 15: "And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me?" What are you crying about, Moses? Why do you keep asking? I've already told you I'm going to do this. "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." Moses, you hold up your rod. You divide the sea. Israel, you march. You move. You go at My command. So what God is telling us, regardless of our position in life, the answer is that we have to be unquestionably obedient. In the book of Zephaniah chapter 2 and verse 3, let me just quote it, the Bible says, "Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment;
#32 | 23:26 to 24:11 | cleaned
seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger." So God says in His divine providence our responsibility is to move, to do as He commands. The fifth thing I want to share with you today is this: there must be a divine praise. A divine praise. We're going to be looking at this in a number of passages, but look if you would please beginning there in verse 17. God said, "And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of
#33 | 24:11 to 24:53 | cleaned
the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
#34 | 24:53 to 25:36 | cleaned
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
#35 | 25:37 to 26:06 | cleaned
Now here is what I want you to understand that is going to be pointed out very clearly in this chapter. There is going to be praise in salvation, but there's also going to be praise in condemnation. So it doesn't matter in one sense of the word whether here a group happens to be the enemies of God and God destroys them in His righteous judgment, or here's a group God gives them grace and they repent and turn to Him and in His mercy He saves them. One group is going to praise His justice and His righteousness and His holiness, and the other group is going to praise His grace, His mercy, and His love. Now let me point something else out. Look if you would in verse 19: "And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night."
#36 | 26:06 to 27:27 | cleaned
Now I want you to understand something. Here is an interesting and yet at the same time absolutely marvelous truth to me. And that is simply this: God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But God's truth, and God's Word, and God's will, and God's way will always be darkness to His enemies. That which gives light to one group gives darkness to the other group. In fact the interesting thing is the Bible speaks of those who do not know Jesus Christ as walking in what? Darkness. They walk in darkness. Truth oftentimes is indeed difficult to understand. But the truth that God is giving us here is this, that God is going to be glorified not just in salvation but also in condemnation as well.
#37 | 27:28 to 28:35 | cleaned
So, those who are condemned, like the Egyptians, are going to praise His righteousness, His justice, and His holiness. Those who are delivered, like the Israelites, will praise His grace, and His mercy, and His love.
#38 | 28:36 to 28:55 | cleaned
Now, let me try to illustrate this, and then I'm going to show it to you from the Bible. If you have ever gone fishing and stopped at a bait store and bought some worms, usually what they do in South Georgia, you say, "Well, I want a box of those nightcrawlers or a box of those red wigglers." They will take that cup or box. They'll open it, pour them out in front of you. Here all these worms are just seething together and wiggling every which way, and then they'll pick them up and do like this and just kind of show you, "Yeah, they're alive and they're doing well." And once they drop them, they all go right back together.
#39 | 28:55 to 29:40 | cleaned
So if you can just kind of envision in your own mind that here fallen man is nothing but a mass of sin, wickedness, and rebellion. Here is a holy, righteous God, and He looks down on this seething mass of wicked humanity, and the love of God comes up and says, "Save them all." And then the justice of God comes up and looks down and says, "Damn them all." And then the wisdom of God comes up and says, "Divide the lump. Let some praise Your justice and let some praise Your grace." And you know, that's exactly what God did. Let me show you.
#40 | 29:40 to 30:38 | cleaned
Look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 9. Hold Exodus 14, but go to Romans chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 10. Romans 9, verse 10. The Scripture says, "And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
#41 | 30:38 to 31:23 | cleaned
it was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
#42 | 31:24 to 31:31 | cleaned
Now let's just stop there just for a moment. Look what he says about Jacob and Esau in verse 11: "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth." So before Jacob and Esau were born, God chose Jacob and God rejected Esau. Jacob and Esau had absolutely nothing to do with it. Their lives had nothing to do with it. It was the will of God. Now watch carefully. Watch the argument. Look in verse 14.
#43 | 31:32 to 32:22 | cleaned
"What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?" Was God unrighteous to choose Jacob and not Esau? Look at the next phrase: "God forbid." The word "God forbid" literally means "perish the thought." Don't even let it enter into your mind. Don't even begin to think such a stupid thing. No. Let me ask you a question: To whom does God owe salvation? Not one individual. The very fact that God saves any is His grace and His mercy. So Paul says, "Don't come here trying to tell me there's unrighteousness with God. I know better than that." Watch how he explains in verse 15: "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." God is not obligated to have mercy upon anyone. He's not obligated to have compassion upon anyone. Now watch, He does, and I'm thankful that He does. And so then, here's the conclusion on that: "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."
