Exodus 13:17-18 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 towards the Red Sea. The Israelites went out of Egypt ARMED FOR BATTLE.
When I read the above scripture, it struck me with a strange code. The children of Israel had been enslaved for over 400 years. And now God had come to their rescue. They had seen HIS MIRACLES…and the fact they were leaving Egypt not only as freed men and women, but also heavy laden with silver and gold was in itself...THE GREATEST OF MIRACLES. But something else seemed to preoccupy their minds more than the fact that they were now a freed people: WAR…as strange as it may have seemed…the Israelites left Egypt armed for battle. Continue reading