There are moments in the Christian life where the path God takes us on makes no sense to us. We want the straight line, the easy road, the quickest way from slavery to promise. But God, in his wisdom, rarely takes us the way we would choose. And just like Israel, we find that the Lord leads us in ways that feel longer, harder, or slower than we had hoped. The question this passage raises for us is simple and confronting. Do we trust the Lord’s path, even when it is not the path we would have chosen. Do we trust his purpose, even when we cannot understand it. With that in mind, let’s read the next part of the story.
Exodus 13:17–22 (ESV)
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.” But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle. Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones with you from here.” And they moved on from Succoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.
What is striking here is how quickly God disrupts Israel’s expectations. The land of the Philistines was the straight line, the quickest route. It would have made the most sense to them. But God knew his people. He knew their weakness. He knew that if they saw war too soon, if fear gripped them before faith had grown in them, they would run straight back to the very place he rescued them from. So instead of taking them forward in the obvious way, he takes them sideways, into the wilderness. He leads them toward the Red Sea, a path that, from a human perspective, seems foolish.
Friends, this is where God’s wisdom confronts our pride. We imagine that we know what is best for our lives. We plan, we strategise, we map out what we think will bring us flourishing. But God sees further into our hearts than we ever will. He knows what would crush us. He knows what temptations we cannot handle. He knows what trials would make us run. And so sometimes he takes us the long way around. Not to frustrate us, but to keep us. Not to make life harder, but to prevent us falling back into the slavery he rescued us from.
Israel leaves Egypt armed for battle, but they are not ready for battle. And how often is that true of us. We think we are stronger than we are. We think we can handle more than we can. And we forget that spiritual maturity is not proven by how much we can carry, but by how deeply we trust the God who carries us.
In the middle of this, we get this beautiful detail about Joseph’s bones. Moses carries them out because Joseph had commanded it centuries earlier. Why does this matter. It matters because Israel is learning that the God who promised to bring them out is the God who keeps every word he speaks. Joseph believed God would bring them home long before any of them saw it with their own eyes. And now that promise is being fulfilled. This is faith across generations. This is God’s faithfulness unfolding across centuries.
And then comes the heart of the passage. The Lord goes before them. Not as an idea, not as a feeling, but as a visible, physical presence. A pillar of cloud by day. A pillar of fire by night. God does not hide himself. He does not leave them to guess. He leads them, step by slow step, in a way that ensures they cannot take a single movement of this journey for granted. And notice that it says the pillar did not depart from before the people. God does not lose interest. He does not wander off. He does not forget them in the wilderness.
Friends, God may take us into places we do not understand, but he never takes us alone. And the longer road is often the place where we learn to trust him. Where our hearts are humbled. Where our faith is strengthened. Where we stop relying on our own wisdom and begin to rest in his.
We do not always know why God leads us the long way around. But we do know this. The God who leads is the God who stays. The God who calls us is the God who goes before us. The God who rescues us is the God who carries us. And the God who brought Israel through the wilderness will bring us through ours.
Prayer
Father, help us trust the path you choose for us, even when it is not the path we would choose for ourselves. Keep us from fear, keep us from running back to old chains, and teach us to rest in your wisdom. Lead us by your presence, strengthen our faith, and remind us that you never depart from your people. Amen.