#44 | 32:22 to 33:44 | cleaned
So, if God happens to have compassion upon you, and mercy upon you, and you're saved, it's not because you used your will to achieve salvation. It's not because you used your will better than someone else. It's not because you ran well, or worked well, or merited it. No, no. He says it is because God showed mercy to you. It is all of God. It is not of man. Now watch. Verse 16 again: "So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy."
#45 | 33:44 to 34:17 | cleaned
Here's the illustration: "For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth." In what way is God going to show His power in Pharaoh? His power to judge. His power to condemn. His power to destroy, because Pharaoh is an enemy of God. Watch verse 18. Here's the conclusion.
#46 | 34:17 to 34:49 | cleaned
"Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." Wow. Verse 19: "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" Here it is: "Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?" You don't have any reason to talk. You don't have any reason to try to rebut God. Watch the argument: "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" Here it is.
#47 | 34:50 to 35:25 | cleaned
"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory." So, what God says is, "Look, I'm the potter. I can make one vessel to honour, one vessel to dishonour, out of the same lump. I'm God.
#48 | 35:25 to 36:02 | cleaned
I can do as I please." And notice if you would, the question is asked, "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?" I want you to note, it's interesting that most of these men and women who were so resolute against God, and so hated God and hated God's people, and were the great enemies of God, usually most of them had positions of power, money. He endured with much longsuffering. He gave them what they wanted. Is there anything wrong with God giving someone what they want? And the answer is no. They want sin, they want rebellion, they want wickedness. So God says, "You can have it." It's just that simple. Now I told you there's a divine praise even in condemnation.
#49 | 36:03 to 37:09 | cleaned
I want you to go back to the book of Exodus chapter 14. I want you to look at this. In Exodus chapter 14, we're going to read this beginning with verse 27: "And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them;
#50 | 37:10 to 37:44 | cleaned
there remained not so much as one of them." So now we are talking about the complete destruction of Pharaoh and his armies. That's all chapter 14 is about, that and the deliverance of Israel. But I want you to look at chapter 15. Because chapter 15 is all about the praise and worship of God in this marvelous act. Now I want you to listen to me. When God delivers His people, He always destroys His enemies.
#51 | 37:44 to 38:22 | cleaned
So watch verse 1 of Exodus 15: "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; 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 host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
#52 | 38:23 to 38:57 | cleaned
The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;
#53 | 38:58 to 39:34 | cleaned
my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. The people shall hear, and be afraid:
#54 | 39:34 to 40:07 | cleaned
sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina." Notice if you would, all of this is about praising God for His great deliverance, which included the destruction of His enemies. So here is the truth: God will be glorified, and God will be praised not only in the deliverance of His people, but in the destruction of His enemies.
#55 | 40:07 to 40:32 | cleaned
Now, let me make some applications and try to tie all of this together for you. Listen to this first one: All men were made for the honour of their Maker, and those whom He is not honoured by, He will get honour upon. Those whom He is not honoured by, He will get honour upon them. What did He say about Pharaoh? "I will get me honour upon Pharaoh and his armies."
#56 | 40:33 to 41:13 | cleaned
I want you to turn to two passages, Revelation 19 and then Proverbs 16. You know the passage in Revelation chapter 19. You may not be aware of the one in Proverbs 16, but look in Revelation 19 and verse 1. Look if you would at the praise and the worship at the destruction of the Lord's enemies: "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
#57 | 41:15 to 41:52 | cleaned
for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Then if you'll go back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 16. Proverbs 16. Look at verse 4. A very interesting verse and you might ought to meditate upon it some tonight. Proverbs 16 verse 4. Look what the Bible says.
#58 | 41:53 to 42:26 | cleaned
"The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." Wow. So there are going to be some that's going to praise the honour of His wrath and His justice, as well as some praising His grace and mercy. Here's the second application. Israel was trapped. The sea in front of them, the wilderness and the fortresses on either side of them. Pharaoh was behind them.
#59 | 42:27 to 43:05 | cleaned
