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SERIES F --- WILDERNESS WANDERINGS --- LESSON 12

THE JOURNEY RECORDED

THE JOURNEY FROM EGYPT

From Numbers 33

Many years had passed since the people of Israel had left Egypt triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians. In fact, the Egyptians urged them to leave as they buried their firstborn sons, whom Adonai had cut down, sending judgment upon the Egyptian gods. Moses recorded the itinerary of his people, place by place, as they moved through the wilderness, for Adonai had Instructed him to do this. The people of Israel left Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month {about April 1} on the morning after the Passover. Their first camp was at Succoth; then they moved to Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. From there they went to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-Zephon, where they camped at the foot of Mount Migdol. After leaving Mount Migdol, the people of Israel went through the Red Sea and travelled for three days in the Wilderness of Etham, finally setting up camp at Marah. From Marah they came to Elim, where they found twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees. They camped at Elim for quite some time; then they moved on to camp by the Red Sea. After that they moved into the Wilderness of Sin. From the Wilderness of Sin, the people moved on to Dophkah, then to Alush and next to Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. From this point the following were the stages on the people’s itinerary:

1 -- Wilderness of Sinai
2 -- Kibroth-hattaavah
3 -- Hazeroth
4 -- Rithmah
5 -- Rimmon-parez
6 – Libnah
7 – Rissah
8 – Kehelathah
9 – Makheloth
10 – Tahath
11 – Tarah
12 – Mithcah
13 – Hashmonah
14 – Moseroth
15 -- Bene-jaakan
16 -- Hor-hagidgad
17 – Jotbathah
18 – Abronah
19 --Ezion-geber
20 -- Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin
21 -- Mount Hor, at the edge of Edom.

While the people of Israel were at Mount Hor, Adonai ordered Aaron the priest to go into the top of the mountain where he died. His death occurred in the fortieth year after the people of Israel left Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month {about July 15}. Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died. About this time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb in the land of Canaan, learned that the people of Israel were approaching. After the incident with him, the people moved on from Mount Hor, following this itinerary:

1 – Zalmonah
2 – Punon
3 – Oboth
4 -- Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab
5 -- Dibon-gad
6 -- Almon-diblatiiaini
7 -- The Abarim Mountains, in the plains of Moab.

While they were camped in the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan River across from Jericho, Adonai spoke to Moses, giving him these Instructions: [When you cross the Jordan River into Canaan, drive out all of the people who now live there. Destroy their idols, their images of stone or metal and also their high places. Possess the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you. Each tribe will receive an inheritance of land according to its size, larger tribes receiving larger portions of land and smaller tribes receiving smaller portions. If you do not drive out the people who now live there, those you allow to remain will become like sand in your eyes and thorns in your sides, a constant irritation to you in the land where you settle. Then, as time passes, I will destroy you even as I had arranged for you to destroy them.]

COMMENTARY

THE ROUTE OF THE EXODUS

The land over which Israel now moved was rich and well watered. The tribes of Reuben and Gad, which had great flocks, asked Moses for this land as their heritage. The land would be theirs, but they must pledge themselves to cross the Jordan and fight with their brothers to win the Promised Land. It had been a long journey from Egypt to the plains across the Jordan River, but a careful record had been kept of all that had happened. The itinerary had been set by YHVH. The record had been kept by His people, a record of His plans and their obedience or disobedience. Moses kept a diary of the Exodus that listed all the stops along the way to the Promised Land. The locations of a few are known today, but others are lost in history. It is believed by some that the route the Israelites took to Kadesh-barnea ran through the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, others believe it was the central part, still others the southern; any one of these routes remains a possibility. The diary begins with the Israelites leaving the Egyptian city of Rameses. After crossing the Sea of Reeds, they walked for three days before they reached the oasis of Marah. Marah was no ideal camping ground; it was infamous in ancient times for its bitter undrinkable water. In fact, its name means {bitter.} Exactly where Marah was located remains a mystery. The next stop Elim was a lush oasis with twelve springs of water. But a few stops later, the Israelites found themselves at Alush, located in a very dry area. The lack of water at the stop after that, Rephidim, was then a particularly cruel disappointment. It was here that Moses struck a rock to produce water. The tribes moved on and set up camp at the foot of Mount Sinai. There are six different mountains that could be Mount Sinai. Tradition favours the one in the south of the Sinai desert. Moses’ itinerary goes on to record twenty more stops between Mount Sinai and Kadesh-barnea. They are all located in the {great and terrible wilderness} mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:19. When the Israelites reached Kadesh-barnea, they attempted to invade Canaan and failed. That generation spent their lives in the wilderness, either at Kadesh-barnea or at another Kadesh farther southeast. Forty years later, a new generation of Israelites made a fresh start. They wound their way north and east through Edom and Moab to the land of the Amorites and the mountains of Abarim on the eastern side of the Jordan River. It was there that Moses climbed Mount Nebo, viewed the lush land of Canaan from the mountain’s heights and died; forbidden ever to enter the Promised Land. The tribes then turned westward to the plains of Moab across the river from Jericho. This marked the last camping ground of the people of YHVH before they crossed the river and entered the Promised Land.

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