When Pharaoh had let the people go, God didn’t lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt”; but God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you.” They took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night: the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.
Parallel Translations
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When Pharaoh had let the people go, God didn’t lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt”;
but God led the people around by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had made the children of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones away from here with you.”
They took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night:
the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, didn’t depart from before the people.
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And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Show all 3 translations
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And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said: 'Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.'
But God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying: 'God will surely remember you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.'
And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; that they might go by day and by night:
the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, departed not from before the people.
Cross-references (42)
- 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 (v21) Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all…
- Nehemiah 9:12 (v21) Moreover, in a pillar of cloud you led them by day; and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light in the way in which they should go.
- Deuteronomy 1:33 (v21) who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should…
- Psalms 99:7 (v21) He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies, the statute that he gave them.
- Nehemiah 9:19 (v21) yet you in your manifold mercies didn’t forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud didn’t depart from over them by day, to lead…
Show all 42 cross-references
- Psalms 105:39 (v21) He spread a cloud for a covering, fire to give light in the night.
- Exodus 33:9-10 (v21) When Moses entered into the Tent, the pillar of cloud descended, stood at the door of the Tent, and Yahweh spoke with Moses. All the people…
- Numbers 14:14 (v21) They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you Yahweh are among this people; for you Yahweh are seen face to…
- Psalms 78:14 (v21) In the daytime he also led them with a cloud, and all night with a light of fire.
- Exodus 14:11-12 (v17) They said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you treated us this…
- Numbers 9:15-23 (v21) On the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, even the Tent of the Testimony. At evening it was over the…
- Genesis 50:24-25 (v19) Joseph said to his brothers, “I am dying, but God will surely visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to…
- Exodus 40:34-38 (v21) Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and Yahweh’s glory filled the tabernacle. Moses wasn’t able to enter into the Tent of Meeting,…
- Numbers 10:34 (v21) The cloud of Yahweh was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp.
- Nehemiah 9:17 (v17) and refused to obey. They weren’t mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion…
- Exodus 14:19-24 (v21) The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood…
- Numbers 14:1-4 (v17) All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. All the children of Israel murmured against Moses…
- Isaiah 4:5-6 (v21) Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming…
- Joshua 24:32 (v19) They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob…
- Luke 14:27-32 (v17) Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit…
- Acts 7:16 (v19) and they were brought back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver from the children of Hamor of Shechem.
- Genesis 48:21 (v19) Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.
- 1 Kings 8:47 (v17) yet if they repent in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who…
- Acts 7:39 (v17) to whom our fathers wouldn’t be obedient, but rejected him, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,
- Exodus 14:2 (v18) “Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn back and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Zephon. You…
- Deuteronomy 20:8 (v17) The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and…
- Exodus 16:2-3 (v17) The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; and the children of Israel…
- Numbers 33:5-6 (v20) The children of Israel traveled from Rameses, and encamped in Succoth. They traveled from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, which is in the…
- Numbers 33:6-8 (v18) They traveled from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. They traveled from Etham, and turned back to…
- Deuteronomy 17:16 (v17) Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because…
- Deuteronomy 32:10 (v18) He found him in a desert land, in the waste howling wilderness. He surrounded him. He cared for him. He kept him as the apple of his eye.
- Acts 15:38 (v17) But Paul didn’t think that it was a good idea to take with them someone who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia, and didn’t go with them…
- Exodus 4:31 (v19) The people believed, and when they heard that Yahweh had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they…
- Exodus 12:37 (v20) The children of Israel traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot who were men, in addition to children.
- Exodus 12:51 (v18) That same day, Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.
- Joshua 1:14 (v18) Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall live in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but you shall pass over…
- Judges 7:3 (v17) Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’…
- Psalms 121:5-8 (v22) Yahweh is your keeper. Yahweh is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Yahweh will keep…
- Luke 1:58 (v19) Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
- Luke 7:16 (v19) Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”
- Revelation 10:1 (v22) I saw a mighty angel coming down out of the sky, clothed with a cloud. A rainbow was on his head. His face was like the sun, and his feet…
- Psalms 107:7 (v18) he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (23 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 21 Or, because.
Or, because.
Which the Philistines would have made against them by stopping them the passage.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Exo 13:17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh…
Exo 13:17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not [through] the way of the land of the Philistines, although that [was] near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
Ver. 17. That God led them not.] He carefully chose their way out of Egypt; not the nearer, but the safer. He tempts not above what we are able: but so orders the matter, that evils are not ready for us till we for them.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 21, 22 The Philistines, a fierce and warlike people, whereof they…
The Philistines, a fierce and warlike people, whereof they had sad and late experience, 1Ch 7:21.
That was near; there being this way but a few days’ journey between Egypt and Canaan. Peradventure: God speaks after the manner of men, for nothing was unknown nor uncertain to him. Though the Hebrew particle pen doth not always imply doubting, but ofttimes only signifies lest, as Gen 3:3; 38:23; Num 20:18.
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When they see war; which they were likely to do, because the war would probably be long and hot, and their bodies were much weakened, and their spirits and courage broken, by a tedious and grievous bondage; and therefore it was fit that before they were called to such sharp conflicts, they should be hardened by the labours of a long and troublesome journey, and their faith should be strengthened by further experience of God’s power, and faithfulness, and goodness, and by the glorious appearance of God at Mount Sinai, and those commands, promises, and encouragements there given them. But though this which is here mentioned was one, yet it was not the only reason of his counsel, but there were other causes of it; the Egyptians were to be drowned in the sea, the Israelites to be further tried, Deu 8:2 and full measure to be allowed to the iniquity of the Amorites. And they return to Egypt; as afterwards they attempted to do, Num 15, upon a like occasion.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v17 Here is, I. The choice God made of their…
Here is, I. The choice God made of their way, Exo 13:17, Exo 13:18. He was their guide. Moses gave them direction but as he received it from the Lord. Note, The way of man is not in himself, Jer 10:23. He may devise his way, and design it; but, after all, it is God that directs his steps, Pro 16:9. Man proposes, but God disposes, and in his disposal we must acquiesce, and set ourselves to follow providence. There were two ways from Egypt to Canaan. One was a short cut from the north of Egypt to the south of Canaan, perhaps about four or five days' journey; the other was much further about, through the wilderness, and that was the way in which God chose to lead his people Israel, Exo 13:18. 1. There were many reasons why God led them through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. The Egyptians were to be drowned in the Red Sea. The Israelites were to be humbled and proved in the wilderness, Deu 8:2. God had given it to Moses for a sign (Exo 3:12), You shall serve God in this mountain. They had again and again told Pharaoh that they must go three days' journey into the wilderness to do sacrifice, and therefore it was requisite that they should bend their march that way, else they would justly have been exclaimed against as notorious dissemblers. Before they entered the lists with their enemies, matters must be settled between them and their God, laws must be given, ordinances instituted, covenants sealed, and the original contract ratified, for the doing of which it was necessary that they should retire into the solitudes of a wilderness, the only closet for such a crowd; the high road would be no proper place for these transactions. It is said (Deu 32:10), He led them about, some hundreds of miles about, and yet (Psa 107:7), He led them forth by the right way. God's way is the right way, though it seem about. If we think he leads not his people the nearest way, yet we may be sure he leads them the best way, and so it will appear when we come to our journey's end. Judge nothing before the time. 2. There was one reason why God did not lead them the nearest way, which would have brought them after a few days' march to the land of the Philistines (for it was that part of Canaan that lay next to Egypt), namely, because they were not as yet fit for war, much less for war with the Philistines, Exo 13:17. Their spirits were broken with slavery; it was not easy for them to turn their hands of a sudden from the trowel to the sword. The Philistines were formidable enemies, too fierce to be encountered by raw recruits; it was more suitable that they should begin with the Amalekites, and be prepared for the wars of Canaan by experiencing the difficulties of the wilderness. Note, God proportions his people's trials to their strength, and will not suffer them to be tempted above what they are able, Co1 10:13. That promise, if compared with the foregoing verses, will seem to refer to this event, as an instance of it. God knows our frame, and considers our weakness and faintheartedness, and by less trials will prepare us for greater. God is said to bring Israel out of Egypt as the eagle brings up her young ones (Deu 32:11), teaching them by degrees to fly. Orders being thus given which way they should go, we are told, (1.) That they went up themselves, not as a confused rout, but in good order, rank and file: they went up harnessed, Exo 13:18. They went up by five in a rank (so some), in five squadrons, so others. They marched like an army with banners, which added much to their strength and honour. (2.) That they took the bones of Joseph along with them (Exo 13:19), and probably the bones of the rest of Jacob's sons, unless (as some think) they had been privately carried to Canaan (Act 7:16), severally as they died. Joseph had particularly appointed that his bones should be carried up when God should visit the (Gen 50:25, Gen 50:26), so that their carrying up his bones was not only a performance of the oath their fathers had sworn to Joseph, but an acknowledgment of the performance of God's promise to them by Joseph that he would visit them and bring them out of the land of Egypt, and an encouragement to their faith and hope that he would fulfil the other part of the promise, which was to bring them to Canaan, in expectation of which they carried these bones with them while they wandered in the desert. They might think, "Joseph's bones must rest at last, and then we shall." Moses is said to take these bones with him. Moses was now a very great man; so had Joseph been in his day, yet he was now but a box full of dry bones; this was all that remained of him in this world, which might serve for a monitor to Moses to remember his mortality. I have said, You are gods; it was said so to Moses expressly (Exo 7:1); but you shall die like men.
II. Here is the guidance they were blessed with in the way: The Lord went before them in a pillar, Exo 13:21, Exo 13:22. In the first two stages it was enough that God directed Moses whither to march: he knew the country and the road well enough; but now that they had come to the edge of the wilderness (Exo 13:20) they would have occasion for a guide; and a very good guide they had, one that was infinitely wise, kind, and faithful: The Lord went before them, the shechinah (or appearance of the divine Majesty, which was typical of Christ) or a previous manifestation of the eternal Word, which, in the fulness of time, was to be made flesh, and dwell among us. Christ was with the church in the wilderness, Co1 10:9. Now their King passed before them, even the Lord on the head of them, Mic 2:13. Note, Those whom God brings into a wilderness he will not leave nor lose there, but will take care to lead them through it; we may well think it was a very great satisfaction to Moses and the pious Israelites to be sure that they were under divine guidance. Those needed not to fear missing their way who were thus led, nor being lost who were thus directed; those needed not to fear being benighted who were thus illuminated, nor being robbed who were thus protected. Those who make the glory of God their end, and the word of God their rule, the Spirit of God the guide of their affections, and the providence of God the guide of their affairs, may be confident that the Lord goes before them, as truly as he went before Israel in the wilderness, though not so sensibly; we must live by faith. 1. They had sensible evidences of God's going before them. They all saw an appearance from heaven of a pillar, which in the bright day appeared cloudy, and in the dark night appeared fiery. We commonly see that that which is a flame in the night is a smoke in the day; so was this. God gave them this ocular demonstration of his presence, in compassion to the infirmity of their faith, and in compliance with that infant state of the church, which needed to be thus lisped to in their own language; but blessed are those that have not seen and yet have believed God's gracious presence with them, according to his promise. 2. They had sensible effects of God's going before them in this pillar. For, (1.) It led the way in that vast howling wilderness, in which there was no road, no track, no way-mark, of which they had no maps, through which they had no guides. When they marched, this pillar went before them, at the rate that they could follow, and appointed the place of their encampment, as Infinite Wisdom saw fit, which both eased them from care, and secured them from danger, both in moving and in resting. (2.) It sheltered them by day from the heat, which, at some times of the year, was extreme. (3.) It gave them light by night when they had occasion for it, and at all times made their camp pleasant and the wilderness they were in less frightful.
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III. These were constant standing miracles (Exo 13:22): He took not away the pillar of cloud; no, not when they seemed to have less occasion for it, travelling through inhabited countries, no, not when they murmured and were provoking; it never left them, till it brought them to the borders of Canaan. It was a cloud which the wind could not scatter. This favour is acknowledged with thankfulness long afterwards, Neh 9:19; Psa 78:14. There was something spiritual in this pillar of cloud and fire. 1. The children of Israel were baptized unto Moses in this cloud, which, some think, distilled dew upon them, Co1 10:2. By coming under this cloud, they signified their putting themselves under the divine guidance and command by the ministry of Moses. Protection draws allegiance; this cloud was the badge of God's protection, and so became the bond of their allegiance. Thus they were initiated, and admitted under that government, now when they were entering upon the wilderness. 2. Some make this cloud a type f Christ. The cloud of his human nature was a veil to the light and fire of his divine nature; we find him (Rev 10:1) clothed with a cloud, and his feet as pillars of fire. Christ is our way, the light of our way and the guide of it. 3. It signified the special guidance and protection which the church of Christ is under in this world. God himself is the keeper of Israel, and he neither slumbers nor sleeps, Psa 121:4; Isa 27:3. There is a defence created, not only on Sion's assemblies, but on every dwelling-place in Sion. See Isa 4:5, Isa 4:6. Nay, every Israelite indeed is hidden under the shadow of God's wings (Psa 17:8); angels, whose ministry was made use of in this cloud, are employed for their good, and pitch their tents about them. Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv17–22 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let…
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go,.... Gave them leave to depart out of Egypt, and even urged them to be gone in haste upon the death of his firstborn:
that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; the land of the Philistines was the Pentapolis, or five cities of Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath, which lay between Egypt and Canaan; and their way through it to Canaan, out of Egypt, was the nearest they could go; and was, as Aben Ezra says, about ten days' journey; but Philo the Jew says (l) it was but three days' journey; and it seems, by the sons of Jacob going to and fro for corn, that it was no very long journey:
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for God said: within himself, or he declared the following reason of so doing to Moses:
lest peradventure the people repent: which is said not as ignorant or doubtful, but, as Aben Ezra says, after the manner of men:
when they see war: the Philistines coming out against them to hinder their passage through their country; they being a warlike people, bold and courageous, and the Israelites, through their long servitude, of a mean, timorous, and cowardly disposition; and indeed as yet unarmed, and so very unfit to engage in war, and therefore would at once be intimidated:
and they return to Egypt; judging it more eligible to continue in their former bondage, than to fall a prey into the hands of such fierce and cruel enemies. This is the only reason mentioned for not leading them this way; but there were other secret reasons for it, which afterwards opened in Providence, as the doing that wonderful work for them, leading them through the Red sea as on dry land, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it; and by being brought into a wilderness, a solitude, they would be in the fittest place to receive and attend to the body of laws given them, and where they were formed into a commonwealth and church state, previous to their entrance into, and possession of, the land of Canaan; and here also they were humbled, tried and proved, and had such instances of the power and goodness of God to them, as were sufficient to attach them to his service, and lay them under the greatest obligation to him, as well as would be of use to strengthen their faith and hope in him in future times of difficulty and distress.
