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 God; 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 God's peculiar
care and the gods of E'gypt powerless to protect their people.
4. =The Passover= (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 God (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 mass 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.
[Illustration: 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 passed
(Deut. 1. 19). 3.) The _Desert of E'tham_ (Num. 33. 8), on the shore 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).