We live in a moment where fear shapes far more of our public life than we want to admit. Headlines flare up, leaders make bold declarations, and entire groups are labeled as threats. But beneath the noise lies a deeper spiritual question — one that reaches back to Exodus and forward into Revelation: Why do we forget so quickly Who our true protector is? This isn’t an article about politics or about the organizations named in the news. It’s about the human heart, our short memory of God’s faithfulness, and the way fear pushes us toward earthly saviors when we already have a Heavenly One.
However, we also need to acknowledge that fear isn’t new. And it isn’t unique to our moment. It’s simply part of life in our fallen world.
A headline caught my eye today: “We will purge them from our state.” I’ll explain who it was about later, but honestly, that wasn’t the part that struck me. What stopped me was the instinct behind it — the fear, the urgency, the sense that someone out there is so dangerous that the only solution is to drive them away. It made me pause and ask a harder question: What are we so afraid of? And does pushing someone across a border really make us any safer, or does it simply expose how quickly we forget where our true security comes from?
Who generated the fear in the headline?
The headline could’ve come from any state. To be sure, it’s not an isolated case. It just happens to be the one that caught my eye and hit me hard enough to feel a need to write about it.
‘We will purge them from our state’: Abbott clashes with CAIR
Story by Grace Hall – from msn.com US News
SO, now we know the state. Texas.
And we know who caused this fear. The Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Full disclosure here: the Muslim Brotherhood was also mentioned in the article, although not in the title.
What caused the clash in Texas?
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has declared The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood to be foreign terrorist organizations under Texas law, prohibiting them from purchasing land in the state and giving agencies authority for increased enforcement. 1msn.com US News at ‘We will purge them from our state’: Abbott clashes with CAIR
My focus is larger than either CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood
Both CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood were named in the same proclamation, but only CAIR responded with a lawsuit. The two groups aren’t formally connected
- — their missions, methods, and spheres of influence are different. But regardless of affiliation, my hope isn’t in sorting out ideological alliances. My hope is in God
- — for them, for us, and for every nation that forgets where true security comes from.
With that as a limited background, and with the focus directed towards our beliefs and relationship with God, let’s move forward with this important topic: What Are We Afraid Of?
We know about The Exodus. But do we live as if we believe it?
My question may sound a bit severe: But do we actually live as if we believe what we say about God? Before we judge anyone in the present, we need to remember that even the people who lived through The Exodus struggled to trust what they had seen with their own eyes. Their memory faded so quickly that not one person who began that journey entered the Promised Land — not even Moses. This isn’t a critique of them, or of us. It’s a reminder: to remember, to believe, and then to live as if we truly believe.
The Exodus: from God’s planning to The Red Sea
Let’s take a brief but important look at what happened in The Exodus, beginning with what was going on in Egypt that prompted the events we’ll examine.
Oppression in Egypt
Consider the scenario below. Compare and contrast it with the state of affairs in Texas that led to the Governor’s proclamation.
The Israelites Oppressed 🔍
…
Ex 1:6 Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, 7 but the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them.
Ex 1:8 Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
Ex 1:11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and worked them ruthlessly. 14 They made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their hard labor the Egyptians used them ruthlessly.
Ex 1:15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
Ex 1:19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”
Ex 1:20 So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
Ex 1:22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
How does that compare with Texas? I leave you to answer that question. Honestly, your answer isn’t between you and me – it’s between you and God.
But here’s the thing to really remember here. At this point, the Israelites still did not cry out to God for help!
How does that compare with your experience, not just with CAIR or The Muslim Brotherhood, but with any organization or person who you believe is against God’s heart? And, are you open to not only hear but to go with God’s response – even if you don’t like it? After, we do believe everything’s according to His will and His timing. Don’t we?
God’s rescue plan in Egypt
Eventually, the Israelite’s do call out for help. God’s plan, known since before the beginning, is set in motion hundreds of years before, begins to turn into the actions below. What we don’t see below is that God’s plan was already in motion with the birth and early years of Moses’ life, preparing him for what we see below.
- God prepares to lead the Israelites out of Egypt
- God calls Moses
- Moses returns to Egypt
- Moses and Aaron speak with the elders of Israel
- Moses and Aaron ask for a feast in the wilderness
- Israel suffers under Pharaoh
- Moses and Aaron tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go
- The ten plagues
- The First plague: the waters of Egypt turn to blood
- The second plague: frogs
- The third plague: gnats
- The fourth plague flies
- The fifth plague: Egyptian livestock
- The sixth plague: boils
- The seventh plague: hail
- The eighth plague: locusts
- The ninth plague: darkness
- The tenth plague and Passover: death of firstborn 2Thompson, J., ed. (2020). Lists of Biblical People, Places, Things, and Events. Faithlife.
The Red Sea Rescue
To be sure, the events at the Red Sea were hardly the only miracles God performed. There are 22 recorded miracles throughout the journey. Eight of them took place after the Israelites left their Egyptian captivity and slavery.