(l) De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 627.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv18, 21, 22 There were many reasons why God led them through…
There were many reasons why God led them through the way of the wilderness of the red sea. The Egyptians were to be drowned in the Red-sea, the Israelites were to be humbled, and proved in the wilderness. Deut. viii, 2. God had given it to Moses for a sign, chap. iii, 12, ye shall serve God in this mountain. They had again and again told Pharaoh that they must go three days journey into the wilderness to do sacrifice, and therefore it was requisite they should march that way, else they had justly been exclaimed against as dissemblers. Before they entered the lifts with their enemies, matters must be settled between them and their God; laws must be given, ordinances instituted, covenants sealed; and for the doing of this it was necessary they should retire into the solitudes of a wilderness, the only closet for such a crowd; the high road would be no proper place for these transactions. The reason why God did not lead them the nearest way, which would have brought them in a few days to the land of the Philistines, was because they were not yet fit for war, much less for war with the Philistines. Their spirits were broke with slavery; the Philistines were formidable enemies; it was convenient they should begin with the Amalekites, and be prepared for the wars of Canaan, by experiencing the difficulties of the wilderness. God is said to bring Israel out of Egypt as the eagle brings up her young ones, Deut. xxxii, 11, teaching them by degrees to fly. They went up harnessed - They went up by five in a rank, so some; in five squadrons, so others. They marched like an army with banners, which added much to strength and honour.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Verse 17. God led them not through the way…
Verse 17. God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, c.] Had the Israelites been obliged to commence their journey to the promised land by a military campaign, there is little room to doubt that they would have been discouraged, have rebelled against Moses and Aaron, and have returned back to Egypt. Their long slavery had so degraded their minds that they were incapable of any great or noble exertions and it is only on the ground of this mental degradation, the infallible consequence of slavery, that we can account for their many dastardly acts, murmurings, and repinings after their escape from Egypt. The reader is requested to bear this in mind, as it will serve to elucidate several circumstances in the ensuing history. Besides, the Israelites were in all probability unarmed, and totally unequipped for battle, encumbered with their flocks, and certain culinary utensils. which they were obliged to carry with them in the wilderness to provide them with bread, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv18, 21, 22 Exo 13:18. There were various reasons why God led…
Exo 13:18. There were various reasons why God led them through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea. The Egyptians were to be drowned in the Red sea, the Israelites were to be humbled and proved in the wilderness, Deu 8:2. God had given it to Moses for a sign, Exo 3:12, Ye shall serve God in this mountain. They had again and again told Pharaoh that they must go three days’ journey into the wilderness to do sacrifice, and therefore it was requisite they should march that way, else they had justly been exclaimed against as dissemblers. Before they entered the lists with their enemies, matters must be settled between them and their God; laws must be given, ordinances instituted, covenants sealed; and for the doing of this it was necessary they should retire into the solitudes of a wilderness, the only closet for such a crowd; the high road would be no proper place for these transactions. The reason why God did not lead them the nearest way, which would have brought them in a few days to the land of the Philistines, was because they were not yet fit for war, much less for war with the Philistines. Their spirits were broken with slavery; the Philistines were formidable enemies; it was convenient they should begin with the Amalekites, and be prepared for the wars of Canaan, by experiencing the difficulties of the wilderness. God is said to bring Israel out of Egypt, as the eagle brings up her young ones, Deu 32:11, teaching them by degrees to fly. They went up harnessed — The original word for harnessed here is variously rendered: it comes from a root which signifies five, hence some render it five in a rank. The same word is rendered prepared for war, Jos 1:14; Jos 4:12-13. Targum, girded, harnessed. Vulg. armati, armed. So the Seventy, ευζωνοι equipped, διεσκυασμενοι prepared, furnished: thus in Joshua; but in this place of Exodus the Seventy render the word πεντη γενεα, the fifth generation, and translate the passage, In the fifth generation, the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 21 Harnessed - More probably, “marshalled” or “in orderly array.”…
Harnessed - More probably, “marshalled” or “in orderly array.” There is not the least indication that the Israelites had been disarmed by the Egyptians, and as occupying a frontier district frequently assailed by the nomads of the desert they would of necessity be accustomed to the use of arms. Compare Exo 1:10.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv17, 18, 19, 20, 22 Lest. God maketh use of precautions, to shew the…
Lest. God maketh use of precautions, to shew the free-will of man. (Worthington) --- The Philistines had before made a great slaughter of the Ephraimites, 1 Paralipomenon vii. 21. The Chanaanites would also be ready to oppose the Hebrews, if they had attempted to enter by the road of Pelusium, and perhaps the Idumeans and Amalecites also would have met them in front, while the Egyptians attacked their rear. (Calmet) --- This journey, Philo says, would not have taken up above three days. The battle with Amalec took place only 40 days afterwards, and God protected his people. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v17 Direction of the Exodus. The Pursuit. The Distress. The…
FOURTH SECTION
Direction of the Exodus. The Pursuit. The Distress. The Red Sea. The Song of Triumph
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Exo_13:17 to Exo_15:21
A.—Direction of the march. The distress. Passage through the Red Sea. Judgment and deliverance
Exo_13:17 to Exo_14:31
17And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through [by] the way of the land of the Philistines, although [for]2 that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the [Lest the] people repent, when they see war, and they return to Egypt: 18But God led the people about through [by] the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up harnessed 19[armed] out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had straitly [strictly] sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. 20And they took their journey [they journeyed] from Succoth, and encamped in Etham in 21[on] the edge of the wilderness. And Jehovah went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud [of cloud], to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. 22He took not away the pillar of the cloud [of cloud] by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
Chap. Exo_14:1-2 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn [turn back] and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against [before] Baal-zephon; before [over against] it shall 3ye encamp by the sea. For [And] Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled [bewildered] in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in. 4And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall [and he will] follow after them, and I will be honored [get me honor] upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that [and] the Egyptians may [shall] know that I am Jehovah. And they did Song of Solomon 5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this [What is this that we have done], that we have let Israel go from serving us? 6And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him. 7And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every 8one [all] of them. And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, 9and he pursued after the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with an [a] high hand. But [And] the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots [chariot-horses] of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. 10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians [Egypt] marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto Jehovah. 11And they said unto Moses, Because [Is it because] there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou [that thou hast] taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with [what is this that thou hast done to] 12us, to carry [in bringing] us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell [spake unto] thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been [is] better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness. 13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which he will shew to [work for] you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall 14see them again no more forever. Jehovah shall fight for you, and ye shall hold 15your peace. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak 16unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But [And] lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine [thy] hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 18And the Egyptians shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have gotten [get] me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. 19And the angel of God, which [who] went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud [of cloud] went [removed] from before their face 20[before them], and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them [and darkness], but it gave light by night to these [it lightened the night]:3 so that [and] the one came not near the other all the night. 21And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and Jehovah caused the sea to go back [flow] by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land [bare ground],4 and the waters were divided. 22And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 23And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24And it came to pass that in the morning watch Jehovah looked unto [looked down at] the host of the Egyptians through [in] the pillar of fire and of the cloud [of cloud], and troubled the host of the Egyptians, 25And took off [turned aside] their chariot wheels, that they drave them [and made them drive] heavily: so that [and] the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for Jehovah fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 26And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thine [thy] hand over the sea, that the waters may come again [back] upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 27And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength [to its course] when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah overthrew [shook] the Egyptians in [into] the midst of the sea. 28And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen and [of]5 all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them [of them not even one]. 29But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a 30wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus [And] Jehovah saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 31And Israel saw that [the] great work which Jehovah did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared Jehovah, and believed in Jehovah and his servant Moses.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo_13:17. “For that was near.” A. V., Murphy, Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, Alford retain the rendering “although” for כִּי in this sentence. But such a meaning for כִּי cannot be well substantiated. Psa_49:10, adduced by Fürst, is certainly not an instance of such use. Psa_116:10 is more plausible. The A. V. rendering: “I believed, therefore [כִּי] have I spoken,” is incorrect. But it is not necessary, with some, to translate: “I believed, although I speak.” The particle here probably has the meaning “when.” In Psa_49:19, adduced by Gesenius (Thesaurus), it means “because,” the apodosis following in Exo_13:20. The same may be said of Gen_8:21; Job_15:27-29; Zec_8:6. The rendering “when” suffices in Jer_4:30; Jer_30:11; Jer_49:16; Jer_50:11; Jer_51:53; Mic_7:8; Psa_27:10; Psa_21:12. The rendering “for” suffices in Hos_13:15; Nah_1:10; Deu_18:14; Deu_29:19; Jer_46:23; Psa_71:10; 1Ch_28:5. The rendering “ where as,” or “while,” may be adopted in Mal_1:4; Ecc_4:14. Probably these comprise all the passages in which the meaning “though” can with any plausibility be maintained. כִּי can be assumed to have the meaning “although” only as being equivalent to גַּם כִּי, “even when.” Even though this should be assumed sometimes to occur, still the case before us is not of that sort. The true explanation of such constructions is to assume a slight ellipsis in the expression: “God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, [as might have been expected], seeing that was near.” Or: “for that was near [and return to Egypt in case of danger would be more readily resorted to].”—Tr.]
[Exo_14:20. וַיְהִי הֶעָנָן וְהַחשֶׁךְ וַיָּאֶר אֶת־הַלָּיְלָה. The construction is difficult. The only literal rendering is: “And it was (or, became) the cloud and the darkness, and it illumined the night.” The difficulty is gotten over by Knobel and Ewald by altering וְהַחשֶׁךְ into וְהֶחֱשִׁיךְ, reading: “And it came to pass us to the cloud, that it made darkness.” But even with this conjectural change, it is no less necessary to assume an ellipsis of “to the one” and “to the other,” or “on the one side” and “on the other,” as is done by A. V. and the great majority of versions and commentators. The article may be explained as pointing back to Exo_13:21 : “And it was the cloud and the darkness which have been already described.” Or it is even possible to take מַלאַךְ (Exo_14:19) as the subject of the verb: “And he became the cloud and darkness; but he illumined the night.”—Tr.]
[Exo_14:21. The Hebrew word here used, חָרָבָה, is different from the one rendered “dry ground” in the next verse; and there is a clear distinction in the meaning, as is quite apparent from a comparison of Gen_8:13, where it is said, that on the first day of the first month the ground was חָרֵב, with Exo_14:14, where it is said, that on the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was יָבֵשׁ. The first means: free from water, drained; the second means: free from moisture, dry. The distinction is generally clear, though sometimes not exactly observed.—Tr.]
[Exo_14:28. The preposition לְ certainly cannot here be rendered “and;” but it may have a sort of resumptive force, equivalent to “even,” “namely,” “in short.”—Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Exo_13:17. Not by the way of the land of the Philistines. Decidedly wise, theocratic policy on the part of Moses, rightly ascribed to God. The people, disheartened by servitude, could not at once maintain a conflict with the warlike Philistines, without being driven back to Egypt. They must first acquire in the wilderness the qualities of heroes. And that, according to Goethe, was accomplished in a few years! On the exodus, comp. Introduction; Keil, II. p. 42; Knobel, p. 131.
Exo_13:18. Led the people about. It is a question whether the round-about way spoken of has reference simply to the absolutely direct route through the Philistine country, or to another more direct one which they had already begun to take, but which they were to give up. According to Exo_14:2, the latter is to be assumed. Moreover, reference is made not only to the small distance to the Red Sea, but to the whole distance through the wilderness along the Red Sea, first southward along the Gulf of Suez, then along the Elanitic Gulf northwards, (see Knobel, p. 131). For we have here to do with an introductory and summary account. It was natural that nothing but the prophetic divine word of Moses should have the control of the march, inasmuch as the people would have rushed impetuously towards the old caravan road of their fathers. Moses himself was further influenced by his former journey to Sinai and the revelation there made to him. “From Raemses to the head of the Gulf would be a distance of some 35 miles, which might easily have been passed over by the Israelites in three days” (Robinson I., 80). The deviation from the direct way must, however, be taken into consideration, even though it may have added little to the distance. On the three routes from Cairo to Suez, see Robinson, p. 73.—Of the Red Sea. See the Lexicons, Travels, Knobel, p. 131, sqq.6—Especially as the children of Israel went up armed for battle. So we understand the force of the ו before חֲמֻשִׁים. A march in order of battle would have looked like a challenge to the Philistines. Moreover, חָמַשׁ signifies, among other things, to provoke to anger.7
Exo_13:19. The bones of Joseph. Another testimony to the tenacity with which the Israelites retained moral impressions and old traditions. The vow, 480 years old, and the oath which sealed it, were still fresh. Vid. Gen_1:25. On the fruitfulness of the land of Goshen, see Robinson, p. 76. “From the Land of Goshen to the Red Sea the direct and only route was along the valley of the ancient canal” (Ibid. p. 79).
