Moses’ Story: Leaving with God

Exodus 12:31-13:22

The Ten Signposts of the Bible
CAMDE—400—CALY
Creation. Abraham. MOSES. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to Come.

Israel enslaved. Moses rescued. In Midian. Burning bush. Excuses. Plagues. Passover.

Lori and I were with some friends a few days ago. Before we headed to our destination, we entered the address into the car’s GPS. The map on the screen was so detailed that it was sometimes hard to see the route we were supposed to take. The heavy rain and bumper-to-bumper traffic didn’t help. I had not been in that area before, but I was still sure we were going in circles. Then… just as the navigation system promised, we arrived at our destination exactly on time! 

Does it ever feel like you’re going in circles? On the wrong road? Headed in the exact opposite direction from what you’re convinced is right? Have you said to God, “Lord, there has to be a better way to get where we’re going”? 

Today, we are going to see that when God delivered Israel from Egypt, he took them on an unexpected route. 

Setting the Context
The plagues, especially the death of the firstborn, convinced Pharaoh that it was time to send Israel away. Pharaoh said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites!” (Ex. 12:31 NIV). All the Egyptians urged the Israelites to hurry and leave, fearing they would all be killed (Ex. 12:33).  

God made the Egyptians “favorably disposed” toward the Israelites, so the Egyptians supplied God’s people with “articles of silver and gold and . . . clothing.” As a result, the Israelites “plundered the Egyptians” (Ex. 12:36 NIV), as God had said they would. This was their payback for over two centuries of slavery.  

The Exodus
The Israelites left Egypt on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after Passover. They “marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians, who were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had struck down among them; for the Lord had brought judgment on their gods” (Num. 33:3-4). Now free, the nation was on its way to the promised land!

If Moses had entered “Canaan” as the destination in Google Maps, the shortest and most obvious route would have been to head north along the Mediterranean Sea and straight into Palestine. That road was a well-traveled trade route known as “the way of Horus,” later called the Via Maris (“Way of the Sea”). 

However, there was a major problem in that area: the land was occupied by the Philistines. God did not want his people to be easily discouraged. Concerned that the Israelites might “change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt” (Ex. 13:17), God “led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea” (Ex. 13:18). 

The ESV says, “Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle” (Ex. 13:18). However, I prefer the NKJV and NLT translations here (NKJV—“in orderly ranks”; NLT—“like an army ready for battle”). They had been slaves and were not trained to wage war against an enemy. 

In their haste, they remembered the promise made to Joseph, some 350 years earlier. Joseph knew that God would move his people out of Egypt to the land he had promised to their forefathers, so he requested that when the time came for them to leave Egypt, they take his mummified body with them (Gen. 50:25; Ex. 13:19). That promise had been passed down from generation to generation, and now the time had arrived.

God’s Presence
God appointed Moses as the flesh-and-blood leader to deliver Israel, but the true deliverer was God himself. The Lord “went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people” (Ex. 13:21-22). 

God never left his people. He accompanied them throughout their journey in a visible way. Every day, from sunup to sundown, all the Israelite men, women, and children could see a standing cloud column; not a flat cloud, but a tall, upright formation rising from the land into the sky. Think of a thick, rising plume of smoke. Each night throughout their travels, every person, young or old, could see a column of fire reaching from the ground to the heavens, illuminating the dark sky. This was God’s presence, always with them, directing their path.

Moses was their chosen leader, yet God was ever-present in the column of smoke and fire that stretched from earth to heaven. The “pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people” (Ex. 13:22). 

Let me wrap up today with two lessons I believe we need to hear. I know I need to remind myself of these two truths often. 

1. God seldom chooses the easiest route.
   God did not take Israel on the shortest route from Egypt to the promised land because he knew they were not ready. The most direct route went through Philistine territory, and God was concerned that if Israel saw the well-armed and well-trained Philistine army standing in their way, they would turn back to Egypt. Remember, Israel was leaving right after the ten plagues had decimated Egypt!
   
   Likewise, you may wonder why God doesn’t put you on the easiest, smoothest path. He knows you are not ready for what’s ahead. He needs to take you on a longer route to prepare, train, and strengthen you. He has lessons to teach you.
   
   Trust him to know the best way for you to go. 
   
   
2. God will never leave you.
   The majestic columns of smoke and fire[1] were a constant reminder that wherever Israel was, God was right there with them, leading and protecting them. On their journey, Israel needed that reassurance. Moses told the people, “Be strong and courageous. . . for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you” (Deut. 31:6).
   
   In Hebrews 13:6, the writer echoes the same promise, quoting Deuteronomy: “For [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5). What confidence that promise gives—in our greatest joys or our darkest nights, God is right there with us! The follower of Jesus is never alone. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD 
Read and reflect on Exodus 12:31-13:22. Where in your life do you feel God is taking you the “long way”?

Talking to God: Do you trust God’s direction for your life, even when you don’t understand it? Ask God for his help in trusting him completely.

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