Part 5 (1/2)

FOURTH STUDY

The Wandering in the Wilderness

PART ONE

I. =Preliminary Events.= As preparatory to the wilderness stage in the history of Is'ra-el certain events and processes are to be noted.

1. =The Oppression of the Is'ra-el-ites= (Exod. I. 8-13). If the Is'ra-el-ites had been prosperous and happy in E'gypt they would have remained there, and the destiny of the chosen people would have been forgotten. Therefore, when E'gypt had given to Is'ra-el all that it could the wrath of man was made to praise G.o.d; and by suffering the Is'ra-el-ites were made willing to leave the land of their sojourn and seek the land of promise. The nest was stirred up, and the young eaglet was compelled to fly (Deut. 32. 11, 12). The Pha'raoh of the oppression is generally identified with Ram'e-ses II, who was reigning about B. C.

1320.

2. =The Training of Mo'ses.= Therein was another element of preparation.

No common man could have wrought the great work of liberation, of legislation, and of training which Is'ra-el needed.

3. =The Ten Plagues.= But if it was needful to make the Is'ra-el-ites willing to depart it was also needful to make the E-gyp'tian king and his people willing to let them depart; and this was accomplished by the plagues which fell upon E'gypt, showing Is'ra-el as under G.o.d's peculiar care and the G.o.ds of E'gypt powerless to protect their people.

4. =The Pa.s.sover= (Exod. 12. 21-28). This service represented three ideas: 1.) It was the springtide festival. 2.) It commemorated the sudden departure from E'gypt, when there was not even time to ”raise the bread” before leaving (Exod. 12. 34-39). 3.) It was an impressive prophecy of Christ, the slain Lamb of G.o.d (Exod. 12. 21, 22).

5. =The Exodus= (Exod. 12. 40, 41). The word means ”going out.” This was the birthday of a nation, the hour when the Is'ra-el-ites rose from being merely a ma.s.s of men to become a people. The date of the exodus is uncertain, but the best scholars have concluded that it took place in the reign of the King Me-neph'thah (or Me-re-neph'thah), who may have reigned about B. C. 1270.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOURNEYS OF THE ISRAELITES]

II. In order to follow the journeys of the Is'ra-el-ites we must draw a map of the =Wilderness of the Wandering=.

1. Draw the coast lines, and note =three Seas=. 1.) The ”great sea,” or _Med-i-ter-ra'ne-an_ (Josh. 1. 4). 2.) The _Red Sea_ (Exod. 13. 18), (Gulfs of Su-ez' and Ak'a-ba). 3.) The _Dead Sea_.

2. Draw the mountain ranges, and note =five Deserts=. 1.) The _Desert of Shur_ (Exod. 15. 22), between Go'shen and Ca'naan. 2.) The _Desert of Pa'ran_, in the center of the Si-na-it'ic triangle (Num. 10. 12). This is the wilderness in which thirty-eight of the forty years were pa.s.sed (Deut. 1. 19). 3.) The _Desert of E'tham_ (Num. 33. 8), on the sh.o.r.e of the Gulf of Su-ez'. 4.) The _Desert of Sin_, near Mount Si'nai (Exod.

16. 1). 5.) The _Desert of Zin_, the desolate valley between the Gulf of Ak'a-ba and the Dead Sea, now called the Ar'a-bah (Num. 13. 21).

3. Locate also the =five Lands= of this region. 1.) _Go'shen_, the land of the sojourn (Exod. 9. 26). 2.) _Mid'i-an_, the land of Mo'ses'

shepherd life (Exod. 2. 15), on both sides of the Gulf of Ak'a-ba. 3.) _E'dom_, the land of E'sau's descendants, south of the Dead Sea (Num.

21. 4). 4.) _Mo'ab_, the land of Lot's descendants, east of the Dead Sea (Num. 21. 13). 5.) _Ca'naan_, the land of promise (Gen. 12. 7).

4. Fix also the location of =three Mountains=. 1.) _Mount Si'nai_, where the law was given (Exod. 19. 20). 2.) _Mount Hor_,[3] where Aar'on died (Num. 20. 23-28). 3.) _Mount Ne'bo_ (Pis'gah), where Mo'ses died (Deut.

34. 1).

5. Notice also =seven Places=, some of which are clearly, others not so definitely, identified. 1.) _Ram'e-ses_, the starting point of the Is'ra-el-ites (Exod. 12. 37). 2.) _Ba'al-ze'phon_, the place of crossing the Red Sea (Exod. 14. 2). 3.) _Ma'rah_, where the bitter waters were sweetened (Exod. 15. 22-25). 4.) _E'lim_, the place of rest (Exod. 15.

27). 5.) _Reph'i-dim_, the place of the first battle, near Mount Si'nai (Exod. 17. 8-16). 6.) _Ka'desh-bar'ne-a_, whence the spies were sent forth (Num. 13. 26). 7.) _Ja'haz_, in the land of Mo'ab, south of the brook Ar'non, where a victory was won over the Am'or-ites (Num. 21. 23, 24).

Blackboard Outline

I. =Pre. Even.= 1. Opp. Isr. 2. Tra. Mos. 3. Ten Pla. 4. Pa.s.s.

5. Exod.

II. =Wil. Wan.= 1. Seas. 1.) M. S. 2.) R. S. [G. S., G. A.] 3) D. S.

2. Des. 1.) D. Sh. 2.) D. Par. 3.) D. Eth. 4.) D. Si. 5.) D. Zi.

3. Lan. 1.) Gos. 2.) Mid. 3.) Ed. 4.) Mo. 5.) Can.

4. Mts. 1.) Mt. Sin. 2.) Mt. H. 3.) Mt. Neb.

5. Pla. 1.) Ram. 2.) B.-zep. 3.) Mar. 4.) El. 5.) Rep. 6.) Kad.-bar.