Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Exodus. Day 46, Camping In The Desert

The Lord doesn't lead the Israelites by the shortest route but instead leads them into the desert near the Red Sea.

"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, 'If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle." (Exodus 13:17-18) The shorter road was the better road; it was a well-traveled trade route. But Egypt had military outposts along that road and had the Egyptian soldiers seen the enormous group making their exodus from Egypt they may have attacked the group in an effort to corral them and take them back to Egypt. The Israelites have arranged themselves in battle array while coming out of Egypt but their men are not trained warriors. They are probably in good physical shape due to their many years of forced hard labor but they are not swordsmen or archers. Being met with opposition by trained fighters during their first few days of freedom might have put them in such a panic that they would have fled back to the land of their captivity.

Later on the Israelites will have to engage the tribes of Canaan in battle to take over the promised land, but that time has not yet arrived and they are not yet mentally ready to fight. They've just been rescued from a land where they were treated as if they are less than human, where they were given very few rights, and where their sense of self was beaten down on a daily basis. They have some healing to do before they'll be mentally prepared to fight battles, and the Lord knows this, and He mercifully and lovingly takes them by the longer route that winds through a desert place. He plans to perform one of the most well-known miracles of the Bible there and this miracle is intended to demonstrate to them that the Lord is their strength. On their own they are not sufficient for the enormous task ahead of them in taking over the promised land, but their God is sufficient. He has everything needed to make up for any lack on their part.

"Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath. He had said, 'God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.'" (Exodus 13:19) Joseph made this request of his family in Genesis 50:25. He knew by then that Egypt would be the land of the oppression foretold by God when making covenant promises to Abraham. He knew his family and their descendants would be enslaved in Egypt but he also knew God would rescue them, and when God rescued them he wanted his coffin taken out of Egypt and buried in the promised land. Joshua 24:32 tells us that they fulfilled Joseph's request and that his remains were "buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver".

"After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people." (Exodus 13:20-22) The Lord, like a shepherd, leads His flock. Unfortunately for us in modern times, the word "sheep" has begun to be used in a derogatory manner to denote people who blindly follow and who will believe anything and who refuse to think for themselves. But this is not the Biblical definition of the relationship between sheep and shepherd. The Lord loves and cares for and protects His flock like the good shepherd He is. Shepherds had to be vigilant and ready at all times to chase away or fight predators. Shepherds had to be on the alert for wayward sheep that might wander from the fold so they could be led gently back. Shepherds tended ailments and injuries among the flock and sat up nights with any sheep that felt poorly. The sheep followed their shepherd because their shepherd loved them. Their shepherd was their source of strength, comfort, protection, health, and provision. They didn't blindly follow him. They followed him because he had proven himself trustworthy. The Lord is going to prove Himself trustworthy during Israel's time in the desert and He begins immediately by making Himself visible to them day and night. Shepherds must walk in front of their sheep; sheep will not be driven like cattle. This is why we find the Lord going in front of them, not behind them.

In tomorrow's study we will find them camping by the Red Sea and we will find the Egyptians regretting allowing them to leave. Pharaoh and his army will set out after them, but they are setting themselves up for failure because the Good Shepherd is going to make a way for His flock to escape.






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