Sometimes, It Gets Dark

Exodus 14:19-22, English Standard Version

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night[a] without one coming near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Footnotes

1. Exodus 14:20 Septuagint and the night passed

Joshua 24:5-7, English Standard Version

5 And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it, and afterward I brought you out.

6 “‘Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. And the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 7 And when they cried to the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt. And you lived in the wilderness a long time.

Sermonic Moves:

1. The Lord, the GOD of Israel, The GOD of the Bible, is first revealed in Scripture working in the Dark - meaning we might not be able to work in the dark, but GOD does some of GOD’s most creative work in gloomy and covered places!
2. The Pillar of Cloud - the Indication of the Lord’s Presence switched from leadership to back coverage - The people of GOD were going to have a path forward  through the use of Moses’s outstretched arm as indicated by GOD’s instruction, but what was trying to take them backward had to be covered - there needed to be a barrier between them and their tormenters (GOD will make a barrier for GOD’s people!)
3. When the Cloud confused the opposition - those whom GOD was liberating were free to see a new revelation of who GOD is - they watched GOD part the Sea - a covered backdrop makes what is projected that much more clear!  (Good movies are best viewed with a dark backdrop!)