How Long Did The Israelites Wander in The Desert

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How Long Did The Israelites Wander in The Desert

The Israelites were forced into exile because of their disobedience and lack of faith, and their “wilderness wandering” was a metaphor for that. A little over 3,500 years ago, as detailed in Exodus chapters 1-12, the Lord freed His people from slavery in Egypt. They were to settle in the “country flowing with milk and honey” that God had promised their ancestors (Exodus 3:8).

How Long Did The Israelites Wander in The Desert

Despite God’s Assurances That They would be Victorious Once They Arrived, They had Doubts About their Ability to Drive Out the Natives.

The wrath of God was unleashed on them because they refused to believe God’s message and His promises. He vowed that the disbelieving generation would never see the Promised Land and sentenced the people to forty years of wandering in the desert.

The seven-year famine that plagued the Middle East was ultimately responsible for God’s chosen people relocating to Egypt. Early on, things went swimmingly thanks to Joseph, who was second in command in Egypt only to Pharaoh. Exodus 1:8 says, “Then a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing of Joseph,” and soon after, “the Egyptians grew to dread the Israelites” (Exodus 1:12).

The Egyptians “worked them relentlessly” during the next few centuries, keeping the Israelites in servitude (Exodus 1:13). God eventually responded to their plight (Exodus 2:23-25) by dispatching Moses and Aaron. Pharaoh agreed to free the Israelites after he suffered through the final of the 10 plagues, the death of all firstborn males in Egypt.

A Delay or Diversion on a Trip is Never Welcome.  It’s human nature to want to throw in the towel and ask “Why now?” whenever we hit a roadblock or get stuck in traffic for half an hour.

Just Why did I have to be the One to have this Happen to Me?

The Israelites, who had been enslaved by the Egyptians for hundreds of years, appeared on the scene. Once God delivered them from slavery through Moses’s efforts and the ten plagues (Exodus 7–11) and the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14), the Israelites must have assumed they would have no trouble making it to the Promised Land, the place of their dreams.

But, as expected, they ran into difficulties. They pray to other gods and idols to hasten the trip because it is taking too long (Exodus 32).

The Final Straw is When they Approach the Promised Land and Dispatch Spies to Investigate.

6 Because they disobeyed the Lord, the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years, during which time all the males who were of fighting age when they left Egypt perished. The Lord had made a solemn promise to their forefathers that he would give us a land that flowed with milk and honey, but he had sworn to them that they would never see it.

The outcome was guaranteed, as God had predicted it. The place He told them to go into was already theirs; all they had to do was trust and obey, but they didn’t. God would never take us somewhere He cannot provide for or safeguard with His mighty might. During the Exodus, the Israelites witnessed the mighty hand of God at work through the plagues and miraculous events.

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