King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 7 notes
1These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron.
2And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.
3And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
4For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.
Did they bury their firstborn on the same day or period Israel left Egypt?
I can imagine, whiles Egypt buried ⚰ and mourned, Israel rejoiced and exited Egypt 🇪🇬.
It was in this state of mourning and fear 😱 that Israel 🇮🇱 spoiled Egypt 🇪🇬 and asked for gifts.
And they gave Israel much.
5And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.
6And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.
7And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-zephon: and they pitched before Migdol.
8And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.
9And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there.
10And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.
11And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
12And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.
Oh my oh my... All these movements were by the Spirit of God; the cloud 🌥 directed where they were to camp and for how long.
And not only that, but the Lord asked for Moses to specifically record these journeys, journeys spanning 40 years.
Now come to think of it, did God follow his initial script as intended, or was it influenced and adjusted based on the preparedness of Israel 🇮🇱 to obey him and how willing they were to follow his commands, judgements and statutes?
Oh, and many times Israel failed, prolonging their camping 🏕, causing change in directions and eventually leading to 38 extra years of wandering, till they were all dead and their children taking their place.
I wish I saw the places and the pattern these journeys formed and the meaning thereof.
But alas, the scriptures do not tell us.
13And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.
14And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.
15And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.
16And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibroth-hattaavah.
17And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth.
18And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah.
19And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmon-parez.
20And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and pitched in Libnah.
21And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah.
22And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah.
23And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher.
24And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah.
25And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.
26And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath.
27And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.
28And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.
29And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah.
30And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth.
31And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan.
32And they removed from Bene-jaakan, and encamped at Hor-hagidgad.
33And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah.
34And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah.
35And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Ezion-gaber.
36And they removed from Ezion-gaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.
I'm wondering how much preparing had to go into each journey, the scouts that had to be sent ahead, the setting up and setting down 👇.
The studying of the terrains. Moses at a point required and pleaded with the son of Jethro to be with them, as he knew the wilderness better.
One would have thought 💭 that for a man 👨 who spoke to God face to face, it was just a matter of asking God.
But I believe that God was not at the beck and call of Moses, but he had to wait for long in prayer just like we all.
The only difference being God appeared in person to answer him rather than in shadows and patterns — dreams, impressions etc.
So he had to rely on his common sense, delegations and counsel from others to successfully lead his people.
This having to wait on God before he came is seen subtly in many places. For instance, the children of Israel went three days without finding water and were ready to stone Moses before God showed up.
If Moses could have obtained instant answers from God, why else would he wait until the people were dying from thirst, the weak and elderly convulsing and being feverish, before praying to the Lord?
Moses could not just tell God: where is the nearest water source, the best place to get bread, and the next step to take to receive the miracle of meat 🥩, ahead of the people being hungry and angry 😡.
Moses just could not do that, as God was not that available.
He was visible, he could be seen and felt, but he was not available until he wanted to talk.
See how many days and nights Moses spent in the mount to receive the 10 Commandments — 40 days and nights 🌃.
37And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.
38And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month.
Oh my God, just at the brink of entering the land.
At least he lived to the full because of his relationship with God, unlike others who died earlier; just that he did not enter the promised land.
39And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.
40And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
41And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah.
42And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.
43And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth.
44And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab.
45And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibon-gad.
46And they removed from Dibon-gad, and encamped in Almon-diblathaim.
47And they removed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
49And they pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.
50And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
51Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
52Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
53And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
54And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
55But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
To preserve their own posterity, they needed to drive out the inhabitants.
Their destiny was in their own hands; indeed, the extent of their own greatness was in the volume of appetite they could muster.
God gave them the land, and they had the power to drive all out or some out.
Obviously, if we are given the same opportunity, our response will be: we will take all that belongs to us. But it is not that simple.
Yes, God was with them to win every battle, but it was still going to be a battle.
And most hate battles and the work that goes into conquest. Most people lack the requisite appetite for mass-scale victory and all-round success.
God's best for them was to conquer all, but they fell short of that. May God give us the grace, and may we have sufficient drive, energy and willingness to conquer all.
56Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.
Simple: God needed his agenda to be fulfilled, and Israel 🇮🇱 was fulfilling that agenda.
The agenda was cleansing, cleansing the land of the filth of the people.
Later, when Israel became filthy, they were also cleaned off the land by another people.
So in our world today, God will cleanse this world of the wickedness and moral filth before the great day of our Lord.