Exodus 13:17-22 Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire

"When Pharaoh let the people go,

God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country,

though that was shorter.

For God said, 'If they face war,

they might change their minds and return to Egypt.'

So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.

The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him

because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath.

He had said, 'God will surely come to your aid,

and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.'

After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert.

By day the LORD went ahead of them
in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way

and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,
so that they could travel by day or night.

Neither the pillar of cloud by day
nor the pillar of fire by night
left its place in front of the people."

Exodus 13:17-22 (NIV)

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Some observations:

• God led the Israelites out of Egypt and toward Canaan using a desert road which led toward the Red Sea.  He could have led them by a more direct path through the country of the Philistines, but if war broke out against them, some might want to give up and return to Egypt.  [That may seem astonishing, but remember that Egypt was all that these Israelites had ever known.  They personally had not been to Canaan, although their ancestors had lived there.]  The NIV Study Bible comments on this verse (v.17) that the direct route was also "...heavily guarded by a string of Egyptian fortresses."  So God knew what He was doing.  He always does.  Sometimes the longest way around really is the shortest way home.
• The Israelites were armed for battle.  They probably had spears, bows and arrows, and slings.  Perhaps some had obtained other weapons from the Egyptians.  However, it is likely that they were not exactly battle-ready.  Their years of slavery had doubtless helped to increase their endurance and physical strength, and their travels in the desert would form them into a formidable army by the end of their journey.
• Moses took Joseph's bones with him.  This fulfilled the oath which Joseph made his brothers swear.  Joseph had been confident that God would keep His word and deliver the Hebews from Egypt as He had promised.  Now God had done just that.  Remembering Joseph's confidence in the LORD and seeing that God had indeed kept His word was probably a great comfort to the Hebrews as they began their long journey back to Canaan.
• After leaving Succoth, they camped at Etham.  I am just starting to examine the possible routes for the Exodus, so that will have to be the subject of another post sometime.  This verse tells us that Etham was on the edge of the desert.
• The LORD went ahead of them, by day and by night.  He is always the shepherd, leading His people. 

Exodus 12:37-42 On Their Way (to the very day)

"The Israelites journeyed from Rameses to Succoth.

There were about six hundred thousand men on foot,
besides women and children.

Many other people went up with them,
as well as large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds.

With the dough they had brought from Egypt,
they baked cakes of unleavened bread.

The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt

and did not have time to prepare food for themselves.

Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.

At the end of the 430 years, to the very day,

all the LORD's divisions left Egypt.

Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt,

on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD
for the generations to come.

Exodus 12:37-42 (NIV)

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There are a lot of interesting things in this portion of Scripture.  Here are some of my thoughts after reading this passage:

1. It will be interesting to investigate the journey of the Israelites as they made their way out of Egypt.  I know there is some controversy regarding the route that they traveled.  I also know that there are places in the Bible which name specific places where they camped along the way.  Hopefully that can help sort out some of the questions, unless the places which are named are places which are unknown to us today.
2. I was thinking that now would be a great time to make use of one of those programs which have maps, so we can plot the Exodus journey, or other places which we encounter.  It may take me some time to get that going, but I do intend to do it.  I like visuals.
3. It was good that the LORD had warned the people through Moses that they should eat their final meal in Egypt in a 'ready to leave' mode, for apparently once things started happening, there was no time for further preparations.  They had brought along their bread dough, which provided some sustenance on their journey, but did not have time to prepare other food for themselves.  It was also good that they had had that first Passover dinner before they left.  Apart from other symbolic aspects, it gave them strength for the arduous journey ahead.  [God thinks of everything.]
4. The text states that the Israelites had lived in Egypt for 430 years.  In fact, it was 430 years to the very day, according to this passage.  I think there is also controversy about when (and for how long) the Israelites were in Egypt.  We will look into that, but this passage is pretty specific, wouldn't you say?
5. "Many other people'' (v.38) accompanied the Israelites.  Some Egyptians had seen the power of the LORD and had tried to obey His word.  (see Exodus 9:20)  Probably members of other people groups or nations were also living in (or passing through) Egypt at the time, whether as slaves, businessmen, traders, etc.  Some of these seem to have joined the Israelites as they left Egypt.
6. Large droves of flocks and herds accompanied the Israelites.  True to His word, the LORD had brought the Israelites out of Egypt with great possessions. 
7. The LORD kept vigil that night to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.  Therefore the Israelites are to honor the LORD by keeping the Passover for the generations to come.
8. Sometimes there are discussions about how many Israelites actually left Egypt in the Exodus.  The round figure given in this passage (600,000 men, besides women and children) can help give us some idea of the great number of people involved in the journey.  If we figure roughly an equal amount of women, and about two children per couple (although I think this is conservative), we already have about two and a half million people.  Now these are very rough figures, and hopefully we can investigate this question further, but I think we can say that this is no tiny ragtag group of escaped slaves, as some articles and documentaries about the Exodus seem to imply.