Exo_13:20. From Succoth. Inasmuch as they had already, according to Exo_12:37, gone from Raemses to Succoth in battle array, Succoth (Tent-town, or Booths) would seem to designate not the first gathering-place of the people (Keil), but the point at which the first instinctive movement towards the Philistine border was checked by the oracle of Moses, and by the appearance of the pillar of fire and of smoke. While they at first wished to go from Succoth (say, by the northern extremity of the Bitter Lakes, or even farther on), directly to Palestine, they now had to go along on the west side of the Bitter Lakes towards the Red Sea. Thus they come from Succoth to Etham. “Etham lay at the end of the wilderness, which in Num_33:8 is called the wilderness of Etham; but in Exo_15:22, the wilderness of Shur, that is, where Egypt ends and the desert of Arabia begins” (Keil). “Etham is to be looked for either on the isthmus of Arbek, in the region of the later Serapeum, or the south end of the Bitter Lakes. Against the first view (that of Stickel, Kurtz, Knobel), and for the second, a decisive consideration is the distance, which, although Seetzen went from Suez to Arbek in eight hours, yet according to the statement of the French scholar, Du Bois Aymé, amounts to 60,000 metres (16 hours, about 37 miles), a distance such that the people of Israel could not in one day have traveled from Etham to Hahiroth. We must therefore look for Etham at the south end of the basin of the Bitter Lakes, whither Israel may have come in two days from Abu Keisheib, and then on the third day have reached the plain of Suez between Ajrud and the sea” (Keil). Abu Keisheib is Heroopolis near Raemses; Ajrud is thought to be identical with Pi-Hahiroth. Vid. Num_33:5 sqq.8
Exo_13:21. And Jehovah went before them. According to Keil this first took place at Etham; but it is to be observed that the decisive movement began at Succoth. Keil says indeed that in verse 17 it reads that Elohim [God] led them, not till here that Jehovah went before them. But Jehovah and Elohim are not two different Gods. Jehovah, as Elohim, knew the Philistines well, and knew that Israel must avoid a contest with them. God, as Jehovah, was the miracle-working leader of His people.—By day in a pillar of cloud.—“This sign of the divine presence and guidance has a natural analogue in the caravan fire, viz. small iron vessels or stoves containing a wood fire, which, fastened on the tops of long poles, are carried as way-marks before caravans, and according to Curtius (de gestis Alex. mag. Exo_5:2; Exo_5:7), in trackless regions, are also carried before armies on the march, the smoke indicating to the soldiers the direction by day, the flame, by night. Comp. Harmar, Observations II., p. 278, Pococke, Description of the East, II., p. 33. Still more analogous is the custom (mentioned by Curtius III. 3, 9) of the ancient Persians, who carried before the marching army on silver altars a fire quem ipsi sacrum et æternum vocant. Yet one must not identify the cloudy and fiery pillar of the Israelitish exodus with such caravan or army fires, and regard it as only a mythical conception or embellishment of this natural fact” (Keil). He opposes Köster’s view, that the cloud was produced by an ordinary caravan fire, and became a symbol of the divine presence, thus setting aside also Knobel’s theory (Comm., p. 134) of a legend which was derived from this usage. Here too Keil is concerned about supernaturalism in the abstract, and about something purely outward, so that we do not need here to move in the sphere of faith, of vision, of symbol, and of mystery. The internal world is left out of consideration, while the inspired letter has to serve as evidence for the miraculous appearance. According to him the phenomenon was a cloud which inclosed a fire, and which, when the Israelites were on the march, assumed the form of motion [“a dark pillar of smoke rising towards heaven,” Keil], but, when the tabernacle rested, “perhaps more the form of a round ball of cloud.” It was the same fire, he says further, in which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses out of the bush (Exo_3:2), and afterwards descended upon Sinai amidst thunder and lightning. He calls it the symbol of the divine fiery jealousy. Even the Prophets and Psalms are made to share in this literalness (Isa_4:5 sq.; Isa_49:10; Psa_91:5 sq.; Psa_121:6). A sort of solution is cited from Sartorius in his Meditations, to the effect that God, by special action on the earthly element, formed out of its sphere and atmosphere a body, which He then assumed and permeated, in order in it to reveal His real presence. But is not that Indian mythology as much as is the modern theological doctrine of the κένωσιζ? We leave the mystery in its uniqueness suspended between this world and the other, only observing that the problem will have to be solved, how, in later times, the smoke of the offering which rose up from the tabernacle was related to the pillar of cloud. Likewise the question arises: What was the relation between the light of the perpetual lamp, or the late expiring and early kindling fire of the burnt-offering, and the pillar of fire? Vid. Exo_29:39; Num_28:4. The burnt-offering derives its name from the notion of rising; comp. especially Jdg_13:20. The ark, as the central object in the tabernacle, which generally preceded the host, retired in decisive moments behind the host, according to Jos_4:11; so the pillar of cloud here, Exo_14:19. Rationalism finds nothing but a popular legend in the religious and symbolic contemplation of the guidance of the living God; literalism seeks to paint the letters with fantastic, golden arabesques. Assumption (ascension) of a cloud in the form of a ball whose interior consists of fire!
Exo_14:2. Turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth.9—In Num_33:8 Hahiroth; Pi is the Egyptian article. This camping-place is identified by many with the place named Ajrud or Agirud, “now a fortress with a well two hundred and fifty feet deep, which, however, contains such bitter water that camels can hardly drink it, on the pilgrims’ road from Cairo to Mecca, four hours’ distance northwest of Suez, comp. Niebuhr, Reise I., p. 216; Burckhardt, Syria, p. 626, and Robinson, Researches I, p. 68. From Ajrud there stretches out a plain, ten miles long and as many broad, towards the sea west of Suez, and from the foot of the Atakah to the arm of the sea north of Suez (Robinson I., p. 65). This plain very probably served the Israelites as a camping-place, so that they encamped before, i.e. east of Ajrud towards the sea. In the neighborhood of Hahiroth (Ajrud) must be sought also the other places, of which thus far no trace has been discovered” (Keil). On Migdol and Baal-zephon, vid. Keil II., p. 43. Since the names Migdol and Baalzephon are without doubt designed to mark the line of travel, it is natural to assume that they indicate the whence and the whither of the route. According to Robinson (I., p. 64) a rocky defile called Muntula leads to the region of Ajrud (Pi-hahiroth) on the left, and Suez on the right, on the Red Sea. Strauss (Sinai und Golgotha, p. 122) called the defile Muktala, and identifies Baal-zephon with Suez. The question about the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea is obscured by theological bias in both directions. It is regarded as a natural event, raised by legendary tradition into a miracle, by Knobel, p. 135 sq., where the historical remarks on the Red Sea and the analogies of the passage are very noteworthy. Karl von Raumer, on the contrary (Palästina, p. 478, under the head, Zug der Israeliten aus Egypten nach Kanaan). regards as rationalistic even the view of Niebuhr, Robinson and others, that the passage took place at Suez or north of Suez, quoting the opinion of Wilson and other Americans (p. 480). He adopts the view of Schubert, Wilson and others, that the Israelites marched south of Suez by Bessantin to the Red Sea. Robinson’s remark, that the hypothesis that the Israelites passed over from the plain of Bede (Wady Tawarik) is overthrown by the circumstance that there the sea is twelve miles wide, and that the people did not have but two hours for the passage, Von Raumer overthrows by means of a dictum of Luther s concerning the miraculous power of God. Von Raumer also will not hear to any natural event as the substratum of the miracle. “The Holy Scriptures,” he says, “know nothing of a N. N. E. wind, but say that an east wind divided the waters, that they stood up on the right and the left like walls; there is nothing said about an ebb, hence the duration of the ebb is not to be taken into account.” He seems even to be embarrassed by the fact that there is an alternation of ebb and flood in the Red Sea; and in places where others also, in individual cases, at the ebb-tide have ridden through, he holds that the passage could not have take place, e.g. where Napoleon in 1799 crossed the ford near Suez, and thus endangered his life (Robinson I., p. 85). Even the co-operation of the wind, he holds, can be taken into account only in the interest of the magnified miracle, although it is designated not only in Exo_14:21 as the cause of the drying of the sea, but the like fact is also referred to in Moses’ song of praise (Exo_15:8; comp. Psa_106:9 and other passages). Hence, too, he holds, the east wind must not be understood as being, more exactly, a north-east wind.10 Similar biblical passages are given by Knobel, p. 139. The objection that north of Suez there is not water enough to have overwhelmed Pharaoh’s host, is removed by the observation of Stickel and Kurtz, that, according to travellers, the Gulf of Suez formerly extended much farther north than now, and in course of time through the blowing in of sand has become shorter, and hence also more shallow (Knobel, p. 140). Also Strauss (Sinai und Golgotha, p. 123) regards the hypothesis that the passage took place as far south as below the mountain Atakah, where the sea is nearly twelve miles wide, as inadmissible, although he insists, on the other hand, that natural forces are insufficient to explain the event. While the subject has been very carefully examined in this aspect, two principal factors of the miracle have been too little regarded: (1) the assurance and foresight of the prophet that in the moment of the greatest need a miracle of deliverance would be performed; (2) the miraculously intensified natural phenomenon, corresponding to the harmonia præstabilita between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of nature, such that an extraordinary ebb, by the aid of a continuous night-storm which blew against the current, laid bare the whole ford for the entire passage of all the people of Israel with their flocks, and that an equally violent wind from the opposite direction might have made the flood, hitherto restrained, a high tide, which must have buried Pharaoh. He who in all this sees only a natural occurrence will of course even press the letter of the symbolic expression, that the water stood up on both sides like a wall.11
Exo_14:3. For Pharaoh will say.—We must here remember the law regulating the writing of theocratic history, according to which, as the record of religious history, it puts foremost the divine purpose, and passes over the human motives and calculations, by means of which this purpose was effected, yet without leaving, in the spirit of an abstract supernaturalism, such motives out of the account. Here, accordingly, Moses cannot from the first have had the intention, in marching to the Red Sea, of alluring Pharaoh to the extreme of obduracy, and thereby into destruction. But he may well have anticipated that Pharaoh, pursuing him on the highway around the sea, might be quite as dangerous to him as a collision with the Philistines. As one long acquainted with the Red Sea, he saw only a single means of deliverance, viz., the taking advantage of the ebb for his people, who then by means of the returning flood could get a long distance ahead of Pharaoh, in case he should follow them. So far human calculation could reach; but it received a splendid transformation through the Spirit of revelation, who disclosed to the prophet, together with the certainty of deliverance, the ultimate object of this form of deliverance, viz, the final judgment on Pharaoh, which was yet to be inflicted.—They are bewildered in the land.—The round-about way from Etham to the sea might seem like an uncertain marching hither and thither.—The wilderness hath shut them in.—They cannot go through, and are held fast. The section Exo_14:1-4 is a comprehensive summary.
Exo_14:5. That the people fled.—This statement probably preceded Pharaoh’s judgment, that the people wished to flee, but were arrested. So much seemed to be proved, that they were not thinking only of a three days’ journey in the wilderness in order to hold a festival.—The heart of Pharaoh … was turned.—Pharaoh may have been stirred up alike by the thought of a fleeing host, and by that of one wandering about helplessly. For they seemed to be no longer a people of God protected by God’s servants, but smitten at the outset, and doomed to slavery. But the king and his courtiers needed to use an imposing military force in order to bring them back, seeing they were at least concentrated and armed. All the more, inasmuch as his pledge, their right, and the consciousness of perjury, determined the tyrant to assume the appearance of carrying on war against them. Whatever distinction may in other cases be made between camping places and days’ journeys, the three stations, Succoth, Etham and Pi-hahiroth, doubtless designate both, that there may be also no doubt concerning Pharaoh’s injustice.12 Useless trouble has been taken to determine when Pharaoh received the news, and pursued after the Israelites; also where he received the news, whether in Tanis or elsewhere. According to Num_33:7 they pitched in Pihahiroth; but this was probably not limited to an encampment for a night. Here then after three days’ journey they were to celebrate a feast of Jehovah in the wilderness in a much higher sense than they could before have imagined.
Exo_14:6-7. And he made ready his chariot.—The grotesque preparations made by heathen powers are described in detail, as if with a sort of irony. So the arming of Goliath, 1 Samuel 17, comp. also 2 Chronicles 32; Daniel 4, 5. Knobel, in a droll manner, puts together Pharaoh’s army, from the several narratives of the Elohist and the Jehovist—שָׁלִישִים, “Three men.” “On the Assyrian chariots one and two persons are represented, but sometimes three (Layard, Nineveh, Fig. 19, 51)” [Knobel].
Exo_14:8. And Jehovah hardened.—Not a repetition of Exo_14:4. There we have the summary pre-announcement, here the history itself. Over against Pharaoh’s obduracy (which here also is represented as effected by Jehovah, because occasioned by Israel’s seemingly bewildered flight, because Jehovah by the appearance of the impotence of Israel brought this judgment of blindness upon him) is raised the high hand of Jehovah; the divine sovereignty, which Pharaoh, to his own destruction, failed to recognize, has decided in favor of Israel’s deliverance.
Exo_14:10-12. The children of Israel lifted up their eyes.—Their condition seemed to be desperate. On the east, the sea; on the south, the mountains; on the north-west, the host of Pharaoh. True, they cried unto the Lord; but the reproaches which they heap upon Moses show that the confidence of genuine prayer is wanting, or at least is disappearing.—No graves in Egypt.—As Egypt was so rich in sepulchral monuments and worship of the dead, this expression has a certain piquancy; it also expresses the thought that they saw death before their eyes.—Is not this the word?—Here he has the foretoken of all similar experiences which he is to encounter in leading the people. The exaggeration of their recollection of a doubt formerly expressed reaches the pitch of falsehood.
Exo_14:13-14. Over against the despondent people Moses appears in all the heroic courage of his confidence.
Exo_14:15. Wherefore criest thou unto me?—The Israelites cried to Jehovah, and Jehovah did not hear them. Moses outwardly was silent; but Jehovah heard how he inwardly cried to Him. The confidence, therefore, which he displayed to the people was founded on a fervent inward struggle of spirit. While therefore Jehovah’s word is no reproof, there is something of a contrast in what follows: Speak unto the children of Israel, etc. That is: No further continuance of the spiritual struggle; forward into the Red Sea!
Exo_14:16. And lift thou up thy rod.—The miraculous rod is for the present still the banner of the people. It marks the foresight of Moses, his confidence, and the sacramental union of the divine help with this sign. Or shall we take this also literally: “while Moses divides the water with his rod” (Keil)?
Exo_14:17. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians.—The obduracy which spread from Pharaoh over the whole host was brought on by the strong fascination of overtaking a fugitive people and by the miraculous condition of things on the sea.—I will get me honor.—God’s miraculous sway was to become manifest as His just judgment.
Exo_14:19. The angel of God.—He is the angel of Elohim for the Egyptian heathen. The invisible movement of the angel was recognized in the visible motion of the pillar of cloud.
Exo_14:20. Darkness, but it lightened the night.—What the pillar of cloud at other times was alternately, it was this time simultaneously: darkness for the one, light for the other. The direction of the smoke under the north-east wind is not sufficient to explain the symbolically highly-significant phenomenon. That which gives light to the believers constitutes nocturnal darkness for the unbelievers; and that is the irremovable barrier between the two. The Egyptians are unable for the whole night to find the Israelites; all night long the east wind blows, and dries the sea, and in the same night the passage of the Israelites through the sea began, and was finished in the morning.