It looked as if they were about to be wiped out. Now, if you will try to take that situation and compare it with history, even compare it with what is going on today, where you have the rise of any and everything that is anti-God and anti-Christ, anti-Bible and anti-Christian, whether it's the religion of political correctness, whether it's Islam, it doesn't matter what it is. You look and see today how Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ is so cornered, it looks as if we're about to be wiped out.
#60 | 43:07 to 43:47 | cleaned
The point I'm trying to make is this: Oftentimes when it looks as if God's people are about to be overthrown and wiped out, God turns the tables and it's the enemies of God and the enemies of God's people that are destroyed and wiped out. Just like God set up Pharaoh, He sets up His enemies and they will fall like ripened plums into His hands. So just because things look desperate and it looks as if the church is going to be destroyed, you just remember the words of our Lord, "The gates of hell shall not prevail."
#61 | 43:51 to 44:40 | cleaned
And they will not, because He is our foundation. Now, go back to Exodus chapter 14, because here is the third application. Notice if you would please, think about this: all men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know Him. Look in Exodus chapter 14 in verse—oh, let's see. Let's go to verse 4. He said, "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so. Wow. God said they're going to know that I'm God.
#62 | 44:40 to 45:39 | cleaned
You can read this phrase in the book of Ezekiel. I think it occurs about 70 times. And usually most of the time it is in the context of judgment when God said, "And they shall know that I am the LORD." So God is going to make sure even His enemies know that He is God. This is kind of parallel and almost like the passage in Philippians chapter 2 beginning there verse 9 talking about Jesus Christ when it says, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." So, once for sure every man will confess and acknowledge the one true and the living God and that Jesus Christ is Lord. And they should have loved Him and should have served Him. It may be too late, but even in their condemnation, even in their destruction, they will acknowledge that God is God and
#63 | 45:40 to 46:52 | cleaned
Jesus Christ alone is salvation. So all men will know God. They will know Him either in salvation or condemnation. Let me show you another awesome application to me. I don't know about you, but to me this is kind of a horrifying, an awesome fact and truth: that the enemies of God will know and discover in their condemnation and in their destruction that God Himself is fighting against them. You just have to imagine this. Here are men that have fought all of their lives against God and His truth and His people, and they think they've been somewhat successful, until all of a sudden God begins to bring destruction upon them and they realize that God is fighting against them.
#64 | 46:52 to 47:59 | cleaned
Look in your Bibles to Exodus 14 and verse 25. Watch. In fact let's read verse 24: "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen."
#65 | 47:59 to 48:37 | cleaned
Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts and in their minds when all of a sudden they realize, "Hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed." And not one of them escaped. Not one. It's kind of like they tell about Voltaire, the noted French infidel, who was dying, and he invited friends to come around and watch how an infidel died. And the record says that he laid back and closed his eyes, seemingly peacefully dying. And then all of a sudden, he sat straight up in the bed with a look of horror on his face and screamed, "There is a God!" and fell back dead. Yeah, it has to be a horrifying experience to know that God is fighting against you. One last application. Here it is.
#66 | 48:38 to 49:51 | cleaned
I want you to understand this equally true is the fact that those who are saved will know and discover that their salvation is totally of God Himself. If you'll go back, first of all, to Exodus chapter 14, verses 13 and 14: "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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."
#67 | 49:51 to 50:26 | cleaned
So he said, "Here it is. God's going to take care of this."
#68 | 50:26 to 50:30 | cleaned
Now skip down to verse 30. Look what the Bible says: "Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore." Who is it that saved them? The LORD saved them. You know, let me tell you. We may confess and acknowledge now, like Jonah, "Salvation is of the LORD." And we may say, "I know I cannot save myself. I know that I cannot help save myself. I know that salvation is of the LORD." But guess what? When we get in the presence of God only by His grace and mercy, we will know powerfully that it was God and God alone who saved us. And just like the horror and the terror melted the hearts of His enemies when they realized that God was fighting against them, think of the grace and love and mercy that will melt your heart when you see that it's God and God alone that has saved you. May be a hard truth, but it's still truth. God will be honoured in salvation and in condemnation.
#69 | 50:30 to 52:04 | cleaned
There is an election. There is a reprobation. Hard truth, but it's still truth. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. It may be flesh-withering, Lord, and men by nature may not like it, but it's still truth. And we bow to Thee. We acknowledge it. We confess it. We believe it. We bow to it and ask You to give us light and understanding that we may rejoice in Thee and glorify Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#70 | 52:06 to 53:28 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:17:57Z

