Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”
God knew that after all the hardship they had faced in Egypt, they were not mentally ready for war. He knew they would become very discouraged if they left the oppression of Egypt and immediately went to battle. God wanted them to have a chance to rest and build up their strength so that they would be ready for the day when they would have to fight for their land.
Exodus 13:18 So He led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.
Even though the Lord did not want them to fight, they still left ready to do so. The went by the road in the wilderness towards the Red Sea so that they could avoid the Philistines.
Exodus 13:19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”
Moses took back the bones of Joseph to the promise land as was promised him. He would now rest near his relatives.
Exodus 13:20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
The Lord guided the people in the way they should go. The safest way. The true way. I have heard some speculation that the pillar of cloud during the day and the pillar of fire at night was a volcanic eruption. While the imagery makes since and God can use any form of nature to create his pillars, we cannot be certain this is what actually happened. God could have chosen to create the cloud and the fire completely independent of a known natural phenomenon.
Exodus 14:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.
I bet when the Israelites heard this they were a little confused. Why should they turn back when they have already gone this far? The did though. They turned back and camped where God told them to. This sets up for the final defeat of the Egyptians when Pharaoh takes it upon himself to take his own army and pursue the Israelites to bring them back. This does not end well for Pharaoh. We will read of that tomorrow.
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