Exo_14:21. East wind.—The east wind, קָדִים, under which term the south-east and north-east wind may be included, inasmuch as the Hebrew language has developed special terms only for the four cardinal points. The notion that a simple east wind could have divided the waters to the right and left, as Von Raumer and Keil hold, implies that the wind itself was a simple product of miraculous power. A mere natural east wind would have driven the water which remained against the Israelites. And this all the more, the more the wind operated, as Keil says, “with omnipotent power;” but, apart from that, it would, merely as an opposite wind, alone have made it almost impossible for the Israelites to proceed. The notion of such a wind enables us to hold fast the literal assertion that the water stood up on the north side also like a wall, although in regard to the phrase “like a wall” religious poetry and symbolism must be allowed to have a word. Keil’s quotations from Tischendorf and Schubert point to the natural substratum of the miracle. See also Knobel, p. 149. “How wide the gulf was in the places made bare, cannot be exactly determined. At the narrowest place above Suez it is now only two-thirds of a mile wide, or according to Niebuhr 3450 [German] feet, but was probably formerly wider, and is also at present wider farther up, opposite Tell Kolzum (Robinson, p. 81 and 71). The place where the Israelites crossed must have been wider, since otherwise the Egyptian army with more than six hundred chariots and many horsemen could not have been overtaken and destroyed by the return of the water” (Keil). According to Tischendorf (Reise I., p. 183), it is the north-east wind which still serves to increase the ebb-tide. When a strong north-west wind drives the floods southward, one can cross the gulf; but if the wind changes to the south-east, it drives the water northward, so that it then rises to a height of from six to nine feet (see Schubert, Reise II., p. 269; Döbel, Wanderungen II., p. 12; Knobel, p. 149).
Exo_14:24-25. Out of the pillar of cloud and fire.—Without this addition, we should have to understand the effect to be purely supernatural. But since it is said: out of the pillar of cloud and fire, this must in some way have been made by Jehovah a token of terror to the Egyptians. It may be conjectured that, instead of cloudy darkness, the pillar of fire, when the further shore was reached, appeared to the Egyptians as a lofty body of light, and brought confusion into the Egyptian ranks, especially by its movement. So Keil. Josephus (Ant. II. 16, 3) and Rosenmüller understand thunder and lightning to be meant, according to Psa_77:18. Keil regards a thunder-shower as something too slight in comparison with the fiery glance of Jehovah. But compare Psalms 18 and Psalms 29. Here, however, only the pillar of smoke and fire is spoken of. Fear now arises with the confusion, and with the fear new confusion, as so often happened in the history of the enemies of Israel. Comp. Jdg_7:21 sqq.; 1Sa_14:20; 2Ki_3:20 sqq.
Exo_14:26. Stretch out thy hand.—Again the prophetico-symbolic action, with an opposite result. And again is the wind in league with Israel, this time to destroy the Egyptians. Vid. Exo_15:10. That can only mean that the wind, in accordance with God’s sovereign control, changed to the south, in order miraculously to increase the flood now released. According to Keil, the wind now blew from the west. But if the east wind made a dry path for the Jews, without reference to the ebb, we should expect that the west wind would have made a path for the Egyptians. According to Keil, we are also to assume that the host perished “to the last man.” But generally in this sphere of dynamic relations the important point is not that of absolute universality, but that of thorough effectiveness.
On the traces of the passage through the Red Sea in heathen legends and secular history, especially in Diodorus of Sicily (III. 39), in Justinus (Exo_36:2), in Artapanus, quoted by Eusebius, see the monograph of K. H. Sack, “Die Lieder in den historischen Büchern des Alten Testaments,” p. 51.13
Footnotes:
[1][Keil says: “ In what way they were to consecrate their life to the Lord depended on the Lord's direction, which prescribed that they should perform the non-sacerdotal labors connected with the sanctuary, and so be the priests’ servants in the sacred service. Yet even this service was afterwards transferred to the Levites (Numbers 3); but in place of it the people were required to redeem their first-born sons from the service which was incumbent on them, and which had been transferred to the Levites who were substituted for them, i.e., to ransom them by the payment to the priests of five shekels of silver for every person, Num_3:47; Num_18:16.” Num_3:12, above referred to as confuting keil's view, says simply that the Levites were substituted for the firstborn, but does not say that the first-born were originally destined to be priests. Lange's statement, therefore, seems to be unwarranted.—Tr.].
[2][Exo_13:17. “For that was near.” A. V., Murphy, Kalisch, Gesenius, Glaire, Alford retain the rendering “although” for כִּי in this sentence. But such a meaning for כִּי cannot be well substantiated. Psa_49:10, adduced by Fürst, is certainly not an instance of such use. Psa_116:10 is more plausible. The A. V. rendering: “I believed, therefore [כִּי] have I spoken,” is incorrect. But it is not necessary, with some, to translate: “I believed, although I speak.” The particle here probably has the meaning “when.” In Psa_49:19, adduced by Gesenius (Thesaurus), it means “because,” the apodosis following in Exo_13:20. The same may be said of Gen_8:21; Job_15:27-29; Zec_8:6. The rendering “when” suffices in Jer_4:30; Jer_30:11; Jer_49:16; Jer_50:11; Jer_51:53; Mic_7:8; Psa_27:10; Psa_21:12. The rendering “for” suffices in Hos_13:15; Nah_1:10; Deu_18:14; Deu_29:19; Jer_46:23; Psa_71:10; 1Ch_28:5. The rendering “ where as,” or “while,” may be adopted in Mal_1:4; Ecc_4:14. Probably these comprise all the passages in which the meaning “though” can with any plausibility be maintained. כִּי can be assumed to have the meaning “although” only as being equivalent to גַּם כִּי, “even when.” Even though this should be assumed sometimes to occur, still the case before us is not of that sort. The true explanation of such constructions is to assume a slight ellipsis in the expression: “God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, [as might have been expected], seeing that was near.” Or: “for that was near [and return to Egypt in case of danger would be more readily resorted to].”—Tr.]
[3][Exo_14:20. וַיְהִי הֶעָנָן וְהַחשֶׁךְ וַיָּאֶר אֶת־הַלָּיְלָה. The construction is difficult. The only literal rendering is: “And it was (or, became) the cloud and the darkness, and it illumined the night.” The difficulty is gotten over by Knobel and Ewald by altering וְהַחשֶׁךְ into וְהֶחֱשִׁיךְ, reading: “And it came to pass us to the cloud, that it made darkness.” But even with this conjectural change, it is no less necessary to assume an ellipsis of “to the one” and “to the other,” or “on the one side” and “on the other,” as is done by A. V. and the great majority of versions and commentators. The article may be explained as pointing back to Exo_13:21 : “And it was the cloud and the darkness which have been already described.” Or it is even possible to take מַלאַךְ (Exo_14:19) as the subject of the verb: “And he became the cloud and darkness; but he illumined the night.”—Tr.]
[4][Exo_14:21. The Hebrew word here used, חָרָבָה, is different from the one rendered “dry ground” in the next verse; and there is a clear distinction in the meaning, as is quite apparent from a comparison of Gen_8:13, where it is said, that on the first day of the first month the ground was חָרֵב, with Exo_14:14, where it is said, that on the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was יָבֵשׁ. The first means: free from water, drained; the second means: free from moisture, dry. The distinction is generally clear, though sometimes not exactly observed.—Tr.]
[5][Exo_14:28. The preposition לְ certainly cannot here be rendered “and;” but it may have a sort of resumptive force, equivalent to “even,” “namely,” “in short.”—Tr.]
[6][Knobel after a learned discussion comes to the conclusion that the Hebrew name for the Red Sea, יַס־סוּף (literally “sea of sedge”) was probably derived from some town on the sea, named from the abundance of sedge growing near it. He takes this view in preference to the one which derives the name of the sea directly from the sedge, for the reason that the sedge is not a general feature of the sea, and from the uniform omission of the article before סוּפ.—Tr.].
[7][It is hardly possible to translate the simple conjunction ו by “especially as.” If any such connection of thought had been intended כִּי would more probably have been used. Besides, such a statement would be almost contradictory of that in the preceding verse. The fact that they were armed, would make them less likely to be afraid of war than if they were unarmed. The remark that חָמַשׁ signifies, among other things, to provoke to anger, has little force in this connection, for the reasons: (1) that it is doubtful whether that is its etymological significance; (2) that, even if this were its etymological significance, it is a meaning nowhere found in actual use; (3) that this meaning cannot possibly have any application here, since the participle is passive, and we should have to translate, “went up provoked to anger.”—Tr.].
[8][Notice may here be taken of a theory of the Exodus propounded by Brugsch at the International Congress of Orientalists in London, Sept. 1874, also published at Alexandria in French (“La Sartie des Hebreux d’ Egypte et les monuments Egyptiens”). The theory is stated and criticised by Dr. J. P. Thompson in the Bibliotheca Sacra for Jan. 1875. In brief it is as follows: Rameses he identifies with Zan, the Zoan of the Scriptures, situated near the moath of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. Succoth is identified with Thukut, a place mentioned on the Egyptian monuments as lying to the right of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile. Etham is found in the place known by the Egyptians as Khatom, east of Lake Menzaleh. Migdol is identified with the town called Magdolos by the Greeks, a fortress on the edge of the desert, not far from the Mediterranean. Thus Brugsch holds that the line of the journey lay much farther north than is commonly assumed. And the sea which the Israelites crossed was, according to him, not the Red Sea, but Lake Serbonis, between which and the Mediterranean the Israelites marched in their flight from Pharaoh, and in which the latter with his host was destroyed. The principal objections to this theory are stated by Dr. Thompson: (1) In order to reach their rendezvous, the Israelites, according to Brugsch, must have travelled nearly twenty miles north, crossing the Pelusiac branch of the Nile; and then on the next day must have recrossed it—a great improbability. (2) It would have been a blunder in strategy for Moses to have led the people into the treacherous Serbonian bog. (3) The sacred narrative plainly declares that the Israelites were commanded not to go by the way towards the Philistine country (Exo_13:17), whereas this way led directly towards it. (4) The Scriptures declare that it was by the way of the Red Sea that the Israelites were to go (Exo_13:18). and that it wast the Red Sea through which they passed (Exo_15:4).—Tr.].
[9][The significance of the term שׁוּב, used here and in Num_33:7, is generally overlooked or unwarrantably modified by the commentators. Knobel (on Exo_5:22 and here) argues that it means here only to turn; but the passages he adduces (among them one, Psa_35:11 (Psa_35:13?), in which the word does not occur at all) are none of them in point. The word uniformly means to turn back, return, especially when physical motion is intended. If merely turning aside had been meant, סוּר or פָּנָה would have been used. The use of this word is conclusive against the hypothesis, that Etham lay on the west of the Bitter Lakes. Ewald (Hist. of the People of Israel, II. p. 68) argues that the use of it also disproves the more current view of Robinson and others, that it lay south of the basin of these lakes. Possibly, however, this is not necessary; for Etham, being in the “edge of the wilderness,” may have been just east of the line of the Gulf or canal (as Robinson suggests); and if Pi-hahiroth is to be found in the present Ajrud, the people may, indeed, in going from Etham thither, have had to turn “back.” Still there is no conclusive evidence that Etham may not have been north or north-east of the Bitter Lakes, and that, in stead of passing down on the east side of the basin, they turned back, and went along the west side. So, among others, Canon Cook (in the Speaker’s Commentary).—Tr.]
[10][Hengstenberg also, History of the Kingdom of God, II. p. 292, while agreeing with Robinson, against Wilson, Von Baumer, etc., in regard to the place of the passage, rejects the theory of an. ebb tide, aided by a northeast wind, assenting that קַדִים never denotes anything but an east wind.—Tr.]
[11][This seems at first sight almost self-contradictory. Those who see in the events described only natural occurrences would seem to be just those who, disbelieving in anything supernatural, would not press, or would reject, the Biblical statement, that the water stood up as a wall on both sides. But probably Lange means that the literal, prosaic cast of mind which could not discern the supernatural element in the apparently natural phenomena, would also be unable to discern in the Biblical style the poetico-symbolic element, and so, whether accepting the Biblical statements or not, would understand them only in their most literal, prosaic sense.—Tr.].
[12][I.e. Pharaoh must be supposed to have set out within the three days through which the furlough extended. But this is an unsafe and inconclusive mode of reasoning. Moreover, Pharaoh may in any case have begun to make his preperations for pursuit before the three days had expired, even though it may have been longer than that before he actually pursued the fugitives.—Tr.].
[13][“Diodorus of Sicily, who had been in Egypt shortly before the birth of Christ, tells of a saying prevalent among the Ichthyophagi, a people on the east of the Arabian Gulf, to the effect that the whole gulf once became dry, and that there then followed a violent flood. Justinus, the Roman historian, who drew from an older source, relates that the Egyptians pursued Moses and the Israelites, but were forced to return by a violent thunder-shower. Eusebius, the Christian Church historian, in his Preparatio Evangelica ix. 27, quotes from Artapanus, a Greek writer, who flourished some time before the birth of Christ, who reports that the priests at Memphis had a saying about Moses being acquainted with the ebbs and floods, and that the priests at Heliopolis had one about Moses miraculously smiting the waters with his rod, and the consequent destruction of the Egyptians.” Sack, l. c.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv17–21 JOURNEY FROM EGYPT. (Exo 13:17-21)
JOURNEY FROM EGYPT. (Exo 13:17-21)
God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, &c.--The shortest and most direct route from Egypt to Palestine was the usual caravan road that leads by Belbeis, El-Arish, to Ascalon and Gaza. The Philistines, who then possessed the latter, would have been sure to dispute their passage, for between them and the Israelites there was a hereditary feud (Ch1 7:21-22); and so early a commencement of hostilities would have discouraged or dismayed the unwarlike band which Moses led. Their faith was to be exercised and strengthened, and from the commencement of their travels we observe the same careful proportion of burdens and trials to their character and state, as the gracious Lord shows to His people still in that spiritual journey of which the former was typical.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 20, 21 MARCH FROM SUCCOTH TO ETHAM, Exo_13:17-22.
MARCH FROM SUCCOTH TO ETHAM, Exo_13:17-22.
