- Notes from Nathan
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- Exodus 13:17-18
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. 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. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle.
Sometimes the easy route is the harder way.
The more direct, much quicker, most efficient route would bring up a battle God’s people thought they were ready for, but God knew they weren’t. To make them ready - for battles and for promise - would require a roundabout route. While we get focused on destination, God is aimed at our dependence.
Consider the dependence-developing help the Israelites would have missed had they gone the direct route to the Promised Land.
The guidance of the pillar of cloud and fire.
The deliverance from their pursuers at the Red Sea.
The commandments that would inform their living at Sinai.
The sustenance of manna & quail in the wilderness.
The presence of the Lord their God throughout.
These are the soul-sustaining, soul-shaping, soul-lightening fruits the Divine heart of salvation provided for his people there in the wilderness.
If your current season doesn’t appear efficient for your purposes, rest assured God is up to something effective for his purposes.