- The miracle of the cloudy/fiery pillar
- The miracle at the Reed Sea
- The miracle at Marah
- The miracle of manna
- The miracle of quail
- The miracle of the smitten rock
- The miracle of victory over Amalek
- The miracle presence at Sinai 3Richards, L. (1998). Every miracle in the Bible (p. 59). T. Nelson.
We won’t read the entire passage. Just enough to see one of the miraculous events the Israelites witnessed on their journey. The 16th – with 6 more to follow. Even with all the miracles, fear still overshadowed all of them.
Crossing the Sea 🔍
…
Ex 14:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this.
Ex 14:5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” 6 So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. 8 The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.
Ex 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Ex 14:13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Ex 14:15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. 17 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”
Ex 14:19 Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
Ex 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
Ex 14:23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Ex 14:26 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
Ex 14:29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Look how quickly the Israelites forgot the first 15 – fifteen! – miracles when they cried out:
Ex 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Are we just like the Israelites? Or are we different?
Do today’s Jews and Christians cry out to God for His help?
Now – think, when was the last time you even asked God for help on something like this? For most of us, it’s a resounding never – because we’ve never been in a situation even close to this.
And yet, the question’s out there: do we believe this happened? If we don’t, then what do we believe? Why do we follow a God we don’t believe? I mean, this is a life-or-death thing. Maybe this life. For sure the next life. We really ought to believe. And then, when we do believe, why don’t we act on that belief?
Why do we so often turn to the government instead of to God? Are we afraid God will say, “No”? Or maybe we’re afraid He’ll say, “Not yet”?
Maybe we think we don’t deserve His rescue. On that one, we’re absolutely correct. The Siraelites didn’t deserve it either. And yet, there was God, planning, everything set up, just waiting for them to finally turn to Him ask cry out for help.
What if God’s waiting for us to cry out for help?
Or – what if we’ve waited so long that we’re actually approaching the End Times? Then it’s a whole new scenario. And we need to turn to God’s Word again. This time to the book of Revelation.
In those days, everything we’re afraid of – cultures, governments, religions – they are something to be afraid of. Jesus warned of this Himself, in Matthew’s Gospel.
Signs of the End of the Age 🔍
24:1-51 pp — Mk 13:1-37; Lk 21:5-36
Mt 24:1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Mt 24:3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Mt 24:4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
Mt 24:9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Mt 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
Mt 24:26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Mt 24:29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
Mt 24:30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Mt 24:32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Will Believers in the End Times call out to God
We’ve seen what happened in Old Testament times with the Israelites during The Exodus. Then we looked at Jesus’ warnings for the End Times. It’s only reasonable to believe the time in between won’t be any different. However, when we read the passage below from Revelation, we learn it does actually get worse. The pattern didn’t end in the wilderness. It continues in every generation. And it will continue through to the end. We all have to try to work together and do our best to not fall into the pattern.
The Beast out of the Sea 🔍
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
Rev 13:9 He who has an ear, let him hear.
Rev 13:10 If anyone is to go into captivity,
into captivity he will go.
If anyone is to be killed with the sword,
with the sword he will be killed.
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
Does all this sound scary? It should.
Does any of this make you want to reach out to your government for help? I sincerely hope not.
We often think the government, our laws, our military can/will protect us from anything that might happen. For instance, there are these two famous quotes:
Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
While it’s well known, it’s not quite entirely original. It may have been inspired by an earlier quote.
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
The quotes are fine. However, they’re also limiting.
What we hopefully realized is that when it comes to people and God, the timeframe must go all the way back to the beginning. That is, The Beginning, as in the opening chapter of the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible.
If we don’t remember what God’s word says, then we’re doomed to repeat it. But even if we do remember it, if we haven’t understood or didn’t learn from God’s word, then we’re equally doomed to repeat it.
Sadly, one of the things we just learned is that we, humans, have a horrible track record of remembering, and therefore or repeating history. It’s not easy. I know that from personal experience. That’s part of the reason we’re called to help and encourage each other. To read God’s word on a regular basis. To make it part of the fabric of our lives.
In other words, God is calling for each of us to do everything we can to learn, remember, continue to deepen our understanding, to live according to His word. And then to go back and learn, remember, continue to deepen our understanding, to live according to His word.
As the sayings go – just do it, then rinse and repeat. Then go back to step one.
This entire category of articles in “Are we nearing the End Times?” is an invitation to do exactly that. When we need help – reach out to the One who has proven since the beginning of time that He cares about us, and will take care of us and our best interests for all of eternity.
How can we deal with the things we’re afraid of?
This article isn’t meant to answer every fear or settle every question. It’s meant to open a door. The Exodus teaches us where fear comes from. Revelation teaches us where hope comes from. And the space between them is where we live. This series is an invitation to walk that space with open eyes and a remembering heart. I hope you’ll join me as we learn to trust the God who has always led His people through the wilderness.
Footnotes:
- 1msn.com US News at ‘We will purge them from our state’: Abbott clashes with CAIR
- 2Thompson, J., ed. (2020). Lists of Biblical People, Places, Things, and Events. Faithlife.
- 3Richards, L. (1998). Every miracle in the Bible (p. 59). T. Nelson.
Discover more from Which god can save?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.