April 27, 2018: Day 13 – Exodus 13

Maybe the trek looked something like this:

In my 90 Day Challenge IV folder I have three different maps with three different routes.  There are so many theories as to how the Israelites left Egypt.   But one thing for certain is that the people of Israel were commanded never to forget what it looked like when they did leave Egypt, and what God did for them when they left Egypt.  Once again we read about God commanding Moses to set aside a ritual that would take place once a year.  Ritual is good, it reminds us of God’s amazing grace.  

It is interesting that God spares the Israelites the psychological challenge of facing the Philistines first thing in the morning.  He decides to take them a different way so that they would not become discouraged.  Remember what happens when the spies are sent into the promised land?  This is years later, well they come back discouraged, except for Samuel, of course.  The Lord is trying to avoid that so early in the journey.  We don’t hear a peep from the Egyptians just yet.  Maybe Pharaoh was thinking that they were just going on a three day’s journey like it had been set up to be.  We will hear from them soon enough.

God always leads the way.  A cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night.  It is these passages  that make me think: How could they not have trusted the Lord?  They physically saw him every single day.  Then I remember the uncountable times that I don’t trust the Lord and say: Right, now I remember why they didn’t trust.  We never trust completely.  I would love it if we could trust and obey always.  Yes, I think it is time for a song for that one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm1S-gO1SZM