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Evangelism Bulletin 261 – Meanderings
So, the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt under the faltering leadership of Moses. Timidly he confronts Pharoah asking him to release the Israelites from slavery. At the God-ordained moment they make their hasty escape. Miraclulous events help them flee from the pursuing Egyptian army as they cross the Red Sea (or the Reed Sea). And then this motley crew of people are faced with a journey to a land promised to them by God – Canaan (Exodus 6:4) – a journey which took around 40 years and led them through wilderness conditions with what seemed to be a detour to Mount Sinai to pick up the two tablets of stone which were to underpin the life-style of the Israelite people for generations to come.
I somethimes wonder, when reading these ancient biblical accounts, how different things might have been if they had had access to modern technology. For instance, supposing Moses had a SATNAV device to direct him to Canaan. He would type in the destination’s name, press ‘Navigate’, and off he would go, possibly completing the 40 year journey in around 40 days. (Of course there was the slight problem that satellites had not been invented.) It appears, if the traditional siting of Mount Sinai to the south of the Sinai Peninsula is accurate, that they took a hefty detour in their attempts to reach and occupy the Promised Land.
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