17, 18. God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines — The direct route to Palestine was northeast, by way of Pelusium and Gaza, along the Mediterranean coast, through the great maritime plain where dwelt the Philistines, whose warlike character we learn from the monuments of Rameses III., as well as from the Hebrew annals. By this route they started, as if to reach their destination in a few weeks’ journey, but suddenly “turned” southeasterly, for God led the people about, (made them turn,) by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea — See Exo_14:2.
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Harnessed — Equipped for march, marshalled in orderly array, not scattered like a mob of fugitives. Gesenius makes the word mean brave, eager for battle, and many of the old interpreters render, as in the margin, five in a rank, or five-fold — in five divisions. It is certain that afterwards we find the able-bodied men in five camps or battalions, (counting the Levites and the tabernacle as a division,) (Numbers 1, 2;) and they probably commenced their march in regular order, so as to protect the great train of women and children, flocks and herds. See diagram and notes on Numbers 2.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–22 17. the way of, &c.] We say idiomatically the…
17. the way of, &c.] We say idiomatically the way to, which ought to be read similarly in v. 18, Gen_3:24 (cf. Exo_16:7 RV.), Num_21:33 (cf. v. 4 RV., and the || Deu_3:1), Deu_1:2, &c. E emphasizes elsewhere also the providence of God: cf. Gen_45:5; Gen_45:7 f., Gen_50:20.
17, 18. Why Israel did not take the shortest route to Canaan, which was also the one usually followed by both caravans and armies, across the North end of the isthmus of Suez, and then along the sea-coast, to Gaza, the most south-westerly of the Philistine cities, here called, ‘the way to the land of the Philistines.’ Because the Philistines were a warlike and aggressive people, it was feared that Israel might be alarmed at meeting them, and be tempted to return to Egypt. Whether, however, the alleged reason was the real reason, is very doubtful: the Philistines in point of fact do not appear to have settled in Canaan till the reign of Rameses III (EB. iii. 3717 f.; Sayce, EHH. 291 f.; Wade, OT. Hist. 108): the use of the term here is consequently an anachronism (cf. Gen_21:34; Gen_26:1). It is remarkable that no mention is made of the forts and guards (pp. 127, 141), which might have formed a real obstacle to the Israelites leaving Egypt by the isthmus.
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17–22. Journey from Succoth (Exo_12:37) to Etham.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv17–22 (17) God led them not through the way of…
THE DIRECTION OF THE MARCH.
(17) God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines.—In Exo_13:17-19 the writer interposes some parenthetic remarks, which are not a continuation of the narrative interrupted (Exo_12:42), but rather reflections that occur to him. The starting point of the journey being Tanis or Rameses, in the Eastern Delta, not far from the sea, he sees that the shortest, and apparently the easiest, route for the Israelites to have pursued would have been that which led along the coast, from Tanis to Pelusium, thence to Rhinocolura, and from Rhinocolura to Gaza, Ascalon, and Ashdod, the chief towns of the Philistines. The distance along this line was not more than about 200 miles, and might have been accomplished in a fortnight. He anticipates an inquiry, Why did they not pursue this route? The reply is, that such was not the will of God; and the reason why it was not His will is further given—“The people would probably have repented when they saw war, and would have returned to Egypt.” It is implied that the Philistines were already a strong and warlike people, which they may well have been, though not mentioned in the contemporary Egyptian monuments. The Egyptians mention by name very few of the nations of Syria, and the few names which they put on record can seldom be identified.
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Although that was near.—Rather, because that was near. God did not, because it was near, lead them that way, but another.
When they see war.—If the Philistines are to be regarded as identical with the “Purusata” of the Egyptian remains, they must be viewed as one of the most warlike people of the time. Even leaving aside this identification—which is very uncertain—we must view them as one of the most important of the tribes inhabiting the lower Syrian region. In Joshua’s time they already possessed their five strong fortresses—Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron (Jos_13:3); and during the period of the Judges they raised themselves to the leading position in the Palestinian region. Palestine derives its name from them, and would not have obtained the name unless they had been a very remarkable race. We can well understand that the Israelites after four centuries of slavery would have been an ill match for the Philistines, and that, if defeated or intimidated, they might have felt that no course was open to them but a return to Egypt.
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The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv17–22 Ver. 17-20. THE DIRECTION OF THE JOURNEY. The direct…
Ver. 17-20. THE DIRECTION OF THE JOURNEY. The direct road from Tanis to Palestine a road much frequented under the nineteenth dynasty lay along the coast of the Mediterranean, and conducted to Philistia. If we look at the map, and observe the position of Tanis (now San) on the old Tanitic branch of the Nile, now nearly dried up, we shall see that the route which would naturally suggest itself to any one wishing to proceed to the Holy Land from Tanis would be one running almost due east, from Tanis to Pelusium, and from Pelusium, south of Lake Serbonis, to Rhinocolura; and thence, following the course of the coast to Gaza, Ascalon, and Ashdod, the chief towns of the Philistine country. It is true that a marsh region intervenes between Tanis and Pelusium which might seem to bar the route; but the Egyptian remains show that, in the times of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, this obstacle was surmounted by means of an embankment which was carried across it, and that a direct road thus connected the two cities.
Moses, at this point of his narrative, being about to trace the onward march of the Israelites from Succoth to Etham, in the direction of the Red Sea, anticipated, it would seem, an objection on the part of his reader, who would naturally ask, Why was not the direct route eastward taken and Canaan entered on the south-west after some half-dozen marches? In verses 17, 18, he gives the reply
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1. God led them, they did not determine their own route; and
2. God would not lead them by the direct route, because it would have conducted them to the Philistine country, and the Philistines were strong, and would have resisted the invasion by force of arms. Hence it was that the southern or south-eastern route was taken in preference to the northern one and that the second stage in the journey was from Succoth to Etham (verse 20).
Although that was near. Rather "because it was near" (oti ejgguv hn, LXX)i.e. ., God did not, because it was near, lead them this way, but a longer one." Lest peradveature the people repeat when they see war. The Philistines were a powerful and warlike race half a century after this, in the time of Joshua, and were masters of the five important cities of Gaze, Ascalon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, which seem to have formed a confederacy. (Jos_13:3) It would appear that their strength was already considerable, and that the Israelites, though perhaps more numerous, were incapable of coping with them, being wholly unaccustomed to war, The Israelites were therefore not allowed to take this route, which would have brought upon them at once a severe trial, and might have led to their voluntary return into Egypt.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR Vers. 17-21. The way of the wilderness by the Red Sea.
The direct road to Canaan lay through the land of the Philistines. God, however, did not lead the people by this way, but round by the Red Sea. "For God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt" (vers. 17). Another reason was that he designed to make his covenant with them, and give them laws, in the solitude of the "mountain of God". (Exo_3:12)
I REDEEMED FROM EGYPT, THE PEOPLE ARE NOT PERMITTED TO LINGER ON ITS BORDERS. What snatches of repose are granted, are only meant as a preparation for resumption of the journey on the morrow. Their destination was Canaan. To this they must press forward. A rest of eleven months (at Sinai) will be granted afterwards, meanwhile, on the borders of Egypt, they must pause no longer than is absolutely necessary. At the beginning of the Christian life, delays, pauses, lookings back, are peculiarly dangerous. Egypt is too near. Return to it is too convenient. The pursuer will gain too easy an advantage. There must be no pausing till we are fairly out of the enemy"s territory. Succoth to Etham, Etham to Pi-hahiroth. (Exo_14:2)
II IT RESTS WITH GOD TO DETERMINE THE WAY BY WHICH HIS PEOPLE SHALL BE LED. "When Pharaoh had let the people go, God led them not," etc. (vers. 17).
1. It was the privilege of the Israelites that they had God as their guide. His pillar of cloud and fire went before them (vers. 21, 22). What wiser or safer guide could any one desire?
2. God"s guidance was authoritative. Not only were the Israelites not left to pick out the way for themselves, but whither God directed, thither they were bound to go. They were not permitted to take any route they pleased. They were God"s people, and must walk by his law.
3. God"s guidance was frequently mysterious. They would often be perplexed to understand the reasons of it. A reason seems to have been given here, but otherwise the route chosen must have seemed a very strange one. The believer is often thus led by a way he knows not. (Isa_42:16)
III GOD CONSULTS FOR HIS PEOPLE"S GOOD IN THE WAYS BY WHICH HE LEADS THEM. "For God said, peradventure," etc. (ver. 17). Consider here,
1. God"s procedure.
(1) He turned the Israelites aside from the road which naturally they would have followed. The way of the land of the Philistines was no doubt the road by which they expected to be led. It was the customary road. It lay straight before them. It was the shortest and most direct. How often does God thus turn us aside in Providence from what might seem to be the natural, as, without a thought to the contrary, it may have been the anticipated course of our lives? The road that lies straight before us is not the one in which we are permitted to walk. Even in Christian work, by what zigzag ways are we sometimes conducted to our ends!
(2) He led the Israelites by a long detour into the wilderness. If the end was to escape the Philistines, God did not allow the Israelites to suppose that he intended to pamper and indulge them. The wilderness was a worse place to travel in than "the way of the land of the Philistines." They would have to encounter many trials. A heavy strain would be put upon their faith. Though exempted from war at the beginning, they had to fight enemies on the way, and ultimately were marched up to the borders of Canaan, to undertake, at another point, the work of invasion. In like manner, the Christian curriculum is not an easy one. Whoever enters upon the Christian journey, expecting to find it all sunshine and roses, is doomed to sorrowful disappointment. The road, under God"s guidance, soon takes a turn, which leads into the wilderness of trial.
2. The reasons of God"s procedure.
(1) The direct way was at that time an impassable one. The Israelites, just escaped from Egypt, were not in a condition to force their way through the strongly defended territory of the Philistines. The difficulty, it is true, lay in them in their want of faith, courage, and power of obedience, not in God, whose help was all-sufficient. But practically, the direct road was closed against them. So, in God"s merciful guidance of his people, the path is sometimes bent aside, because no other is for the time practicable. Obstacles to their progress, insurmountable by them at that stage of their knowledge and experience, block up the road which seems more direct, and to be allowed to advance in it would be no kindness.
(2) The direct road was fraught with danger for themselves. Their strength and faith were not equal to the opposition they would encounter. It would have proved too much for them. They must be allowed time to gather experience, to throw off the habits of their servitude, to be brought under discipline for war, to acquire steadiness and courage in facing an enemy. Led up against the Philistines in their present undisciplined condition, they would have fled at the first onset, and would have clamoured, even more vehemently than they did in the desert, (Exo_14:12) to be conducted back to Egypt. And does not this in large measure explain the mysterious turnings and windings in our own lives? God, who knows our frame, understands perfectly what degree of severity in temptation we are able to endure, and he mercifully orders our course, so that we may not be tempted above that we are able. (1Co_10:13) We pray, "Lead us not into temptation", (Mat_6:13) and this is one way in which the prayer is answered. Another way is by preventing or restraining the temptation. But where, as in the present case, it is a temptation which, so to speak, belongs essentially to the situation which we must encounter, if that path is to be travelled at all, then is there no way of avoiding it but by being led in a different road. Especially in the beginning of a Christian course may we expect these sudden turnings of our path. We are not then in a condition to encounter very powerful enemies, to endure very fierce temptations, and by taking us a little way about God shields us from them.
(3) There was a discipline to be gained in the circuitous route by which they were led. God"s design, in sparing his people the battle with the Philistines, was not, as we have seen, to indulge and spoil them. The place whither he conducted them was the wilderness, and there he purposed to subject them to a severe moral training. The end of this training was simply to bring them up to the standard which as yet they had not reached, to develop in them the qualities in which they were as yet deficient, to impart to them, in short, that hardihood and strength of character and will which would enable them to cope with Philistines, or any other foes. The end God has in view in our own trials is precisely the same.
IV OUR WISDOM, UNDER ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LIVES, IS TO RESIGN OURSELVES TO GOD"S LEADING, BELIEVING IT TO BE ALWAYS THE BEST FOR US. We cannot err in resigning ourselves to the guidance of one omniscient, wise, loving, and supremely good. J.O.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART Vers. 17-22. Israel"s journey the emblem of the Christian"s pilgrimage.
I GOD"S TENDER CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE.
1. Trials and temptations are proportioned to their ability to-bear Them."he led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines." The conflict with these was not too much for his strength, but it was too much for Israel"s faith. They would have made shipwreck at the very outset. He will not suffer us to be tempted beyond that we are able to bear.
2. It "was near;" but the shortest way to our possession may not be thesurest. God"s love is more fully displayed in leading us seemingly away from what we desire than it would be in at once leading us to it.
3. His purpose in delay. God leads us by the way of the wilderness where, by the knowledge of ourselves and of him we may be prepared for the earthly and the heavenly portion he designs to give us.
II THEY BORE WITH THEM A PROOF OF GOD"S FAITHFULNESS (ver. 19).
1. The time might have been when the hope expressed by those unburiedbones seemed vanity and folly, but not now. These relics touched a million hearts, and reminded them how gloriously God had redeemed his word.
2. We carry with us mementoes which fill us with strong assurance for the future. The very light we now possess tells how God fulfils his promises. Human hearts believed God of old when he said that the Sun of Righteousness would arise, and human lips declared the hope. The past fulfilments of prophecy lay broad foundations for our trust that every word will in like manner be redeemed.
III THEY HAD GOD HIMSELF FOR GUIDE.
1. We have the indwelling of the Spirit and of Christ. We cannot mistakethe way if we follow him who goes before us.
2. The light of his presence is brighter in the night of trial. When all else isveiled from sight, the light of that gracious presence beams out in fullest splendour.
3. There must be the following by day to have the consolation of the gloryby night. Are we following in the footsteps of Jesus? Is he Saviour as well as sacrifice to us? U.
HOMILIES BY H.T. ROBJOHNS Vers. 17-22. Fire and cloud.
"And the Lord went before them," etc.. (Exo_13:21) Israel might have been in Canaan within ten days. Reason why not is given Exo_13:17. This however, not a reason for the forty years wandering: but onlyfor the circuitous route by the desert of Sinai. The line of Israel"s march for the first two days is soon given. They start from Rameses, capital of Goshen, a store city, recently built by the Hebrews, the king there possibly. The first stage was Succoth ("tents") perhaps a caravan station or military camp a journey of about fifteen miles. Another fifteen miles to Etham on the edge of the desert. There roads, canals, now all to be left behind; just there and then appeared the FIRE AND CLOUD.
