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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things Phil 4:8 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, August 9, 2026
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Hebrews Depart Egypt Bible Verse :Exodus 13:17-18 "Then Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. " Message:
Exodus contains two great stories: The release of the Hebrews from slavery, and the Hebrew journey to Canaan. The second story begins here. Oddly, when Archbishop Steven Langton divided the Bible into the chapters we use today (around 1220 A.D.), the major breaking point of today’s short reading was not marked by a new chapter.
There has been, since before written history, a trade road along the Mediterranean coast connecting Canaan and Egypt. The world’s greatest road builders, the Romans, built a marvelous road the called simply the Via Maris, the “Sea Road” (or perhaps “Ocean Highway”, as it would more likely be called today). It was the logical and easy route for the Hebrews to follow from Egypt to Canaan, the equivalent of taking I-95 from New York to Miami.
Philistine warrior
Philistine warrior
But we must imagine what sort of people the Hebrews were when they exited Egypt. They had been Egyptian slaves for hundreds of years. The men were herders, farm laborers, and construction laborers; the women, housewives, hand servants, and seasonal field hands. They were ignorant and unlettered. They had no military training and no weapons. None of them were trained to lead, and most knew only a sedentary or pastoral lifestyle. And perhaps most difficult, their personalities were strongly molded to conform to their role in Egyptian society.
Ahead of them on the Via Maris were the Philistines, a nation powerful enough to attack mighty Egypt in 1183 B.C. Of course, God could simply have swept away the Philistines, but He would have simply created a nation of sheep, which was not His intention. From what we can tell in the Bible, God’s intention is that man should be self-sufficient and free, with free will; and that having been given this free will, turn to Him out of love and reverence. If God wanted puppets, he would have made puppets; but He did not.
And so, the Hebrew rabble is totally unprepared even to exist outside Egypt, much less meet a powerful army. They are like pitiful refugees in WW2 caught between the Germans and Russians. This is why God does not send them directly to Canaan, where they would immediately be attacked by the powerful Philistines. Instead, He will send them to the wilderness for forty years of training and hardening, in every sense: Mental, physical, moral, and most important, religious.
(In our study of Exodus, the following two maps will be linked when appropriate:)
Meditation : Prayer : God of love, Father of all, the darkness that covered the earth has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make me and all who confess your holy name people of this light. Make me faithful to your Word that I may bring your life to the waiting world. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
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