A Hard Truth But Still Truth - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver continues his exposition of Exodus 14, emphasizing the hard biblical truths of election and reprobation. He explains that God sovereignly placed Israel in a predicament to display His salvation and destroy His enemies. The sermon highlights that God will be glorified both in the salvation of His people and in the condemnation of the wicked. Applications include trusting God's providence, recognizing that all will know God either in mercy or judgment, and resting in the fact that salvation is entirely of the Lord.

Opening

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:1-4

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: 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."

Review of Part 1: Divine Plan, Prerogative, and Predicament

Attitude Toward Hard Truths

Believers should humbly bow to difficult doctrines they do not fully understand, trusting God to give light in His time, as exemplified by Lester Roloff's response to Ephesians 1.

Divine Providence: God's Sovereign Care

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:13-14

"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: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

Now, I want to point out a couple things just in passing. Notice verse 13: He says,

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:13-14

"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD."

First of all, only God's people see His salvation. Stop and think about that. Only God's people see His salvation. Here's the second truth, look at it in verse 13:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:13-14

"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever."

Scripture Reading — Philippians 1:28

"And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

Scripture Reading — Philippians 1:28

"which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

Now I want you to understand something, two things are going to happen. He is going to deliver His people, and He's going to destroy His enemies. Okay?

Human Responsibility: Unquestioning Obedience

In light of God's providence, the believer's duty is to obey God's commands without hesitation, whether leader or follower, as seen in God's instructions to Moses and Israel to move forward.

Divine Praise: God Glorified in Salvation and Condemnation

The Potter and the Clay: Romans 9

Using Romans 9, Weaver argues that God, as the potter, has the right to make vessels of honor and dishonor from the same lump of humanity, showing mercy to some and hardening others for His glory.

The Song of Moses: Praise for Deliverance and Judgment

I want you to go back to the book of Exodus chapter 14. I want you to look at this. In Exodus chapter 14, we're going to read this beginning with verse 27:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 14:23-28

"And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them."

So watch verse 1 of Exodus 15:

Scripture Reading — Exodus 15:1-10

"Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; 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 host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;

Applications: Trusting God in Desperate Times

Scripture Reading — Revelation 19:1-3

"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."

Scripture Reading — Philippians 2:9-11

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

A Hard Truth But Still Truth - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	W5Bu4kyJu3o
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: As Yet
Genre	Sermon
Date	2016-01-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 105: A Hard Truth But Still Truth — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	70

Lecture Guide

Outline

Review of Part 1: Divine Plan, Prerogative, and Predicament: Weaver recaps the first three points from the previous message: God's divine plan to bait Pharaoh, His divine prerogative to harden hearts, and the divine predicament Israel faced with no human escape.
Attitude Toward Hard Truths: Believers should humbly bow to difficult doctrines they do not fully understand, trusting God to give light in His time, as exemplified by Lester Roloff's response to Ephesians 1.
Divine Providence: God's Sovereign Care: God's providence works all things for good for His people, even when they are cornered by enemies. Moses commands Israel to stand still and see God's salvation, which includes the destruction of their foes.
Human Responsibility: Unquestioning Obedience: In light of God's providence, the believer's duty is to obey God's commands without hesitation, whether leader or follower, as seen in God's instructions to Moses and Israel to move forward.
Divine Praise: God Glorified in Salvation and Condemnation: God receives praise both from the saved, who magnify His grace and mercy, and from the condemned, who ultimately demonstrate His justice and holiness. The same truth is light to believers and darkness to unbelievers.
The Potter and the Clay: Romans 9: Using Romans 9, Weaver argues that God, as the potter, has the right to make vessels of honor and dishonor from the same lump of humanity, showing mercy to some and hardening others for His glory.
The Song of Moses: Praise for Deliverance and Judgment: Exodus 15 is a song of praise celebrating God's triumph over Pharaoh's army, illustrating that God's deliverance of His people necessarily involves the destruction of His enemies, and both bring Him honor.
Applications: Trusting God in Desperate Times: Weaver applies the passage by urging believers to trust that God will turn the tables on His enemies, that all people will know God either in salvation or condemnation, and that the saved will eternally know their salvation is wholly of God.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

God hardens hearts to accomplish His purposes

God actively hardens the hearts of the wicked, like Pharaoh, to ensure they pursue His people and thus bring about their own destruction and His glory.