I ITS NATURE. Point out the three leading theories, especially as the two earlier mentioned lead up to the third and the true. The phenomenon was:
1. Common natural fire. Seen as fire by night, as smoke by day. Perhaps the sacrificial fire of Israel preserved from primitive times. An ordinary caravan fire. Or such as was borne at the head of the Persian armies.
2. The same, but glorified by association with a religious idea; viz., that God was in reality the Guide of his people, and that that was well represented by the fire at the head of the hosts.
3. Altogether supernatural. God saw the need of Israel at that moment, and met it in his own superb manner. For full discussion of Ritualistic explanations, see Kurtz, vol. 2:344-348, Eng. ed. The phenomenon was a trinity in unity. It was one, not two, not one kind of pillar by night and another by day. It consisted of cloud, of fire (electric?) in the cloud, and of Jehovah in both. (Exo_13:21 Exo_14:24) The last doubtless a manifestation of the "Angel-God" of the Old Testament.
II FORMS AND MOVEMENTS.
1. Forms.
(1) Usually a pillar. (Exo_13:21)
(2) A wall, see Exo_14:19, Exo_14:20. Must have been a wall in this case, of perhaps more than a mile in length. A wall of cloud to Egypt, hiding the moon, the sea, and the advanced movements of the armies of Israel When the cloud lifted, Israel was gone. On the other side, a mile or more of, as it were, electric fire, adding to the moon-illumination by which Israel passed through the sea.
(3) A roof or an awning. See Num_10:34; Psa_105:39; 1Co_10:1, 1Co_10:2; and the very beautiful passage, Isa_4:5, Isa_4:6.
2. Movements.
(1) Usually stationary on the tabernacle on the mercy-seat sometimes filling the tabernacle, so that none could enter to minister.
(2) Lifting, when Israel advanced.
(3) Descending, when Israel was to rest.
III SIGNIFICANCE. Israel could not have seen the fire-cloud for forty years without catching much of the meaning; but we more. The fire-cloud teaches that the Lord Jesus is:
1. Ever in and with the Church. The glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud.
2. In two-fold glory; in the fire of holiness; in the cloud of mercy that tempers the blaze. He so appears to the individual soul to the family to the Church to the nation to the wider world. Note the special outbreakings from the cloud at certain sinful crises in Israel"s history.
3. The leader of our pilgrimage. See C. Wesley"s hymn, in Wesley"s Collection, 326. Yet some scope, then as now, seems to have been left for the play of intelligence. (Num_10:31)
4. Captain in our holy war. On Egyptian monuments generals are represented as flames, streaming in darkness, at the head of armies. See the hymn beginning: "Forward be our watchword.
Burns the fiery pillar At our army"s head; Who shall dream of shrinking, By our Captain led?
1. Our wall of defence.
2. Our canopy for comfort.
3. Whose interpositions are ever marked by wondrous timeliness. It was on the "edge of the wilderness" that the fire-cloud first appeared; and after the desert journey, seems to have disappeared, save as it may have been represented by the Shechinah above the mercy seat, which assured unwonted splendour at the dedication of the first temple. R.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv17, 19, 21 Through the way of the wilderness.
Exo_13:17-18
Through the way of the wilderness.
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The way of the wilderness
I. The way by which God often leads His people may be described as the way of the wilderness. There are several points of analogy or similarity between the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, and the path of Gods people through this world. For one thing, the journey of the sons of Jacob was circuitous. There can be little doubt that, after their release from bondage, they looked forward to a speedy occupation of the Promised Land; but in this they were disappointed. They were not permitted to go direct and at once to their inheritance. Then, again, it was not a way of their own choosing. There were two routes, either of which they might have followed; one, the ordinary caravan route through the country of the Philistines, entering Canaan from the south; the other, by the Red Sea and the wilderness of Sinai, entering Canaan from the west. There was no geographical necessity for taking the more circuitous route through Sinai. Indeed, without an explicit command from God, it would have been the height of folly for any leader, even Moses, to have attempted to conduct such a vast host all unprovided for into the desert. Now, the discerning reader cannot fail to be struck with the similarity of all this to the Providential ordering of human life. The current of our earthly being seldom runs straight. There are often many windings before it reaches its goal; and it may be that few of those windings would have been in accordance with our wishes. How true is this of Moses, who, in his impatience for the release of his countrymen, struck the blow for freedom too soon. And instead of being permitted to go direct to the work, he had to undergo forty years of preparatory service among the solitudes of Midian. Take Joseph, and you see the working of the same principle. How strikingly is the hand of Providence seen in his life! His experiences in Egypt before his promotion may seem a strange preparation for his after eminence, and certainly not of his own choosing. God was leading him about. The pit in Dothan, servitude under Potiphar, confinement in prison, were so many steps or turnings in a life that rose to such distinction. Then again take the apostle Paul. The great ambition of his life was to preach the gospel at Rome. The noble apostle got his wish. He was permitted to go to Rome, but he went as a prisoner. The chains might seem to confine his influence, but, for aught we know, they may have added to the impressiveness of his message and testimony for his Master. God was leading him about, an ambassador in bonds. So in our life. The course of Providence sometimes takes strange turns. Our life-path is seldom what at one time we expected it to be, any more than the journey from Egypt to Canaan was what the Israelites expected. We come to our Etham on the edge of the wilderness, and at that point the current of our life is altered and its winding course begins. The altered current may lead us into the desert of adversity, or into the wilderness of affliction, where for years we may have to endure. Many a Christian has been led home through the winding path of pain. It is God leading us about.
II. We now proceed to inquire into the purpose of this roundabout journey through the wilderness. When the sons of Jacob left Egypt, they were little better than a band of undisciplined slaves, and they had to be trained. The growth of every noble quality had been cramped and hampered by degrading bondage, and the wilderness was to be their training-school. There was, therefore, a moral purpose in the forty years wandering. It was intended to train them to be and to do, to develop in them noble qualities, and train them for noble deeds. They could have marched to Canaan in eight or ten days; but eight or ten days would have been too short a period for the growth of character. No one can read their history without observing the change which forty years had produced on them. They gained new experiences, and developed those manly qualities needed to fight their way to the possession of Canaan. Now, is it not in this way still that God prepares His people for their mission? As a general rule the men who have made the deepest impression for good on the worlds history have been led up to their throne of influence by a long path of preparation. Few leap into their position at a bound. The shortest way is not always the best. There is, perhaps, no station in life in which difficulties have not to be encountered and overcome before any decided measure of success can be achieved. Those difficulties are, however, our best instructors, as our mistakes often form our best experience. Horne Tooke used to say of his studies in intellectual philosophy, that he had become all the better acquainted with the country through having had the good luck sometimes to lose his way. And a distinguished investigator of physical science has left it on record that whenever, in the course of his researches, he encountered an apparently insuperable obstacle, he generally found himself on the brink of some novel discovery. The severe preparatory discipline which Gods men have to undergo is for most part unknown to the world. We cannot tell how the Israelites spent thirty-eight years of their desert life, we only know the effect it had on them. We might further extend this thought to the discipline which God applies for the souls sanctification. The ultimate end of all the Divine dealings with man in this life must be sought in the life to come. The soul has often to pass through the path of affliction or adversity ere it is fit for the fellowship of the pure in heart in the Promised Land. The reward will be more prized and the rest the sweeter on account of the experience gained when God led you about through the way of the wilderness.
III. In order to derive full benefit from the experiences of life, several things have to be attended to. Discipline, however suitable it may seem, wilt not of itself further the work of grace in the heart, unless it is accepted as from God. Confining ourselves to this narrative, we find two or three conditions without which Divine discipline will yield no moral profit.
1. In the first place, we must not harbour a spirit of discontent with our lot. To this spirit are traceable many of the calamities of the wilderness, and it barred the gates of Canaan against the generation that left Egypt. That generation did not benefit by Gods dealings. Now all this is true in our life. We often miss the good that is meant for us by dissatisfaction with the channel through which it comes. The apprentice lad must not chafe if he is put to distasteful work and at a low wage: let him learn that this is the price to be paid for future advancement, and let him cheerfully accept his post. Murmuring at cross-bearing will do us no good, but rather harm, as it will prevent us from attaining to acquiescence in the Divine will.
2. Secondly, in order to secure the greatest good from our lot, we must banish from our company whatever tends to lead us astray. When the Israelites left Egypt they were joined by a group called the mixed multitude. The Churchs greatest danger lies not so much in attacks from without, as in temporizing with worldly-minded men, and harbouring in her midst those who are not of her in spirit. But this mixed multitude, while it is typical-of nominal Christians in the Church, may be regarded as a type of those unholy desires and passions that are more or less to be found in the heart of every one of us. We all carry about with us a mixed multitude of unsubdued appetites which crave for gratification; and not more surely did the Israelites suffer from the presence of this base throng, than we shall have the peace of our life marred, and its usefulness impaired, by giving reins to those unholy forces. They need to be constantly kept in check, else they are sure to lead us astray. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us; and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.
3. There is one more condition that we must comply with, if we would finish our course with joy, and that is, we must loyally follow the guidance of our Heavenly Leader. (D. Merson, M. A.)
Why the Israelites were guided by the way of the wilderness
I. They had been sated with the magnificence of mans works; God led them forth into the wilderness to show them his works in their native grandeur, and to refresh their exhausted hearts and spirits by the vision of the splendour of His world.
II. God led them forth by the way of the wilderness, that He might reveal not nature only, but Himself. He led them into the wilderness, as He leads us, that He might meet with them, speak with them, reveal Himself to them, and teach them to know themselves in knowing Him.
III. God.led them into the wilderness, that He might there cultivate their manly qualities, and fit them to hold the possessions they might win. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Gods path
1. God does not order salvation to His as it pleaseth man, but as it pleaseth Himself.
2. God in wisdom sometimes translates His Church from the house of bondage to a wilderness.
3. Wilderness and Red Sea paths, are the way of Gods people here below.
4. God makes the way to rest not always straight, but to be about.
5. Israel, or Gods people, go the round that God doth lead them.
6. Orderly and well instructed are the Churchs motions under God in wilderness-ways. (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Gods people in the wilderness
I. That by Israel in Egypt we may understand the spiritual bondage of Gods chosen people at large.
1. Israel was in an enemys country. So are the elect by nature.
2. Their bondage was rigorous. So was the Christians.
3. Their departure, like the believers, was opposed.
4. And when liberated, their enemies pursued them.
II. Some reasons why God did not admit the children of Israel into the promised land, immediately on their going out of Egypt, and why He does not admit His elect into glory immediately on their conversion.
1. The Egyptians must be drowned--enemies subdued.
2. The Israelites must be humbled (Psa_66:10-12).
3. He led them some hundreds of miles about; yet it was the right way (Psa_107:7).
4. Gods way is right, although it may appear round about (Psa_18:30).
III. Some reasons for Gods conduct in keeping them in the wilderness.
1. They were not fit as yet for severe warfare.
2. Their enemies were great, and themselves weak.
3. He had much to teach them.
IV. The manner in which they went up. Harnessed--or by fives, or five in a rank, or rather by five bodies or squadrons, and so marched out, not in a disorderly or confused way, but in great order and regularity.
1. Their loins were girt (Eph_6:14).
2. Their heart was secured (Eph_6:14).
3. Their feet were shod (Eph_6:15).
4. Having a shield, helmet, and sword (Eph_6:16-17). (T. B. Baker.)
The way of God in conducting the life of the good
I. That it is the way of God to bring the good to a place of rest. This is the object of all lifes discipline.
II. That it is the way of God to bring the good away from the things that would be unfriendly to their welfare. He selects the life path of the good--
1. Wisely.
2. Kindly.
III. That it is often the way of God to bring the good a circuitous route to their destination. The nearest way is not always the best.
IV. That it is the way of God to bring the good along unwelcome paths. Impossible to get to Canaan without perplexities. God is always with the good in their wilderness wanderings.
V. That it is the way of God to bring the good into a better and more thorough knowledge of themselves. Men get to know more in the desert. Some Christians are taken to heaven through a long route of pain. They long for home, but the journey is prolonged. It is hard to see the reason of their protracted existence. The Divine purpose is not yet accomplished in them.
VI. That it is the way of God to bring the good into a wise exercise of their own strength. And the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. They walked in battle array. And so, while it is the way of God to conduct human life to its destination, it is also the duty of man to exercise his own wisdom and strength, so that he may do all to aid the plans of God concerning him. Lessons:
1. That God leads men from Egypt to Canaan.
2. That men must give themselves up to the guidance of God.
3. That life is often through a long wilderness.
4. However long the journey, men must trust in God. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The roundabout way
I. God led them. Mans extremity is Gods opportunity. When He calls you up the slopes of the mount of sacrifice, it is to bring you within the sound of Divine voices at the summit; when He calls you to the edge of the wilderness, or to a desert place apart, it is to speak comfortably unto you out of the cloud.
II. God led them not through the land of the philistines, although that was near . . . but He led them about by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. He had not taken them into His confidence, they could not understand Him, they had no sympathy with His vast and gracious designs, therefore He did not give an account of any of His matters. What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Let no one hesitate to go up and possess the land, for fear he be overpowered with temptations that beset the path of Peter or Paul or Luther, or of some venerable man of God who but too faithfully has given an account of his conflict with the world and the flesh and the devil. God will take you to heaven, but He has not promised to take you by the near way. It may be by a very long way. One thing I know, it will not be through the way of the land of the Philistines, or of any foes who would effect your ruin and drive you back in despair to the country from whence you came out. Only one enemy will encounter you at a time, and you will be prepared for each as he comes, and the last enemy will be kept to the last, and you will be made more than conquerors. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.
III. and the children of Israel went up in battle array out of the land of Egypt. The great work given the Church to do is the conquest of the world. These are the marching orders of the Captain of Salvation.
