The Journey from Egypt to Sinai
15:22 to 19:2
The most common response to God’s gift of redemption is a spontaneous outburst of gratitude and joy. As one might have expected, Moses and the Israelites reacted in just that way by singing a hymn of victory to God who had redeemed them (15:1), and the prophetess Miriam did the same (15:21).
But redemption is the beginning, not the end, of a journey. And although life after redemption is usually challenging and exciting at first, all too quickly it can become tedious and boring, especially if we forget our first love (see the commentary on the book of Revelation Az – The Church at Ephesus). When that happens, grumbling and complaining against God and His leaders is not far behind. Unfortunately the Israelites, who had so recently experienced the greatest act of redemption that would ever take place in their long history as a nation, were about to embark on a life of defeat by forgetting ADONAI and dwelling on their own problems.289
ADONAI would lead His people to Sinai, but they would make four important stops along the way, and at each stop He taught memorable lessons for them and for us. The first stop was at Marah.
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