Here is a map of the path God led the people on:
He could have led the people North, by way of a well-traveled trading route. Instead, he took them to a dead end. Why? For God’s glory to be shown. It wasn’t Moses that led them out of Egypt (slavery) it was The LORD. Are they following and trusting Moses at this point or God? Let’s take a look.
Chapter 13: This wonderful chapter speaks of the additional elements of the annual celebration his people are to celebrate. Why? Their children (and the generations to come) will not have witnessed these events personally so God is putting annual celebrations as an opportunity to teach the events that occurred: Verse 14:
14 “In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed the firstborn of both people and animals in Egypt. This is why I sacrifice to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.’ 16 And it will be like a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his mighty hand.”
Go back to the LAST scripture in Genesis 50:
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
We can pull together the promises made to Abraham fulfilled in Exodus 13:19. Moses takes the bones of Joseph to fulfill an oath taken by the sons of Israel.
Chapter 14- God leads them to a spot near Migdol, opposite Baal Zephon. “Baal” is a root word for a pagan god. This may have been a place sailors would worship a god of the storm for safe travel. I picture this as another showdown between The Lord and a god of Egypt. Storm verse storm! God verse god. The Lord creates an east wind with His breath to make a way for final deliverance to show that HE has brought them to redemption.
31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
The people feared and put their trust in the Lord, Moses was merely a servant to him.
Reading these scriptures in the Bible is a very personal and amazing read. When we hear the words Old Testament, this is often the picture in on our mind:
I think this is a scene from the movie 10 Commandments. (not sure I have not seen it) I like this one
The exodus from Egypt, though a real, historical event, prefigures the saving work of Christ for His people. What God did through Moses was to provide physical salvation from physical slavery. What God does through Christ is provide spiritual salvation from spiritual slavery.
Paul says, “For I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:1–4). Paul is giving the Exodus from Egypt a Christological reading; he is making the connection between the Exodus from Egypt and salvation in Christ.
Chapter 15: Song of Victory
Moses and his sister Miriam teach the song to the Israelites. The first part addresses the events that have already occurred, worshiping God as the majestic warrior who defeated the final claims that Pharaoh is a god. Then in verse 13 there is a transition to future events.
On this journey they WILL encounter obstacles from the Philistines, Edom (remember this name?…look back at your genealogies to see who the Edomites are), Moab (who are the Moabites? gross), and the Canaanites (all the way back to the days of Noah we learned about them).
Today’s read ends with a piece of wood, Hebrew translation is a “tree”, which turns the bitter water into sweet drinkable water that brings life. Hmmm. Symbolism?
What tree or wood are you thinking of from the Gospel that turned your bitter sin into living water?
God instructs his people to follow his ways (after redemption, so stop throwing stones at the lost people of the world….they are still lost) and the reward will come. We end today with “They came to Elim, where there were 12 springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.” I don’t know why these numbers, but I am reminded of the 12 tribes and the 70 that ended Genesis. ?
(There were a few really beautiful scriptures in these 3 chapters that I purposely did not talk about so that you can hear it straight from the Lord. Please share if anything made you smile today)
Reading the Bible - 2021 
I always wonder what the Egyptians were thinking. What does their record of history say about the pillar of fire and smoke? What was the reaction back in Egypt after the troops were destroyed. Maybe it’s trivial, but maybe not. Was there “credibility” given to the Hebrew’s God / religion as a result?
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I love that you asked this because last year I actually researched this. If you went to Egypt you would see thousands of images and writings on historical events EXCEPT this. Why? By Law, the only events that were permitted to be written were to elevate their Pharoah. Any documentation about the plagues or the Red Sea would be an embarrassment since Pharoah was a ‘god’ to them.
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I love the song of Miriam and Moses. 💙
“The Lord is my strength and my defense…”
“In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed..”
“The Lord reigns forever and ever.”
Too many amazing verses to count!
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“The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still.” Exodus 14:14
These words never get old. In my striving and doing, it is God who takes care of everything. This goes against our culture. Peace definitely comes though by doing things God’s ways😊
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Exodus 14:14 – The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. There are so many places in scripture where people are told to Go! I am a big scaredy cat, and when I read about the people being terrified as the Egyptians approach, I can imagine myself running, bolting for my life. But in that moment, they were instructed to be still. Trust is so hard and scary and beautiful all at once. I also smiled today when I read that they came to Marah and the water was bitter. I immediately thought of Naomi asking to be called Mara because she was bitter, and just smiled because when I read scripture now I see all the different connections and they finally click.
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I love Ex 15:17-18
“You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance — The place, oh Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, oh Lord, your hands established. The Lord will reign forever and ever.” ❤️
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All I could think of in the last few verses was that the Lord lead them to a beach. Funny, maybe, but an oasis with palm trees. Seems like a beach vacay for a little r/r after years of slavery and a little wilderness excursion. Just reminded me that the Lord is always good. All the time.
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Yes! But as human, as they (we) are, they will find something to complain about!
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When reading 13:9 the sign on hand and forehead stands out. Takes me to Revelation. But they are two different symbols. In Exodus it’s a reminder of what the Lord had done and in Revelation it’s the mark of the beast.
I’m I thinking too hard about this??
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Something else that struck me with the tree in the water, it reminded me of Genesis 30:37. When Jacob placed the branches in the trough. Again, I could be thinking too much.
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