Brian Somers Torah: Exodus 13:17 – 17:16
Haftarah: Judges 4:4 – 5:31
Brit Chadassah/New Testament: Revelation 10:1 – 20:6
In this portion, the Children of Israel are finally leaving Egypt and beginning the Exodus. They had just seen the final plague, the death of the firstborn and learned how the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Redemption of the Firstborn serve as a sign between their eyes and a sign on their hands. Now, they’re walking towards freedom.
17 Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 18 Therefore God led the people around by way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in battle formation from the land of Egypt.
Exodus 13:17-18
YHVH was keeping His new people’s mental stability at heart. He knew they had spent a long time being slaves in Egypt and their default mindset was slavery. With slavery, there is little to no freedom. A slave cannot make many decisions. The overseers, and ultimately Pharaoh, decide most things for their slaves. The Israelites were accustomed to having most decisions made for them. Therefore, the Israelites needed time to become used to being a free people.
What we are seeing here is that in the initial euphoria of freedom and the mental and emotional adjustments that are required, YHVH is careful not to lay too heavy a burden or require adjustments too quickly. From this, Hebrew Israelite men can learn to move slowly and not expect too much too soon from themselves and their families.
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you shall camp in front of Baal-zephon, opposite it, by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them; and I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” And they did so.
Exodus 14:1-4
Even though YHVH was being careful with them, He was still going to teach and reinforce the lessons they had begun learning during the Ten Plagues and Passover.
He told Moses to put them in an exposed position from which there was no retreat. The idea was that they would learn more about Him through His gracious act of salvation from the Egyptian host. From this exposed situation, the Children of Israel saw Him divide the Red (or Reed) Sea and open a dry path for them to walk in while they escaped from the Egyptians.
After the great miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, YHVH led the Children of Israel away from the Red Sea and deeper into the wilderness of Shur.
22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter; for that reason it was named Marah. 24 So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” 25 Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet.
There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them. 26 And He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”
Exodus 15:22-26
There are two things to learn here. Verse 25 says that He tested them. This test came three days where there was no water found, but at Marah, the water was bitter. What was the test? Would the Sons of Israel demonstrate faith in Him after the parting of the Red Sea or not? As it turns out, they grumbled at Moses and he cried out to YHVH. He provided the solution, which was throwing a certain tree into the waters to purify them. Therefore, He showed He could purify water for His people to drink safely without bad side effects.
The other thing is that the Sons of Israel were given a promise of being disease-free IF they would “listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep all His statutes”. That’s a great promise right there and given the high rate of disease among those who say they are believers should indicate something is wrong with our “listening carefully to the voice of the Lord your God”!!
After the Sons of Israel left Marah, they came to Elim. From there, they went into the Wilderness of Sin which is between Elim and Sinai. It was here in this wilderness that the Sons of Israel learned about manna. Manna was the “bread from heaven”. With this provision, YHVH showed He can provide both clean water and bread. By also providing a double portion on Friday, He showed how important it is to Him for us not to work on the Sabbath, but rather prepare ahead of time for the Sabbath by preparing double portions on the sixth day.
The journey from the Red Sea to the Wilderness of Sin was the long way around because YHVH didn’t want the Sons of Israel to see war too soon. The longer journey also provided excellent opportunities to teach them that He is willing to put His people into uncomfortable situations where He could test them to see if they would completely rely on Him.