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Morning Meditation

April 11, 2026

Reading: Exodus 13:17-14:4

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness towards the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle. And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, ‘God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.’ They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Then the Lord said to Moses: ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.” I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.’ And they did so.

Meditation by Jeremy O’Neill

When we think about historical moments wherein groups of people overcame suffering and oppression, it is easy to think of the changes that occurred as instantaneous. In reality, however, social changes have more in common with the changing of the tides or even the seasons than they do the flip of a light switch. In school I was taught that Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, and while that is true, just as essential to the cause was the slower, more drawn out organization of thousands of people across the country and the world.

It is easy to apply similar thinking to the exile of the Israelites. In reality, the exile was a momentous event that influenced much of the law and customs of the Hebrew Bible. However, many Christians describe the exile and subsequent freedom from the Egyptians as a singular event, usually with Moses in charge. After Moses’s big moment, everything is resolved and there is no more need for progress. The Book of Exodus, however, tells a different story, as seen in this passage. God was worried about the people facing obstacles (war) along the way. So the people are led not in the way they would choose for themselves.

Sometimes the path God lays out for us is not what we would choose for ourselves or expect. This is one of the many Biblical instances of wandering in the wilderness (this will be a theme in Jesus’s life - stay tuned) that show us that the path toward a better word is sometimes not linear or direct, but can take twists and turns. The struggle for liberation is often long and complicated, and we mustn't get discouraged if we find things working out differently than we might have imagined.

Prayer

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.

I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think I am following your will

does not mean that I am actually doing so.

But I believe that the desire to please you

does in fact please you.

And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.

I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.