12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. 13

Ex 28:12-13 (KJV)

12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.

Deut 33:12 (KJV)

Unbelief insinuates-- "You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart, you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you, you will be certainly allured by them and led astray." Ah! yes, we should indeed perish if left to our own strength. If we had alone to navigate our frail vessels over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but, thanks be to God, He will perfect that which concerneth us, and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in Him alone, and never too much concerned to have such a trust. —Morning and Evening

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. 8 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Psalms 138:7-8 (KJV)

1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. 3

Psalms 62:1-3 (KJV)

All that the Church and its members need for the manifestation of the mighty power of God in the world, is the return to our true place, the place that belongs to us, both in creation and redemption, the place of absolute and unceasing dependence upon God. —Waiting on God

Let us strive to see what the elements are that make up this most blessed and needful waiting upon God: it may help us to discover the reasons why this grace is so little cultivated, and to feel how infinitely desirable it is that the Church, that we ourselves, should at any price learn its blessed secret.—Waiting on God

Man's glory and blessedness was not to be independent, or dependent upon himself, but dependent on a God of such infinite riches and love. Man was to have the joy of receiving every moment out of the fulness of God. This was his blessedness as an unfallen creature.—Waiting on God

It is God alone who began the work of redemption; it is God alone who continues and carries it on each moment in each individual believer. Even in the regenerate man there is no power of goodness in himself: he has and can have nothing that he does not each moment receive; and Waiting on God is just as indispensable, and must be just as continuous and unbroken, as the breathing that maintains his natural life.—Waiting on God

It is, then, because Christians do not know their relation to God of absolute poverty and helplessness, that they have no sense of the need of absolute and unceasing dependence, or the unspeakable blessedness of continual Waiting on God. —Waiting on God

Waiting on God is itself the highest salvation. It is the ascribing to Him the glory of being All; it is the experiencing that He is All to us. —Waiting on God

Even with all the display of God's power, Pharaoh did not stay down too long. This is probably the one and only time that his will had been thwarted in his entire reign, and his grief and ego would not let matters stand as they were. Therefore, he pursued the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea. I don't know if it was the subservient or defeatist attitude that had been drilled into the Israelites over hundreds of years or what, but even after having seen the awesome power of God used to free them, they panicked in the face of the army of Egypt. Moses told them to "stand" and watch the salvation of the Lord, but the Lord told them to "go forward." (In other words, take action.) God opened the Red Sea and allowed Israel to cross on dry land. However, these people looked back, and instead of looking towards the Lord of Hosts, they looked at the host of Egyptians and feared for their lives again. However, the Egyptians were looking at God. Their progress was impeded and their vehicles were coming apart. (Ex. 14:25) It took courage for those troops to pursue Israel into a gap in the sea, but they were obeying an Earthly king instead of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and the outcome was their demise. 

 

Israel could have taken the land shortly after the twelve spies returned from their forty day mission and made their report. However, the spirit of slavery and fear belonging to the adults of Israel would not release its hold on them. Their own life and pleasures mattered more to them than obeying the Lord. They longed for the land that they had left as slaves rather than anticipate the land that they were to inherit and enjoy as free men. They were defeated before they were to begin. The people of Canaan had more faith in God than the men of Israel. That is why that generation had to die. They were unlike the generation that crossed the Jordan. The new generation knew God. They knew His power and His provision. Therefore, when the Lord told Joshua to go, they followed in complete obedience, expecting God's best.