Weaver says, 'God said, "I'm going to harden his heart."... God just allowed him to think that he could beat God... Just pride and arrogance and pure stupidity.'

Salvation includes the destruction of God's enemies

God's deliverance of His people is inseparable from the judgment of His adversaries, as seen in the Red Sea event.

Weaver states, 'God's salvation also includes the destruction of His enemies... He was actually setting a trap and setting up His enemies for destruction.'

God's truth is light to believers and darkness to unbelievers

The same divine truth that illuminates and guides God's people blinds and condemns those who reject Him.

Weaver explains, 'God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But... will always be darkness to His enemies.'

God has the right as Creator to choose some and reject others

Using the potter and clay analogy from Romans 9, Weaver argues that God is not unjust in electing some to salvation and leaving others in their sin for destruction.

Weaver quotes Romans 9:21 and says, 'What God says is, "Look, I'm the potter. I can make one vessel to honour, one vessel to dishonour, out of the same lump. I'm God. I can do as I please."'

All people will ultimately acknowledge God, either in salvation or judgment

Every person will one day confess that God is Lord, either willingly in salvation or forcibly in condemnation, fulfilling God's purpose to be known.

Weaver says, 'All men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know Him.'

The enemies of God will realize too late that God fights against them

In their destruction, the wicked will discover with horror that God Himself is their adversary, as the Egyptians did when their chariot wheels were removed.

Weaver describes, 'Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts... when all of a sudden they realize, "Hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed."'

Scripture References

Exodus 14:1-4: God instructs Moses to encamp Israel in a seemingly vulnerable position to bait Pharaoh into pursuing them, as part of His plan to gain honor over Egypt.
Exodus 14:4: God declares He will harden Pharaoh's heart so that Pharaoh will pursue Israel, resulting in God being honored and the Egyptians knowing He is the LORD.
Exodus 14:8: The LORD hardens Pharaoh's heart, and Pharaoh pursues Israel, while Israel goes out with a high hand.
Exodus 14:10-12: Israel sees the Egyptians approaching and cries out in fear, complaining to Moses that it would have been better to serve Egypt than die in the wilderness.
Exodus 14:13-14: Moses tells the people not to fear, to stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, for the LORD will fight for them.
Exodus 14:15-16: God tells Moses to stop crying out and to command Israel to go forward, while Moses lifts his rod to divide the sea.
Exodus 14:17-18: God says He will harden the Egyptians' hearts to follow Israel into the sea, gaining honor over Pharaoh and his army, so that Egypt will know He is the LORD.
Exodus 14:19-20: The angel of God and the pillar of cloud move between Israel and Egypt, giving light to Israel but darkness to the Egyptians, preventing them from approaching.
Exodus 14:21-22: Moses stretches out his hand, and the LORD drives back the sea with a strong east wind, making dry ground for Israel to cross with walls of water on either side.
Exodus 14:23-28: The Egyptians pursue into the sea, but the LORD troubles them, removes their chariot wheels, and causes the waters to return, drowning the entire army.
Exodus 14:30-31: The LORD saves Israel that day, and Israel sees the Egyptians dead on the seashore, leading them to fear the LORD and believe Him and Moses.
Exodus 15:1-10: Moses and Israel sing a song of praise to the LORD for His glorious triumph, describing the destruction of Pharaoh's army in the sea.
Romans 8:28: Weaver cites this verse to affirm that God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, even in predicaments.
Philippians 1:28: Believers are not to be terrified by adversaries, as their opposition is a token of perdition for the enemies but of salvation for God's people.
Romans 9:10-13: Paul uses Jacob and Esau to illustrate that God's election is not based on works but on His calling, showing that God loved Jacob and hated Esau before they were born.
Romans 9:14-18: Paul argues that God is not unrighteous in election, quoting Exodus 33:19 to show that God has mercy on whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills, using Pharaoh as an example.
Romans 9:19-23: Paul rebukes those who question God's sovereignty, using the potter and clay analogy to show God's right to make vessels of honor and dishonor, enduring the wicked to display His wrath and power.
Revelation 19:1-3: A great multitude in heaven praises God for His true and righteous judgments in destroying the great whore, with her smoke rising forever.
Proverbs 16:4: The LORD has made all things for Himself, even the wicked for the day of evil, indicating that God ordains the wicked for judgment.
Philippians 2:9-11: God has exalted Christ so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Historical References

