“So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” (Exodus 3:8)
When Moses took the Israelites out of Egypt, he could have made it to Canaan in a little more than a week, even though he was shepherding over two million men, women and children. Of course, we know that was not the route taken.
Instead, he took them on a route that began a 40-year journey and involved the need for God to perform yet another miracle: the parting of the Red Sea.
Moses did not choose this route because he was confused and lost, as depicted in the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings, starring Christian Bale as Moses,
Moses did not act on his own either; he was guided by the God of Israel every step of the way.
But why would God choose such a long route when there was a shorter, more obvious direct route? Though we touched on this answer in Parasha Beshalach, let’s go even deeper and look at seven significant lessons God wants us to learn as we remember the journey of His children from bondage through the Red Sea to freedom.
The Crossing of the Red Sea, by Nicholas PoussinThe Crossing of the Red Sea, by Nicholas Poussin
Seven Lessons Learned in the Long Way
Efficiency is king in this modern age. The shortest, most direct route seems like it is always the correct way to go.
Let us consider some possible reasons why the shortest route may not be the best route for us, and why it was not the best route for the Israelites:
The shortest route would have taken the Israelites through hostile Philistine country. They were not prepared to encounter such hostility. “For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.” (Exodus 13:17–18) Moses left Egypt with an army of mostly broken souls who had spent the last eight to ten generations as slaves in Egypt. To reach Canaan, they would have to fight the Moabites, the Amalekites, and several other nations before actually having to confront the cities and tribes of Canaan itself. The Hebrew tribes were in no condition at that time to undertake such a challenge. God sometimes brings us the long way because we are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually unprepared to face what awaits us along the short route or at the end of our journey.