Israel's Journey from Egypt to Jordan
ISRAEL’S JOURNEY FROM EGYPT TO JORDAN
MEMORY VERSE: “And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation” (Psalm 107:7).
TEXT: Numbers 33:1-56
In our previous study in the book of Numbers, we learn about the settlement of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of Jordan. They requested for the land which Israel had already conquered because it was ideal for their cattle and sheep, and Moses granted their request with a proviso. In our text, at God’s command, Moses gives a record of the itinerary and encampments of the children of Israel from Egypt to the plains of Jordan near the Promised Land. From the record, the journey can be divided into three main segments. The first, from Rameses in Egypt to the Sinai Peninsula, consists of eleven encampments (verses 1-15). The second, from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, including the wilderness wanderings, consists of twenty-one encampments (verses 16-36). The third segment, from Kadesh to the plains of Moab consists of eight encampments (verses 37-49). Altogether, there were forty encampments between Rameses in Egypt and the plain of Moab.
Question 1: What attributes of God can believers see in the itinerary of the children Israel?
The record of Israel’s itinerary from Rameses to the plains of Moab portrays God’s goodness, mercy and faithfulness. In His goodness He led them from the house of bondage to a land flowing with milk and honey. Through His mercy, they were not destroyed when they sinned but He forgave them, and in His unfailing faithfulness, He went with them even during the almost forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief and rebellion, God had to discipline them but He did not cast them away altogether. This teaches us that God chastises His children not to destroy them, but in order to correct and perfect them.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RECORD-KEEPING (Numbers 33:1,2; Ezra 5:13-17; 6:1-12; Esther 2:21-23;
MEMORY VERSE: “And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation” (Psalm 107:7).
TEXT: Numbers 33:1-56
In our previous study in the book of Numbers, we learn about the settlement of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of Jordan. They requested for the land which Israel had already conquered because it was ideal for their cattle and sheep, and Moses granted their request with a proviso. In our text, at God’s command, Moses gives a record of the itinerary and encampments of the children of Israel from Egypt to the plains of Jordan near the Promised Land. From the record, the journey can be divided into three main segments. The first, from Rameses in Egypt to the Sinai Peninsula, consists of eleven encampments (verses 1-15). The second, from Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, including the wilderness wanderings, consists of twenty-one encampments (verses 16-36). The third segment, from Kadesh to the plains of Moab consists of eight encampments (verses 37-49). Altogether, there were forty encampments between Rameses in Egypt and the plain of Moab.
Question 1: What attributes of God can believers see in the itinerary of the children Israel?
The record of Israel’s itinerary from Rameses to the plains of Moab portrays God’s goodness, mercy and faithfulness. In His goodness He led them from the house of bondage to a land flowing with milk and honey. Through His mercy, they were not destroyed when they sinned but He forgave them, and in His unfailing faithfulness, He went with them even during the almost forty years that they wandered in the wilderness. Because of their unbelief and rebellion, God had to discipline them but He did not cast them away altogether. This teaches us that God chastises His children not to destroy them, but in order to correct and perfect them.
THE IMPORTANCE OF RECORD-KEEPING (Numbers 33:1,2; Ezra 5:13-17; 6:1-12; Esther 2:21-23;