Lester Roloff: Weaver recounts hearing Lester Roloff on the Family Altar program reading Ephesians 1 and humbly admitting he did not understand the doctrine of election but bowed to it, waiting for God to give light.
Voltaire: Weaver tells the story of the French infidel Voltaire, who on his deathbed reportedly sat up in horror and screamed 'There is a God!' before dying, illustrating the terror of realizing God is against you.

Important Quotes

When you and I run across these hard and difficult truths of the Bible, we have to admit them, we have to confess them, we have to acknowledge them, and we have to say, 'They're there. I may not understand it at this particular point, but I believe it and I bow to it because it's in the Word of God.'

This quote encapsulates the sermon's call for humble submission to difficult biblical doctrines, even when they are not fully understood.

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Weaver quotes Exodus 14:14 as the central promise of divine deliverance, emphasizing that God's people can trust Him to fight their battles.

Shut up and watch God.

Weaver's colloquial paraphrase of Exodus 14:14, stressing the need for silent trust in God's providence rather than fearful complaining.

God's truth, God's Word, God's will, and God's way will always be light to His people. But God's truth, and God's Word, and God's will, and God's way will always be darkness to His enemies.

This highlights the dual effect of divine revelation: it saves and illuminates believers while hardening and condemning unbelievers.

All men will know God either in salvation or condemnation. But they shall know Him.

This underscores the inevitability that every person will ultimately acknowledge God, whether in saving grace or in judgment.

Can you imagine the absolute horror and terror in their hearts and in their minds when all of a sudden they realize, 'Hey, this is it. God is fighting against us. We're doomed.'

Weaver vividly portrays the terror of the wicked when they discover too late that God is their adversary, not their savior.

May be a hard truth, but it's still truth. God will be honoured in salvation and in condemnation.

The concluding statement of the sermon, reiterating the central theme that God's glory is displayed both in saving some and judging others.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How should we respond when we encounter biblical truths that are difficult to understand or accept?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that we must bow to hard truths even when we don't fully comprehend them, trusting God to give light in His time.

[Question]

In what ways does the account of Israel at the Red Sea illustrate the doctrine of God's providence?

[Context]

Weaver explains that God sovereignly placed Israel in a predicament with no human escape to display His salvation and destroy His enemies.

[Question]

What does it mean that God's salvation includes the destruction of His enemies, and how should this affect our view of current opposition to the church?

[Context]

Weaver points out that God's deliverance of His people is tied to the judgment of His adversaries, and that apparent threats to the church will ultimately be overturned.

[Question]

How does the potter and clay analogy in Romans 9 help us understand God's sovereignty in election and reprobation?

[Context]

Weaver uses Romans 9 to argue that God has the right as Creator to make vessels of honor and dishonor from the same lump of humanity.

[Question]

Why is it important to recognize that all people will one day acknowledge God, either in salvation or condemnation?

[Context]

Weaver stresses that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, either willingly now or forcibly in judgment.

[Question]

What does the terror of the Egyptians when they realized God was fighting against them teach us about the fate of those who oppose God?

[Context]

Weaver describes the horror of discovering too late that God is one's enemy, using the Egyptians' experience and the story of Voltaire.

[Question]

How does the truth that salvation is entirely of the Lord bring comfort and assurance to believers?

[Context]

Weaver concludes that just as the wicked will know God's judgment, the saved will eternally know that their salvation is solely by God's grace and power.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T06:51:58Z