In The Desert Series

August 13, 2022

In spectacular fashion, Yahweh had shown up and revealed Himself as DELIVERER to the Children of Israel and the ultimate CLEANER OF CLOCKS to the Egyptians.

Egypt had been left in tatters, but it was only after 10 plagues that Pharaoh had finally released his grip – but only for a moment…..

The moment he got over his shock and grief, he was on the trail of those pesky slaves.

This time he had them. Moses had made a mistake. He had led Israel into a dead-end. Mountains on one side - the Red Sea in front of them - some pretty ticked off Egyptians blocking their escape. They had nowhere to go.

GOTCHA!!

NOT. SO. FAST.

• Exodus 14:19-28 - And the angel of God who was going before the camp of Israel set out and went behind them. And the column of cloud set out ahead of them, and it stood still behind them, so that it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And it was a dark cloud, but it gave light to the night, so that neither approached the other all night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh moved the sea with a strong east wind all night, and he made the sea become dry ground, and the waters were divided. And the ?Israelites? entered the middle of the sea on the dry land. The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left. And the Egyptians gave chase and entered after them—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers—into the middle of the sea. And during the morning watch, Yahweh looked down to the Egyptian camp from in the column of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. And he removed the wheels of their chariots so that they drove them with difficulty, and the Egyptians said, “We must flee away from Israel because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt.” And Yahweh said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the waters return over the Egyptians, over their chariots, and over their charioteers.” And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned ?at daybreak? to its normal level, and the Egyptians were fleeing ?because of it?, and Yahweh swept the Egyptians into the middle of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the charioteers—all the army of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea. Not ?even? one survived among them.

Yahweh had done what only He could do and Israel was now free. The vast desert spread out before them in all its starkness and beauty.

With Yahweh’s mighty acts on their behalf still vivid in their minds Israel started out from the edge of the Red Sea and into the unknown….

What could possibly go wrong?

What do you think the people expected? An easy, pothole free, road to the Promised Land? An oasis on every corner? No problems, no struggles, no inconvenience? SURELY a God who parts seas can provide a trouble-free journey to the Land of milk and honey.

However, 3 days in….

• Exodus 15:23-24 - They came to Marah, and they were not able to drink water from Marah because it was bitter…. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

Yahweh provided water.

6 weeks later….

• Exodus 16:2-3 - All the community of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and against Aaron in the desert. And the Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full, because you have brought us out to this desert to kill all of this assembly with hunger.”

Yahweh provided food – for the next 40 years.

They community started out again, but they didn’t get far before, you guessed it – they ran out of water. Instead of saying, “Hey, this happened once before and Yahweh came through.” they began to complain.

• Exodus 17:3 - …. and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"

Do you see a pattern developing?

Even though Yahweh had proven faithful at every turn, the journey to the Land of milk and honey was just too difficult. This was not what they had signed up for, so their default position became that of complainers.

A few weeks later they arrived at Sinai. The mountain of the burning bush promises:

• Exodus 3:7–8 - …. I have heard their cry of distress because of their oppressors, for I know their sufferings. 8 And I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from this land to a good and wide land, to a land flowing with milk and honey….