IV. If the children of Israel had entered Palestine by the near way, how much would they have missed! The sojourn in the wilderness was not a scene of unrelieved gloom. They bought and sold, they increased in cattle and in riches. Their garments waxed not old, nor their shoes upon their feet. They were left generally unmolested by any of the tribes, and when attacked, they were as a rule able to hold their own. Had they not come by the roundabout way, the song of Moses had been unsung, Miriams harp had been untuned, Elim, with its wells and palms had been undiscovered, Sinai, with its words of love and law had been unknown, the cloud had never been seen, the manna had not been tasted, the water from the rock had not followed them. They would have had no opportunity of partaking in a sacramental feast with the princely Jethro, and of exerting such a favourable impression upon his tribe that many who were without were induced to come within and to respond to the invitation, Come with us and we will do you good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. Theirs would not have been the joy which they did experience when, Jordan crossed, they did eat at last the old corn in the land in a city of habitation; they would not have left behind them footprints on the sands of time, which will cheer the hearts of countless generations of pilgrims until the world shall have an end; they could never have conceived how good and how patient God was, they could never have believed how corrupt their own hearts were, had not Moses at the end of all the wanderings recalled one scene after another, ore act of rebellion after another committed in the light of the unwearied love which blackened every blot. This last point deserves more than passing notice. Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, to know whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or no. God knew what was in their hearts. The people did not know their own hearts. Some one will say, I would that I had died in the days of childhood, I should have been saved many a weary march. But you would have missed many a providence, the memory of which will cast a shadow of seraphic loveliness on the background of your eternal home, and which will enable you to strike a higher note than otherwise you could ever have reached. Had you not passed through that night of bitter anguish, you could not have fathomed the depths of the words as you did, Thy way is in the sea, Thy path is in the great waters, and Thy footsteps are not known. Had you not been forced to take thought for the morrow, you could never have said as sincerely as you did say, My heavenly Father knoweth that I have need of all these things. Had it not been for that sore sickness, there would not have been lying upon your life, consecrating it, a light that never was on land or sea. The scars of your suffering are marks of the Lord Jesus. Your little bits of experience are so many types which to-day you can set up, and from which you can spell out the might, and majesty, and mercy of the blessed God. (J. Macmillan, M. A.)
The nearest way home
You and I often mark a path out for ourselves; and to us it seems so easy, so likely, so promising of success. Then all at once something happens that disappoints us, and directs us another road that we find further round, and apparently much harder; and we call it a mysterious providence. Of course, all is mysterious that is the result of wider knowledge than our own. Do you remember old Quarles lines:--
I say this way; God says that.
His way is best, for He knows what
Of lions may beset my road.
Ill follow Thee! Lead on, my God!
He knew what was best and safest, and, in the long run, surest; and by the good hand of God they were kept out of mischief and away from danger. The old proverb is still very true: The longest way about is often the nearest way home. He that goes straight across, may have to carry a cross. He that goes round about, may have the chance to go without. His thoughts are not our thoughts, and it is a grand thing to be under His guidance; for the way of man, as the good Book says, is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. We know not what is good for us, and, like children, if we were to run alone, we should soon run into mischief. You and I have often been imposed on, both by what we hope and what we fear. Many a time we have tried to run away from what afterwards turned out to be a blessing, and many a time we have been disappointed to save us from being destroyed. I remember on one occasion, when I was young, I got it into my head that I was able to drive. Having narrowly escaped an upset, and frightened myself almost out of my wits, I resigned the reins into more skilful hands than mine, and travelled safely. Let us be as wise as the psalmist, and say, The Lord shall choose mine inheritance for me! Let us learn a lesson of patience, too. We may be very anxious to pluck the fruit; but we had better wait till its mellow, for fear the pain kills all the pleasure. Gods time is a good time, and Gods way is a safe way, both to-day and to-morrow, too! (J. J. Wray.)
The tender consideration manifested by God towards the Israelites
The Christian life is a growth, and if assailed by some temptations in its infancy, the consequences might be fatal. He, therefore, who commences and maintains the process of our salvation, gradually accustoms His soldiers and servants to the difficulties of their warfare. Their faith, love, zeal, and self-denial are thus exercised rather than oppressed. The text confirms this consolatory view of the Divine procedure.
I. The circumstances of the Israelites. The deliverance of the chosen tribes was at this moment like the first rays of the morning spread upon the mountains. They had been redeemed from bondage. They were commencing their journey to the promised land, every spirit filled with pleasure. They were confident of their power to endure the trials of the way. The heart-searching God knew their deficiencies; and a variety of circumstances connected with their feeble faith determined Him in wisdom to divert their feet towards Canaan by a devious path.
1. The Philistines, who lay between them and the promised inheritance, were a brave and warlike people, against whom the sons of Jacob, numerous as they were, could not hope to succeed in battle. Wisely, therefore, did the Lord judge that they would shrink from such enemies. Such are the Christians foes. They are well practised. Satan has triumphed over man in every age, over the philosophy of Greece, the wisdom of Rome, and the refinement of Britain. And thinkest thou, Christian, that the enemies of thy soul are enfeebled? No! What, then, would be the consequences if God led thee past them to Canaan? Wisely and graciously are you led by the wilderness.
2. The Israelites were disarmed, and therefore utterly unable to cope with the Philistines, who were prepared with every means of defence which a people whose delight was in war could invent. The young believer just escaped from the house of bondage is defenceless. His enemies are armed. He cannot expect to wield the sword of the Spirit with the full energy of one who has been accustomed to fight with it.
3. In thus estimating the goodness of God towards the children in their need, we must add that their spirits were bowed down by long captivity. The hard bondage in mortar and brick was not the school in which to learn courage. Hence Israel was not fitted to match against the free soldiers of Philistia. The slavery of Satan unfits for conflict with the foes of the soul.
II. The dealing of God towards them. God might have made Israel at peace with the Philistines; or have given them courage to defeat their foes. But this procedure would have comprehended less of moral discipline.
1. He avoided the nearest way to the promised land, and led them by the way of the wilderness. The Israelites would be astonished at the line of march; they would be disposed to murmur. Has not God often contradicted your desires? You ought not to impugn His wisdom. The passenger ignorant of navigation cannot direct the course of the ship. The shipmaster knows the rocks: God knows our path best.
2. The Most High saw fit, not only that His chosen tribes should avoid the shortest way, but that they should pass through the dangers of the Red Sea, and sojourn in the wilderness of Zin. Could this be the result of wisdom? Clouds and darkness are round about Him. It is the exclusive province of unerring wisdom to draw a line between the discipline necessary for our moral good, and that severity of affliction, which might overwhelm us with despondency. We must confide in our heavenly Father.
3. Never, then, should it be forgotten, that although the journey of the Israelites was contrary to their expectations, their wishes, and their clouded judgment, it was the safest and the best path to Canaan. (R. P. Buddicom.)
Walking through the wilderness
Let us try to apply this, so far as the circumstances of the case permit, to the Christians experience in his religious life. That life must have had somewhere a conscious beginning. I say a conscious one, because its actual beginning precedes our knowledge of the fact. Our Christian life really began, through Gods grace, in our baptism, wherein we were made, though unconscious of the blessed truth, the children of God. But to know what then was done for us; to know that we have been made and are alive unto God, to perceive what we are and whose we are--this is like a second beginning. This new beginning is made, ordinarily, at the time of confirmation and first communion; then the Christians conscious life begins. If at that time you were really in earnest, and knew what you were about, and did what you did in love and sincerity, then first you felt yourself to be a Christian, and for the first time saw yourself to be on the march towards the Celestial City. Now how, by what route, or what line, was your journey to be made? I say at once and emphatically that its best typical picture must still be found in the forty years of wandering, with what they brought by way of trial, and proof, and weaning from the love of this present world; and that without such steady, quiet discipline, the work runs the risk of being brought to naught. For persons recently awakened to sober reflection on their state, and newly brought to Christ, should not be thought of as able, competent, and strong. They are not yet veterans; they are not yet fairly drilled reserves; they are but raw and awkward recruits. It must be so, unless in rare instances, as when in some sweet, holy child one sees the certain making of a saint. If they make their profession of Christ at a very early age, and ere yet they have left the secure protection of a holy family and a religious household, then their weakness is that of a fallen nature which has not been tried by severe temptations from outside. If, on the other hand, they make their open profession of the faith at a later date of life, then, in addition to that congenital weakness, they have what comes of loss of time, delay without sufficient cause, and commerce with the world, and some past relish for the paths of sin. Either way, this new recruit is weak, and liable to fall. Now suppose such an one brought face to face with the Philistines, with a race that know not God, with Goliath and the other giants, with the vast and splendid array of the notable enemies of the Church, with the temptations and trials of this world. Such an encounter can hardly, by any possibility, be avoided. The world is become one great Philistine camp. Strong races, hardened against religion, hold its chief places. What is likely to result when our young Christian falls on such terrible appearances and is called on to surrender? Here surely is work for veterans and champions; but he is no champion, and as yet has hardly proved his arms. There is danger of discouragement, of terror, of flight. And Egypt calls to him to come back, fair to the eye, sweet to the taste, with many allurements, and a bondage which many find agreeable, as if one were bound in fetters of silk or chains of gold. Yes, the danger, if one were to go right on by the way that is near, would be that of losing heart under the first fire, and wishing ones self out of the battle; and taking back, or at least forgetting, the promise he had made, and sinking down, a backslider from Christ. What he wants is hardening, proving, tempering. But that comes in the roundabout way. It is affected by means of the discipline of long and slow-moving years; it is the result of innumerable trials and temptations, the fruit of many painful incidents. St. James bids us count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations. Why? Because they constitute the precious discipline of life. If we fail not, we shall be purified thereby, and made ready for the great and final conflict in our own valley of decision. (Morgan Dix, D. D.)
The way of the wilderness
To spare a child the toils and pains of education, is the most grievous wrong that a father can inflict On him. Thus did not God spare His sons! From the day when they sang their triumphal hymn upon the desert shore, to the day when they passed over Jordan, their life was one continued discipline: each station, each experience, had a distinct office in relation to the formation of their character; was sent to add to them a virtue which would be an instrument of conquest or government, and a spring of strength, not in time only, but eternity. Not simply to keep them out of the way of the Philistines, but to drill them till they could master their enemies; to nurse them till they could bring forth a Samson, a David, who could compel the Philistines to own their supremacy, He led them by Sinai, and trained them, by self-conquest, to conquer the strongest foes. They came at last on Canaan, not as a scattered band of marauders, but with the shock of a thunderbolt; you feel that the battle is won the first moment that they set their feet on the land. And those men in the desert, hard as was their way and fare, were making history. Bunsen says, History was born that night, when Moses led forth his people from Goshen. The narrative of their toils and struggles is the oldest and most precious of historic records, and their waybook has become the heirloom of the pilgrim world. Behold, we count them happy which endure. And you who are out in the wilderness, faithless and heartless, like a sailor on a dark sea unlit by stars, learn from Israel the grand reason of your pilgrim vocation, and the end to which it will be guided if you follow the highway of God. God finds you a slave; He would make you a son. You are not the lawful slave of wanton Egypt; you have the Kings mark upon you--the King of kings is waiting to redeem His own. Come forth, then, come forth to freedom! breathe the free air, scan the broad horizon--it is your land of wandering; see the soft blue hills swelling in the distance, the gleaming of rivers, the shadow of wood-lands--it is your land of rest. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Gods guidance
When the English soldiers were marching up the heights of Alma, meeting the Russians who were marching down towards the English lines, there came a command for the English company to divide, part turning to the left and marching along the side of the hill. It seemed a foolish order when first received by the soldiers. There were Russians marching right in their teeth, and yet half of them were to turn away when the foe was close upon them! But the order was not long considered foolish. Those that turned to the left soon found that a company of Russians had been secretly coming up the side of the hill to fall upon the English unawares. The commander-in-chief from the hill on which he stood could see all the movements of the foe, while those that were perplexed at his orders could see only a small portion of the field. So He who orders our life and lot sees all the movements of the powers of darkness, and to deliver us from their plots and designs, He often leads us by a way we know not. (H. Starmer.)
Gods wondrous providence
What do you do when, in reading the massive folios of ancient English authors, you meet passages written in an unknown tongue? Paragraph after paragraph but you read with all possible fluency, instantly apprehending the authors purpose; suddenly the writer throws before you a handful of Latin, or a handful of Greek; what then? If you are absorbed by the interest of the book, you eagerly look out for the next paragraph in English, and continue your pursuit of the leading thought. Do likewise with Gods wondrous Providence-book. Much of it is written in your own tongue--in large-lettered English, so to speak; read that, master its deep significance, and leave the passages of unknown language until you are further advanced in the rugged literature of life; until you are older, and better scholars in Gods probationary school. The day of interpretation will assuredly come. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv17, 20 MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_13:17-19
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_13:17-19
THE WAY OF GOD IN CONDUCTING THE LIFE OF THE GOOD
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The children of Israel have now passed from the hand of Pharaoh into the immediate care of God, a transition new to them, which they did not understand, and which would be a long, and not always welcome, discipline to them. This discipline commences at once in that they are not to travel the nearest way to Canaan, but the furthest. We observe:—
I. That it is the way of God to bring the good to a place of rest. Canaan had been promised as an inheritance to the Israelites. Thither was the Lord to lead them. And to weary human life, which has been long enslaved by sin, but which has entered into the freedom of the gospel, there is promised a destiny of repose, sweet and sacred. Heaven is the destined resting-place of the soul, and thither it is being conducted by God. This is the design of God, to lead the souls of the good into eternal repose. This is the end of all the discipline of life.
II. That it is the way of God to bring the good away from the things that would be unfriendly to their welfare. “Not through the way of the land of the Philistines.” The Philistines were a warlike people, and would certainly have interrupted the march of Israel to Canaan. And so the Divine Being, in leading the soul to its destined rest, conducts it out of the way of its enemies. The soul is not wilfully to go into peril. Many men have not been led by the way of fortune, or social distinction, because that would have been as the way of the Philistines to them. God selects the life-path of the good. He selects it wisely. He selects it kindly. We often question His providence, but it is because of our ignorance and impatience.
III. That it is often the way of God to bring the good a circuitous route to their destination. “But God led the people about.” Had God so ordained it the Israelites might have reached their destination in five or six days. But the nearest way is not always the best. This is true in commerce. This is true in worship. This is true in moral character. The shortest way to be rich is not always the best; the quickest way to be good is not always the best. Wisdom often calls men to the longest life-route. It is often ordained by heaven that the soul shall go the tedious wilderness journey. Thus is it prepared for Canaan. Thus is it humbled. Thus is it taught to confide in God. This way is not the most pleasant, but it is morally the most profitable. The Israel of God needs the discipline of the long way.
