Exodus 13: Why God Likes the Long Way (and why that’s ok)

I remember when we lived in San Jose, right after the bottom fell out from under us and we were wondering how one earth we fell off the cliff of God’s will, I remember our pastor from back home said to me, “With God the shortest distance between two points is often a really long squiggly line.”

Speaking of a squiggly line, can you see the red route that the nation of Israel took when God led them out of Egypt and into the promised land?  Doesn’t that help put into perspective what is meant by “wanderings” in the desert. Good grief! It’s a good thing that I can’t seem a pictorial rendition of my own life’s wanderings; I know I’d see the endless red circles and shake my head: God, you’ve got to be kidding me.

So why does God take us on such a circuitous route? Let’s look at a few nuggets as related to the nation of Israel.

1. The long road leads to our success.

Scripture tells in Exodus 13 that

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines; although it was near. For God said, ‘Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.’ But God lead the people around the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea” (vv17-18).

So here we see that God knew that no matter what way they took there would be opposition.  Opposition is inevitable. So He chose the path that would force them to keep moving forward–for they had no other option (more on that tomorrow!).  He knew that if they could see a back door, they’d take it and hurry scurry back to captivity as fast as their little sandals could take them.  He chose that route that guaranteed they would stick to the plan.

In other words, it was His kindness that led them in circles. He was, by his sovereign plan, guaranteeing their success. Now, granted not all of them succeeded. An entire generation perished in the wilderness because of their disobedience.  But God’s plan succeeded. Had they gone back to Egypt, then their children and all following generations would not have seen the promised land. But as it was, only those unfaithful died before seeing it–the children, and all the generations after that, did indeed see it.  God fulfilled His promise, and his Kingdom work with the nation of Israel remains today.

2. The long road produces humility.

Deuteronomy 8:2 says,

“And you shall remember the long way that the LORD your God has lead you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you…”

This is not saying that God humiliates us.  I can’t defend this with Greek and Hebrew, but I believe there is a kind and gentle way that God produces humility in us that is not in the form of cruel humiliation.  I often pray that God would allow me to humble myself but that He would save me from humiliation.  That’s just being honest! I do want to walk in humility but I’d really rather not do something absolutely humiliating to get there.  Anybody else?   When our path is quick and easy we are so tempted to think it was our genius that got us there.  The long road requires us to be desperately dependent on God’s grace and mercy.  It is in His kindness that He chooses to humble us by the long road.

3. The long road reveals our hearts.

There’s more to Deuteronomy 8:2.  It reads,

“And you shall remember the long way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments or not” (vv2-3). (See also Deut. 13:3, Judges 3:4, 2 Chronicles 32:31)

Now I have struggled with this one, and I’ll admit that just tonight Jeff and I spent the duration of our date night strolling through Bridgeport debating this one question.  God already knows what’s in our hearts.  So why would He need to do something to reveal it to Himself?  Does He reveal it to Himself or to us?

I don’t know.

What I do know is that Scripture is clear that the long road tests us and therefore reveals what is in our hearts, the same way that an exam in school tests us in order to reveal what knowledge is in our minds.  But since our heavenly professor knows all things, I’ll admit I can’t quite wrap my mind around all the ramifications of this.

Suffice it to say that our faith rises so the surface when we are faced with the adversity of a long road (James 1:7). It is revealed as it rises to the surface and it is refined and displayed for us to see, for God to see, for all to see–for His glory.  We may not understand how all that works, but we can agree it does work.

That is at least a little bit of why God likes the long road.

Here’s why it’s ok:: (Other than the obvious reason of God being in charge.)

I’ve often marveled at Noah (57 days on dry land!), Moses, David, all those who endured loooooong slow roads on the way to the fulfillment of God’s promises.  Never do I see them specifically whining or complaining about the waiting or the long road, they just do it.  It’s almost as it isn’t an issue.

Because it’s not.

My parents love to go for road trips together. They’ve often opted to take the long way home, meandering up Hwy 101 or taking a scenic route up to Mt. Hood.  Sure there’s a shorter way. But the point isn’t getting to a destination, it’s just being together.

The moment we get our eyes on our Beautiful Savior the long road won’t bother us. In fact, it will just afford us plenty of time to journey with the One we love.  He is on the road with us.  Yes, we may yearn and long for a promise to be revealed, for that first glimpse of the promised land that God has spoken of so often. But really, God Himself is greater than any promised land. The best part of the being part of the nation of Israel wasn’t getting to live in the promised land, it was getting to live with YAHWEH, the great I AM.

When I get my eyes off God, I become fixated on the end of the road. On “it”. On the thing.  And the road seems excruciatingly long and the wait unbearable. But when I look and realize that the King of Kings is walking this road with me, all of a sudden it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not about getting there.  It is, in fact, a gloriously scenic road trip with the One I love. Even if the road is curvy (or takes me in circles!), I can rest assured that God is graciously leading me to success, producing in me humility, and revealing the inner parts of my heart as I wait.  He is working all things for my good, but more importantly, He’s with me. And there’s no one I’d rather travel with than Him.

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In what way has the end goal distracted you from the Beautiful God who is right at your side?  In what way can you enjoy whatever journey you are on today?