KADIMA — קדימה - MOVING FORWARD IN FAITH
- Herschel Raysman
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
KADIMA — קדימה - MOVING FORWARD IN FAITH The Lord’s response to Israel’s dilemma was unexpected. The Israelites were apparently trapped with cliffs on either side, the sea in front and the pursuing Egyptian army rapidly catching up to where they where camped. And, what did HaShem command? He told them to stop move forward — kadima!  And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.’” (Exodus 14:15) The people of Israel were between a rock and a hard place, metaphorically speaking. They were actually between an impassable body of water and the Egyptian army, which was keen to drag them back to Egypt. An interesting interchange ensues between Moses and God. Well, actually, it’s not an interchange. The people freak out, thinking that they are about to be slaughtered. Moses reassures them, but then God tells Moses what to do, contradicting him in the process. Let’s look at this more closely. Moses said to the people: “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Shemot/Exodus 14:13-14) But with all due respect to Moses, he was wrong. They were not just to stand there; they were to “go forward.” I know Moses was also told: “Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground” (Shemot/Exodus 14:16), but the people were not to wait for the sea to part first, but rather they were to march toward the sea. God was calling the people to readjust their orientation to the situation. He had called them to journey in a certain direction, which required getting to the other side of the water. But instead, they were frozen by fear. They needed to refocus and get with God’s program again. Note that God was not calling them into the water before it parted. He might call people to do that from time to time, but not in this case. They simply had to move in its direction. He also didn’t order them to turn around and confront the enemy nipping at their heels. The day would come when Israel would engage in battle, but not now. In this situation, they were to go forward. There are times when we are called to wait upon the Lord — to pray, to listen, and to trust Him for direction. But there are also moments when the time for waiting has passed. When prayer has been prayed, obedience requires action. God calls us to rise from bended knee and step forward in faith. Often, the sea does not part until we move. God may have blessings and victories prepared for us, but they are revealed only as we take those first steps of trust. Through Yeshua, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). Therefore, let us move forward with boldness and confidence into all that God has promised. “So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.” (Exodus 14:22) BE STRONG, DO NOT FEAR! We see Moses demonstrating great faith to his people. We also need to encourage those who are fearful-hearted, reminding them of God’s gr eat power, love and faithfulness. “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.” (Isaiah 35:4) As people in Israel and all over the world are bombarded by threats of war, terrorism, financial collapse, and natural disasters, may we reach out with words of faith and courage. God will fight our battles for us; and we can hold our peace as we trust in Him.
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