Gods Sabbath

110

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

If the Lord had left the responsibility to a committee of eld ers for planning the exodus, they would undoubtedly have thought in terms of a military undertaking, just as Moses had originally. But such a scheme could not have worked. The Egyp tians had made certain that the Israelites had no access to met als with which to fashion weapons. The only time they could have trained would have been in the dead of night when they were too exhausted from their day’s labor to expend further en ergy. Under these handicaps, they could never have developed an army to match the Egyptians who at that time were the un disputed military leaders of the world. Even if by some miracle Israel had been able to overpower its enemies, that would have been at fearful cost to human life. Only a remnant of a decimat ed host would have survived to leave their land of bondage for the promised land. Daily Guidance Some might tend to argue that since the Israelites’ situation in Egypt was so desperate, the Lord was obliged to do every thing for them at that time, but that once they had been set free, a different order of things could be introduced. However, deliverance from their taskmasters brought no change in God’s procedures at all. He still did not tell Moses to appoint a com mittee for the day-by-day determination of what route to follow and the distance they would travel. Instead, He placed the pil lar of cloud before them for daylight guidance and the pillar of fire by night, thus intimating that He alone, without any input from them, would decide which way and how far they would trek. All the people had to do was watch the cloud and follow it. In the early morning hours, when it lifted, they knew it was time to prepare for their onward march. If the cloud stayed down, then they knew that they would rest there for the time being. (See Numbers 9:17–23.) Had the responsibility of daily travel been invested in a com mittee, they certainly would not have taken the direction the Lord did. He led them south instead of to the east and north. When we travel from one place to another, we usually select a route which will take us to our destination by the shortest dis tance. But Jehovah directed their steps away from their goal,