IV. That it is the way of God to bring the good along unwelcome paths. “Through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.” The children of Israel, had they been consulted, would not have chosen the wilderness as their destined path. They would not have chosen to face the Red Sea. They would, no doubt, have preferred the shorter route. It is well that we have not to be the guides of our own lives, that we have a heavenly Guide. But why did God expose the Israelites to the perils of the wilderness when He was so anxious to shield them from the Philistines? Because the wilderness was a preferable and needful discipline; and because it is impossible to get to Canaan, whichever route is taken, without perplexities. But God is always with the good in their wanderings in the wilderness.
V. That it is the way of God to bring the good into a better and more thorough knowledge of themselves. The children of Israel were not taken to Canaan immediately after their freedom from bondage; they had to pursue a long journey in the desert. And so it is with the young convert, he is not taken to heaven at once, but is conducted through the discipline of life, that his zeal, love, and faith may be tested. The wilderness life will reveal him to himself. The further the good get on in the journey of life, the more and more they see the depravity of their hearts. This is the Divine purpose. Men know little of themselves when they commence the Christian course. They get to know more in the desert. Some Christians are taken to heaven through a long route of pain. They long for home, but the journey is prolonged. It is hard to see the reason of their protracted existence. The Divine purpose is not yet accomplished in them.
VI. That it is the way of God to bring the good into a wise exercise of their own strength. “And the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.” It is somewhat difficult to give the exact interpretation of the term “harnessed,” but it probably intimates that the Israelites were arranged in five grand divisions. They walked in battle array. And so, while it is the way of God to conduct human life to its destination, it is also the duty of man to exercise his own wisdom and strength, so that he may do all to aid the plans of God concerning him. LESSONS:—
1. That God leads men from Egypt to Canaan.
2. That men must give themselves up to the guidance of God.
3. That life is often through a long wilderness.
4. However long the journey, men must trust in God.
THE TENDER CONSIDERATION MANIFESTED BY GOD TOWARDS THE ISRAELITES
The Christian life is a growth, and if assailed by some temptations in its infancy, the consequences might be fatal. He, therefore, who commences and maintains the process of our salvation, gradually accustoms His soldiers and servants to the difficulties of their warfare. Their faith, love, zeal, and self-denial are thus exercised rather than oppressed. The text confirms this consolatory view of the Divine procedure.
I. The circumstances of the Israelites. The deliverance of the chosen tribes was at this moment like the first rays of the morning spread upon the mountains. They had been redeemed from bondage. They were commencing their journey to the promised land, every spirit filled with pleasure. They were confident of their power to endure the trials of the way. The heart-searching God knew their deficiencies; and a variety of circumstances connected with their feeble faith determined Him in wisdom to divert their feet towards Canaan by a devious path.
(1.) The Philistines, who lay between them and the promised inheritance, were a brave and warlike people, against whom the sons of Jacob, numerous as they were, could not hope to succeed in battle. Wisely therefore did the Lord judge that they would shrink from such enemies. Such are the Christian’s foes. They are well practised. Satan has triumphed over man in every age, over the philosophy of Greece, the wisdom of Rome, and the refinement of Britain. And thinkest thou, Christian, that the enemies of thy soul are enfeebled? No! What, then, would be the consequences if God led thee past them to Canaan? Wisely and graciously are you led by the wilderness.
2. The Israelites were disarmed, and therefore utterly unable to cope with the Philistines, who were prepared with every means of defence which a people whose delight was in war could invent. The young believer just escaped from the house of bondage is defenceless. His enemies are armed. He cannot expect to wield the sword of the Spirit with the full energy of one who has been accustomed to fight with it.
3. In thus estimating the goodness of God towards the children of Israel in their need, we must add that their spirits were bowed down by long captivity. The hard bondage in mortar and brick was not the school in which to learn courage. Hence Israel was not fitted to match against the free soldiers of Philistia. The slavery of Satan unfits for conflict with the foes of the soul.
II. The dealing of God towards them. God might have made Israel at peace with the Philistines; or have given them courage to defeat their foes. But this procedure would have comprehended less of moral discipline.
1. He avoided the nearest way to the promised land, and led them by the way of the wilderness. The Israelites would be astonished at the line of march; they would be disposed to murmur. Has not God often contradicted your desires? You ought not to impugn His wisdom. The passenger ignorant of navigation cannot direct the course of the ship. The shipmaster knows the rocks; God knows our path best.
2. The Most High saw fit, not only that His chosen tribes should avoid the shortest way, but that they should pass through the dangers of the Red Sea, and sojourn in the wilderness of Zin. Could this be the result of wisdom. Clouds and darkness are round about Him. It is the exclusive province of unerring wisdom to draw a line between the discipline necessary for our moral good, and that severity of affliction, which might overwhelm us with despondency. We must confide in our heavenly Father.
3. Never then, should it be forgotten, that although the journey of the Israelites was contrary to their expectations, their wishes, and their clouded judgment, it was the safest and the best path to Canaan.—Buddicom’s Christian Exodus.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo_13:17. After the redemption of His Church, God provides for guiding it to rest.
Nearest ways to rest with men are not always approved by God for His people.
God will not put His people upon war or hard trial, until He train them for it.
God’s special care of His Church is to keep it from a retreat to bondage after redemption.
“Although that was near.”—
1. Yet it was not a wise way.
2. It was not a safe way.
3. It was not a selected way.
Exo_13:18. The way of the wilderness:—
1. Rough.
2. Circuitous.
3. Unexpected.
4. Testing.
5. The best.
The way of the wilderness:—
1. Men are divinely led in it.
2. Men must expect difficulties in it.
3. Men will realise many comforts in it.
4. Men may develop patience in it.
God orders salvation to His people as it pleaseth Himself, and for their good.
God in wisdom sometimes translates His Church from the house of bondage to a wilderness.
Wilderness and Red Sea paths are the ways of God’s people here below.
Exo_13:19. An interesting incident of Israel’s departure from Egypt.
The Israelites did not neglect to take the bones of Joseph with them in their march out of Egyptian bondage. In this we have—
I. The discharge of a sacred trust. “And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Gen_1:24-25). Thus it was the wish of the dying patriarch that his bones should, in the day of Israel’s freedom, be carried in the great procession of emancipated slaves. This wish was regarded. Christianity teaches us to pay some heed to the last requests of departing friends. Many people are heedless of the wishes of the dead, and any promise made to them is speedily forgotten. Not so with Moses, he revered the sainted dead. How many young men are unmindful of the requests of their buried parents?
II. The fulfilment of an ancient prophecy. “And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.” Good men often turn prophets in their last hours, as though their insight into the plans and purposes of God, which will be given in heaven, commenced on earth. The last few words of life are often more valuable and impressive than all that have preceded. God can kindle the fire of prophecy in the soul of a dying saint, that the sorrowful may be encouraged.
III. The giving of a timely encouragement. When it was announced amongst the Israelites that the bones of Joseph were in their procession they would be inspired and encouraged by the fulfilment of the ancient prophecy, and they would regard this as a pledge of all that was to follow.
IV. The bestowal of an appropriate honour on an illustrious ancestor. Joseph was an illustrious ancestor, and was worthy of the regard thus paid to his remains. The dead bones of some men are worthy of more respect than the entire lives of many who are living, and who are esteemed great in the world.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Christian-Obedience! Exo_13:17. Bunyan places the “Slough of Despond” between Christian’s slavery and Christian’s soldiery. While in Egypt, the Israelites were slaves; so soon as they escaped from Egypt, they became soldiers. The Christian life is a warfare, and there is no discharge in this war. Once enlisted, Israel’s hosts must march under the banner of the Captain of their Salvation. And so is it with the sinner saved through grace. He is bound to follow the emblazoned heraldry of the “Pillar of the Truth,” whose folds wave in the breezes of the Spirit. Like the soldier, who dies in harness, all his armour buckled on and his powers gathered up for a last encounter, the Christian is prepared to fight to the last. His Pharaoh can follow him to the brink of the river, but no farther. Therefore he obeys—
“I have no plan! My will in meekness bowed,
I trust the sign that will not let me stray.”
The Right Way! Exo_13:18. Two centuries ago, a gallant knight was commissioned to conduct a noble lady from the Royal Court to a southern province in France. Not long after he had set out on his journey, they put up at a quiet hostelry, where the lady and her maid of honour found private apartments. During the course of the evening, an unknown friend warned the cavalier not to take the shorter and best road next morning, but to select the longer and more rough way, on account of an ambushment which had been formed. Thanking his kind monitor, he next morning proceeded by the winding and difficult route. Much shaken by the stumbling of the horses, the lady and her attendant vented their displeasure upon the knight for preferring the worst and longest way; but when they arrived after tedious and exhausting struggles at their destination, and learned what a narrow escape they had had from the jaws of death, they acknowledged the prudence and perception, the foresight and faithfulness, of their leader. The Church of God may think the short way to eternal perfection the best; but when she knows as she also is known, then will her song be on the borders of the jaspar-sardine sea, Just and true are Thy ways, O King of Saints!—
“Thou must pass through this tangled, dreary wild,
If thou wouldst reach the city undefiled, Thy peaceful home above.”
Home-Longings! Exo_13:18. Imagine some poor, shipwrecked mariner cast ashore upon a lonely island in mid-ocean. The climate of the island may be perpetual summer—the flowers may blossom and fruits ripen through all the year—the forests may be full of singing birds, with bright plumage, flashing like meteors in the shadows of the tropical glades—the air may be daily loaded with sweet perfumes, wafted by the balmy breezes—the skies may be genial, and the whole year one continued season of growth and bloom; but will that castaway sailor be satisfied? Alone, the seeming paradise will be a prison. He will long for his distant home beyond the melancholy main. Night and morning he will climb the rocky height, and scan the wide, watery horizon for some friendly ship. And at last, when the white sail is seen, it looks to him as the white wing of an angel flying to his rescue. So ought Israel to have felt in Egypt! And so ought Israel’s host to have welcomed the “Ship of Providence” sent to convey them across the Arabian Sandy Sea to their home in Canaan! But man is thus cast away by his own folly, and to him the ship of Salvation is sent to bear him across the stormy sea of life to the land of rest, the home of the soul.
“Dreams cannot picture a land so fair—
Sorrow and death may not enter there.”
Hemans.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v17 (See Scofield "Zec 8:14").
repent
(See Scofield "Zec 8:14").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v17 6. Redemption by Power
6. Redemption by Power
CHAPTER 13:17-22 From Succoth to Etham
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1. God’s leading (Exo 13:17-18)
2. Joseph’s bones carried away (Exo 13:19)
3. The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire (Exo 13:20-22)
Jehovah now begins to lead His redeemed people forward. God chose their way for them, as He chooses the way for us. He was with His people, therefore He led them in His way. If His people are in His way He is with them and all is well. If we are not in His way He cannot be with us in the fullness of His power. What grace and tenderness is revealed in the fact that the Lord did not permit them to go through the land of the Philistines! They had to learn lessons in God’s way, which they could never have learned in the shorter way through the land of the Philistines (Deu 8:2-4). He wanted them to escape trials and other experiences which might discourage them. Nor were they fitted for the warfare which would have resulted from the journey through the country of the Philistines. He would not suffer to have them tried above that they were able to bear. He deals thus with all His people. “But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able to bear it” (1Co 10:13).
It was Moses who took the bones of Joseph with him. They must have rested in a magnificent sarcophagus known to Moses. Joseph’s request was not forgotten. It may have been the word which Israel remembered in the house of bondage; they did not lose sight of the fact that redemption had been promised and that Joseph had looked forward to it (Gen 50:25). “And as the people bore his honored ashes through the desert, these being dead spoke of by-gone times, they linked the past and the present together, they deepened the national consciousness that Israel was a favored people, called to no common destiny, sustained by no common promises, pressing toward no common goal” (Bishop G.A. Chadwick).
The pillar of cloud and of fire was the outward sign of Jehovah’s presence with His people. By day and by night He guarded and led His people. The Keeper of Israel does not sleep nor slumber. He journeys along with them. It was but one pillar and Jehovah was present in it (Exo 14:24). The glory of the Lord appeared in that cloud (16:10; 40:34; Num 9:15). That glory cloud filled Solomon’s temple and was seen retreating and returning to heaven (Eze 11:22-25). It will be seen again when the King comes back from heaven’s glory and His glory will be established over Jerusalem (Isaiah 4). The sign of the Son of Man may be the Shekinah cloud.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v17 The First Stage of the Journey
The First Stage of the Journey
v. 17. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, had dismissed them and sent them out of the country, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, which would have been the shortest, the most direct route; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. The Israelites, disheartened and weakened by a life of servitude, were at that time in no condition to cope with the warlike Philistines.
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v. 18. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, by the southeastern route, through the desert; and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt, they did not go in irregular troops, like fugitives, but in marching order, a provision which kept their forces together and made supervision easy.
v. 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him; for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you in mercy; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. Gen 50:25. This last order of Joseph had been transmitted from generation to generation, and the vow was now remembered in all its earnestness.
v. 20. And they took their journey from Succoth, apparently nothing more than an encampment on the boundary of the desert toward Philistia, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. Instead of continuing toward the east, they turned southward, along the western shore of the Bitter Lakes, Etham being located at their southwestern end.
v. 21. And the Lord, Jehovah, the Son of God, went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night.
v. 22. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. Thus the Lord, in a miraculous manner, gave evidence of His presence to the children of Israel and guided them on their long journey. In the same way the Lord is present in His Church at all times in the means of grace, leading His children on the right path and protecting them against all enemies.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 19 was nearby
was nearby
"was close to where they were located"
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the people will change their minds ... and ... return to Egypt
Since Israelites had lived in slavery all their lives, they were more accustomed to peace than to war and would rather return to slavery than fight.
translationWords
Pharaoh
people group
God
Philistines
mind
desert
Sea of Reeds
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17–21 13:17–14:4 The Lord’s redemptive power was demonstrated as he…
13:17–14:4 The Lord’s redemptive power was demonstrated as he brought Israel into a place where they were completely helpless and had to either rely on him for rescue or die. Although at the time it must have seemed completely foolish, Israel would thank God for the rest of its history for maneuvering them into such a spot (see Ps 106:7-12; cp. Isa 12:2-6).
13:17-18 faced with a battle: The Israelites had not yet seen God fight on their behalf. Even though they left Egypt like an army ready for battle (13:18; see also 12:51), it was only an appearance. Until they experienced the Lord as fighting for them (14:14) in the crossing of the sea, they were not ready to face enemies in the Promised Land.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.