ne can only imagine the scene as the Jewish people left Egypt. Four hundred years of slavery and here they were leaving, not poor and destitute, but wealthy and in victory. About two million people left Egypt along with their animals, and headed toward the Red Sea. They must have been jubilant, singing, dancing, celebrating and praising God. They marched out of Egypt and camped beside the Red Sea at a place called Pi Hahiroth. During the day they saw above and in front of them a pillar of cloud, a vertical symbol of God’s presence with them, and at night it glowed as a pillar of fire, visible to every person in the group, and offering ample light for night travel.
Meanwhile, back in Egypt, Pharaoh and his offi - cials were having a change of heart. They realized that they had lost an incredible workforce, not to mention
untold amounts of wealth. Perhaps they figured that there was nothing else that God could to do to them and their fear of Him diminished. Pharaoh ordered his chariot made ready and a huge army to assemble, including chariots, horsemen, and foot soldiers. They pursued the Israelites to the Red Sea. When the people saw this huge dust cloud approaching and recognised the army of Egypt they were terrified. They complained to Moses, suggesting that it would have been better to work as slaves than to die in the desert. Moses told them to stand firm and trust God. He claimed that the Egyptians they were now terrified of, would never be seen again.
God instructed Moses to raise his staff over the sea in order to divide the water and then the pillar of cloud moved towards the Egyptians and stood between them and the Jews. The Egyptians stopped advancing, they had seen too much of the power of God to risk coming closer. A strong wind began to blow and the sea divided, causing the waters to stand up on either side of a path through the center. Moses ordered the people to walk through to the other side, no short distance. The Jews traveled through the night to the opposite side, and in the morning the pillar of cloud moved back towards them, leaving the path open to the Egyptians. Pharaoh immediately raced towards the Jews on the opposite side, and all of his army with him. The chariots wheels got caught in the mud and started to fall off, and the foot soldiers caught up. They fell into confusion and started to realize that God was fighting against them. When they were all between the shores, God commanded Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea. It was early in the morning, and as the Jews watched in awe, the huge walls of water collapsed on top of the Egyptians, drowning the entire army including the Pharaoh. None of them survived, and when the Jews saw their bodies floating to shore they were utterly amazed at what God had done for them. They composed a song, had another celebration, and decided that from then on they should trust in God and His servant Moses. As for Egypt, as a nation they were instantly vulnerable to their enemies, indeed, this event opened the door for the Sea People1 and others to invade.
The Israelites traveled into the desert beyond the Red Sea, the area now known as the Sinai Desert. For three days they searched for water in vain, but finally came to a place they called Marah where the water was too bitter to drink. God instructed Moses to take a particular kind of wood and throw it into the water, which in turn made it sweet to drink. They left there and came to an oasis called Elim, where there were twelve springs of water, and here they took a vacation for a few weeks. It would seem that during this period they also ate most of the food they had taken from Egypt as they began to complain of having nothing to eat. Two million people take a bit of feeding no doubt, and there were no restaurants nearby.
They complained to Moses suggesting that he and Aaron had brought the entire assembly out into the desert to starve; they even claimed they were better off as slaves in Egypt. So the Lord promised them meat that very evening, and the next morning they would have a kind of bread which they would be able to gather every morning except on the seventh day of each week. That evening a flock of quails came into the camp and the people had roasted fowl for dinner. The next morning they saw what looked like thick pieces of frost on the ground. Moses told them this was the bread God had provided. It tasted like fresh wafers covered with honey. They were told to gather only as much as they needed for each day, and on the sixth day, to gather enough for two days. Human nature being what it is, many people didn’t obey. They tried to store enough for several days, only to find that overnight it became full of worms and ined- ible. Only on the sixth day did the Manna last for two days. God was teaching them to observe one day each week as a day of rest. This was the Sabbath day, a day in which God commanded the people to rest and think about what He had done for them. It was to be a day of worship.
They set out from Elim heading for Mount Sinai. On the way they were attacked by an army of Amalekites. This was a group from Canaan (now called Israel) who had come out to hinder the Jews’ progress to the Promised Land and to try and fill them with fear. At this time the Jews were traveling south towards Mount Sinai, and not towards Canaan, so it is most likely that they were especially waiting for the first opportunity to attack them. The Amalekites were related to the Nephilim. Many of them were giants, and none of them were completely human. It appears that Satan’s plan was to stop the Jews entering the Promised Land and by doing so, prevent God’s promise being fulfilled to Abraham four hundred years before. The Amalekite army firstly attacked the weak and tired Jews at the rear of the line, killing at will. They were not the entire Amalekite army, but rather a large scouting party.
The next day the Jews confronted this army using what weapons they had plundered from Egypt. Moses ordered Joshua, a young captain, to fight the Amalekites and at God’s direction, he went to the top of the hill overlooking the battle and held aloft the staff. While he held it up Joshua’s men were winning, but when he grew tired, and his arms lowered, the Amalekites began to overtake the Jews. Moses had two guys help him throughout the day, and by sunset the Amalekite army had been defeated. God ordered Moses to write down the account, and swore that He would erase every Amalekite from the face of the earth. The people had seen a victory over these mighty warriors, however, sadly they would forget this lesson in due course.
Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, the same place where Moses had first met with the Lord. God then gave the people of Israel the following message. He told them that of all nations on earth, He had chosen them to be His treasured possession. There was a condition. They must keep all of the laws and commandments that He was about to give them. If they did, they would be a nation of priests and a holy nation, a nation set aside to show the world that He is God. Moses conveyed this message to the people and they all said, “We will do everything the Lord has said.”
God ordered them to prepare themselves to receive His commandments. They were to clean themselves and to gather at the foot of the mountain, but none were to step onto the mountain. After this time of preparation Moses led them to the foot of the mountain. Suddenly there was thunder and lightning, and Mount Sinai became covered in thick smoke and fire was within the smoke. Then there was a loud sound like a trumpet and the entire mountain shook violently. The people were extremely afraid. They asked Moses to speak to them only, they were afraid that the very voice of God would cause them to die. Moses told them not to be afraid, but that God was testing them so that their respect of His power might keep them from sinning. God wanted them to consider very seriously the proposal and promise they had made to obey His laws and commandments, as He was about to enter into a covenant with Israel, a contract signed in blood.