The time of Wandering in the Wilderness lasted 40 years. Last lesson we looked at the first three months in which the children of Israel left Egypt and went to Horeb in the wilderness of Sinai. (Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai). They remained camped in this area for two years. Among other things during the encampment...
God gave the Law to Moses on the mountain,
The children of Israel made an idol,
The tabernacle was crafted, and
The priesthood was established.
Our next few lessons will concentrate on these important matters, but in this lesson we look at the arrival itself, and God’s appearance on the mountain while the people watched below (Exo 19:1-25; 20:18-22).
The Main Point
Behind this story is the kind intention of God’s will, and how God made his will known to the Israelites by the signs he gave them. God did not force his will upon them. Instead, he made it a condition that they must choose to obey his will, in order that his kind intentions for them might be realised. If they disobeyed, God warned, he would "break out against them."
Three things to notice in Exodus 19
Notice God’s intention:
v. 5-6 (cf Rev 1:5-6; 1Pe 2:9) "You shall be a special treasure to me --a kingdom of priests"
Notice the condition:
v. 5 (cf Col 1:21-23) "If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant"
Notice the sign:
v. 11,16 (cf 1Co 15:3-4) "It came to pass on the third day in the morning"
Bible Summary (Exodus 19-24, 31-35)
Arrival at Sinai (19)
Ten Commandments given (20)
Various social laws (21-23)
Sabbaths and festivals (23)
Land promise repeated (23)
Israel says, "We will obey" (24)
The beholding of God (24)
Moses on the mountain forty days and nights (24)
The sign of the Sabbath (31)
The golden calf idol (32)
Tablets of stone broken (32)
The plague and slaughter (32)
God threatens to leave (33)
Moses meets God in a tent (33)
Moses changes God’s mind (33)
The cleft of the rock (33)
New tablets of stone (34)
Further laws (34)
Moses face shines (34)
Rules for the Sabbath (35)
Stages of the Wilderness Wanderings
Ramases [in Egypt] to Succoth
(Exo 12:37) ~ End of 430 years bondage
Succoth to Etham
(Exo 13:20)
Turn back to camp between Migdol and the Red Sea
(Exo 14:2) ~ Crossing of Red Sea
~ Egyptian army destroyed
Red Sea to Wilderness of Shur
(Exo 15:22-23) ~ Bitter waters made sweet
On to Elim oasis
(Exo 15:27)
Elim to Wilderness of Sin
(Exo 16:1) ~ Giving of manna and quail for food
On to Rephidim
(Exo 17:1) ~ Water from the rock and war with Amalek
Rephidim to Sinai
(Exo 19:1-2, Num 10:11, Num 1) ~ Arrived 3rd month after leaving Egypt
~ Stayed at Sinai 2 years
~ The Law given through Moses
~ Tabernacle constructed
~ First census taken
Sinai to Hazeroth, then to Kadesh
(Num 12:16; 13, 14, 20:1-21) ~ Note: Kadesh (Kadesh-barnea)
is an oasis surrounded clockwise by the wildernesses of
Negev, Zin, Paran, and Shur.
~ Spies journey north to Canaan
and return
~ Israelites rebel and refuse to enter the
promised land
~ Water from the rock -Moses’s error
~ Edom refuses passage along the
King’s Highway
Kadesh to Mount Hor bordering Edom
(Num 20:22-23) ~ Aaron dies, war with king Arad and the Canaanites
From Mount Hor back toward the Red Sea
(Num 21:4) ~ The bronze serpent raised on a pole
Movements around Moab
(Num 21:10-20, 33, 22:1) ~ War with king Sihon and king Og
~ Balaam, the donkey, and the angel
~ Israel becomes immoral (Num 25) ~ Second census taken
~ War with Midianites (Num 31) ~ Some tribes begin to settle (Num 32)
Summary of journeys and encampments
(Num 33, Deu 1-5)