Exodus 14:14 NIV – “The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still.”
There is a trail near our house that I have walked for many years now. I was nearing the end of my walk on a particular day, feeling great, accomplished, satisfied, and at peace. I enjoyed the sunrise, the deer, the plants of the prairie, and I moved my body – a great way to start any day in my book.
Then out of nowhere, this peace was stolen in a millisecond flat. Why? I was dive-bombed by a bird – a red winged blackbird to be exact! It looked something like this:
Photo Credit: Vincennes Sun-Commercial, June 8, 2014
The woman in this picture looks calm. I was not. Peace turned to panic, and panic looked exactly like you might expect. With no exaggeration, there was screaming, flailing of arms, and running away as if I were an eight year old girl. I was terrified, confused, disoriented, and embarrassed once I realized how I was reacting.
I thought maybe it was a fluke. In four years of walking that trail, nothing like that had ever happened to me, nor had I ever seen it happen to anyone else. So, the next day I returned to the trail and did my thing. Same result. I was attacked again, and I panicked again. Next day? Same thing – attack, panic.
Suddenly, this trail – my trail! – my peaceful, safe haven was anything but! What in the world was happening? I needed answers. I needed to make sense of this!
Nesting Season
In search of answers, I of course googled. Here is what I learned. Every year, these red winged blackbirds have a nesting season that runs from late spring to midsummer. The males claim territory, and mate with the females. The females then build a nest and stay close to it as they lay their eggs and they hatch.
While both females and males become protective of their babies, the males are known to be particularly more aggressive. They perch on branches above the nests, scan the landscape, and fiercely defend their territories and nests from threats and predators, including we humans. Part of their aggressive behavior is – guess what? – to dive-bomb intruders and predators in order to protect their own.
Exodus Chapter 14 – The Red Sea Crossing
In Exodus Chapter 14, we read about the events leading up to and after the parting of the Red Sea. This miracle allowed the Israelites to escape Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. Throughout the chapter, we read several examples where Father God took action to protect the Israelites from the threats of their Egyptian predators.
Here are a few examples:
“Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.” Exodus 14:16 NLT
Here the Lord made a way of escape for the Israelites by turning the impasse of the Red Sea into an inroad.
“But just before dawn the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army from the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw their forces into total confusion. He twisted their chariot wheels, making their chariots difficult to drive. “Let’s get out of here—away from these Israelites!” the Egyptians shouted. “The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt!”” Exodus 14:24-25 NLT
Here we read how the Lord incapacitated the Egyptians with confusion and immobilized them by causing issues with their chariot wheels.
“So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea.” Exodus 14:27 NLT
Finally, here we read how the Lord immolated and neutralized the Egyptian predators, ensuring they wouldn’t continue to be a threat.
Elohim Shomri – Rest in the Nest
If we think about the symbolic nature of the experiences with the dive-bombing red winged blackbirds, we can draw parallels between their behavior and the nature and character of Father God that we read about in Exodus 14.
Father God (Elohim Shomri – “God, my protector”) is always perched above our proverbial nests, scanning the landscape and environment for potential threats and predators, and He is always ready to fiercely defend us against those things. As we see, He did this for the Israelites; He does this for us today.
Like the mom and baby blackbirds, we are to let our Father be the Protector He is. We simply rest in the nest, following His instruction, trusting Him, remaining safe in Him, and full-well knowing we are completely loved, cared for, and protected. No harm will come near us (Psalm 91:10).
Moses said this to reassure the Israelites, and today, I feel as if Holy Spirit wants to reassure all of us, too:
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.” Exodus 14:13-14
The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still. Rest in the nest knowing He has you!
God bless you and protect you today and always!
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