III. On our map we indicate the =Journeys of the Is'ra-el-ites=, and at
the same time note the principal events of the wandering.
1. _From Ram'e-ses to the Red Sea_ (Exod. 12. 37; 14. 9). With this
note: 1.) The crossing of the Red Sea.
2. _From the Red Sea to Mount Si'nai._ Events: 2.) The waters of Ma'rah
(Exod. 15. 23-26). 3.) The repulse of the Am'a-lek-ites (Exod. 17.
8-16). 4.) The giving of the law at Mount Si'nai. Here the camp was kept
for a year, and the organization of the people was effected.
3. _From Mount Si'nai to Ka'desh-bar'ne-a._ At the latter place
occurred: 5.) The sending out of the spies and their return (Num. 13.
1-26). 6.) The defeat at Hor'mah, north of Ka'desh-bar'ne-a (Num. 14.
40-45). It was the purpose of Mo'ses to lead the people at once from
Ka'desh up to Ca'naan. But their fear of the Ca'naan-ite and Am'or-ite
inhabitants made them weak; they were defeated and driven back into the
Desert of Pa'ran, where they wandered thirty-eight years, until the
generation of slavish souls should die off, and a new Is'ra-el, the
young people, trained in the spirit of Mo'ses and Josh'u-a and fitted
for conquest, should arise in their places.
4. _From Ka'desh-bar'ne-a through the Desert of Pa'ran and Return._ This
was the long wandering of thirty-eight years. We trace the route from
Ka'desh, around the Desert of Pa'ran, to Mount Hor, to E'zi-on-ge'ber at
the head of the Gulf of Ak'a-ba, and at last to Ka'desh once more (Num.
20. 1). There occurred: 7.) The water from the rock at Ka'desh and
Mo'ses's disobedience (Num. 20. 10-12). 8.) The repulse by A'rad (Num.
21. 1). It would seem that the Is'ra-el-ites made a second attempt to
enter Ca'naan on the south, and were again defeated, though not so
severely as before.
5. _From Ka'desh-bar'ne-a around E'dom to the River Jor'dan._ After this
second defeat Mo'ses desired to lead the people through the land of the
E'dom-ites, and to enter Ca'naan by crossing the Jor'dan (Num. 20. 14).
But the E'dom-ites refused to permit such an army to pass through their
land (Num. 20. 18-21). Hence the Is'ra-el-ites were compelled to go down
the Desert of Zin, past E'dom, as far as the Red Sea, then east of
E'dom--a very long and toilsome journey (Num. 21. 4). Note with this
journey: 9.) The brazen serpent (Num. 21. 6-9; John 3. 14, 15). 10.) The
victory over the Am'or-ites (Num. 21. 23,24). This victory gave to the
Is'ra-el-ites control of the country from Ar'non to Jab'bok, and was the
first campaign of the conquest. The long journey was now ended in the
encampment of the Is'ra-el-ites at the foot of Mount Ne'bo, on the
eastern bank of the Jor'dan, near the head of the Dead Sea. 11.) The
last event of the period was the death of Mo'ses, B. C. 1451 (Deut. 34.
5-8).
IV. =The Results of the Wandering.= These forty years of wilderness life
made a deep impress upon the Is'ra-el-ite people, and wrought great
changes in their character.
1. It gave them certain _Institutions_. From the wilderness they brought
their tabernacle and all its rites and services, out of which grew the
magnificent ritual of the temple. The Feast of Passover commemorated the
exodus, the Feast of Pentecost the giving of the law, the Feast of
Tabernacles (during which for a week the people lived in huts and
booths) the outdoor life in the desert.
2. Another result was _National Unity_. When the Is'ra-el-ites left
E'gypt they were twelve unorganized tribes, without a distinct national
life. Forty years in the wilderness, meeting adversities together,
fighting enemies, marching as one host, made them a nation. They emerged
from the wilderness a distinct people, with one hope and aim, with
patriotic self-respect, ready to take their place among the nations of
the earth.
3. _Individual Liberty._ They had just been set free from the tyranny of
the most complete governmental machine on the face of the earth. In
E'gypt the man was nothing; the state was everything. The Is'ra-el-ite
system was an absolute contrast to the E-gyp'tian. For centuries after
the exodus the Is'ra-el-ites lived with almost no government, each man
doing what was right in his own eyes. They were the freest people on
earth, far more so than the Greeks or the Ro'mans during their
republican epochs. Mo'ses trained them not to look to the government for
their care, but to be a self-reliant people, able to take care of
themselves. If they had passed this initial stage of their history
surrounded by kingdoms they would have become a kingdom. But they
learned their first lessons of national life in the wilderness,
untrammeled by environment and under a wise leader, who sought to train
up a nation of kings instead of a kingdom.
4. _Military Training._ We trace in the history of those forty years a
great advance in military discipline. After crossing the Red Sea, Mo'ses
did not wish to lead them by the direct route to Ca'naan lest they
should "see war" (Exod. 13. 17, 18). Attacked by the Am'a-lek-ites soon
after the exodus, the Is'ra-el-ites were almost helpless (Exod. 17.
8-16; Deut. 25. 17-19). A year later they were the easy prey of the
Ca'naan-ites at Hor'mah (Num. 14. 40-45). Forty years after they crossed
the Jor'dan, and entered Ca'naan a drilled and trained host, a
conquering army. This discipline and spirit of conquest they gained
under Mo'ses and Josh'u-a in the wilderness.
5. _Religious Education._ This was the greatest of all the benefits
gained in the wilderness. They were brought back from the idolatries of
E'gypt to the faith of their fathers. They received God's law, the
system of worship, and the ritual which brought them by its services
into a knowledge of God. Moreover, their experience of God's care taught
them to trust in Je-ho'vah, who had chosen them for his own people. Even
though the mass of the people might worship idols, there was always from
this time an Is'ra-el of the heart that sought and obeyed God.