The Wilderness Journey (2): Succoth to Rephidim

Scripture reading: Numbers 33:1-3

Numbers 33:1–3 ESV

These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places. They set out from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,

Last week we did an introduction to the wilderness journey. We learned that where we go says a lot about who we are. If you are in Egypt, you’re in a place of slavery, idolatry, and self-reliance or self-dependence. Egypt represents the place of sin, the fallen world. Canaan, on the other hand, represents the promised land of heaven. Those who live in Canaan depend on God for everything. Those living in Egypt would water their crops with the Nile river, and those living in Canaan would depend on God to send rain.

Today we’re going to look at the first 10 campsites, from Succoth to Rephidim. But before we go there, how many campsites were there in the wilderness journey? 42. And the 42nd campsite is called Gilgal, and it’s already within Canaan. So there are a total of 42 campsites in the wilderness journey and the 42nd is in the promised land. How many generations are there in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1? 42. And who’s the 42nd generation? The promised one. That’s interesting right?

But instead of studying the 42 campsites one by one, we can divide them into five stages.

Campsites 1-10: Succoth to Rephidim

Campsites 11-13: Wilderness of Sinai to Hazeroth

Campsites 14-31: Rithmah to Ezion-geber

Campsites 32-37: Kadesh to Iye-abarim

Campsites 38-42: Dibon-gad to Gilgal

These five stages show us different stages in our own spiritual life in the church. Today we’ll look at the first stage, from Succoth to Rephidim.

Campsite 1: Succoth (booths, shelter)

Exodus 12:37–39 ESV

And the people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.

Succoth was the first place the Israelites camped at after leaving Egypt. It was here that they observed the feast of unleaved bread. And the first day of that feast is called the Passover. So they didn’t eat the fluffy bakery bread, but the hard unleavened bread.

This unleavened bread represents a purified mind. Purified of what? The leaven. And in the NT, Jesus explains what leaven represents.

Matthew 16:6 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Matthew 16:12 ESV

Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

So what’s leaven? Leaven is what puffs up the bread to make it soft and fluffy. Leaven is when you take the Word of God and add your own ideas, your wishful thinking, and your expectations to it. Leaven is when you say, “God should be like this.” And then you try to squeeze God into a box. That’s what the Pharisees and Sadducees did. That’s why the Apostle Paul calls it the leaven of malice and evil.

1 Corinthians 5:7–8 ESV

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

So Succoth represents a person who has left Egypt. It’s the starting point of faith. And what’s the starting point? Your attitude toward God. A humble and teachable and curious attitude toward God is the starting point in your journey of faith.

To be unleavened bread is to say to God, “God, I want You to tell me who You are. I’m leaving behind my expectations and my own human thoughts and ideas. You tell me about You.”

That’s the kind of attitude we should have in church, as we receive the biblestudies and the sermons, and as we read the Bible for ourselves. God, tell me what You want me to hear. That’s the attitude for a true relationship with God.

Campsite 2: Etham (fort, defence wall)

Exodus 13:20–22 ESV

And they moved on from Succoth and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Etham comes from an Egyptian word, meaning fort, defence wall, or fortress. And what happens here is that God sent two pillars to the Israelites. A pillar of cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire during the night. What does that mean? That means that the Israelites were protected from the scorching heat of the day, and the freezing cold of the night.

When I was in Africa, the days were pretty hot, but what surprised me was that the nights were so cold. I remember leaving my hut to go and join the bed with two other guy friends, and we piled all the blankets on top of each other and slept like that.

God protected the Israelites from the harsh climate of the wilderness. And the pillar of fire gave the Israelites not only warmth, but light so that they wouldn’t fall into pits in the darkness.

And these pillars of cloud and fire was with them from that point until the end of the wilderness journey. What does that tell us? It tells us that no matter what we go through in the church. No matter how bad things may seem, God is always with His church, protecting His people.

The pillars of cloud and fire represent Immanuel, the God who is with His church until they enter the promised land.

Campsite 3: Before Migdol (fortress)

Numbers 33:7 ESV

And they set out from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped before Migdol.

Migdol comes from the word ‘gadal,’ meaning ‘to make powerful’ or ‘to make great.’

And now a strange thing happens. You know that feeling when you and your friends are going somewhere, and then one guy says ‘Let’s take the bus.’ And then another says, ‘No, MRT is faster.’ And then you all fight about which way is faster.

There were two routes to Canaan. There’s the way of the Philistines, the fastest route. Then there’s the way of Shur, which adds a lot more walking distance, but it’s still okay.

Exodus 13:17 ESV

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near. For God said, “Lest the people change their minds when they see war and return to Egypt.”

But then God tells Moses to turn the Israelites back, and camp between Migdol and the Red Sea. That’s like saying you want to go to Orchard from Sembawang MRT, but you get on the train going to Jurong. The promised land was in the northeast, but Migdol is south. I’m sure at this point the Israelites thought Moses had gone crazy.

And you know what happens next. The Egyptians have a change of heart and come after the Israelites. Moses parts the Red Sea and only the Israelites make it through, leaving the Egyptians to drown in the Red Sea.

We saw last week that the Red Sea represents baptism. So what does it mean when you’re baptized? It means that you’re now freed from your masters in Egypt. They’re dead. You no longer have to obey them. It means that whatever sin is binding you down, whatever addiction or temptation you keep giving into, you can just walk away and leave it behind. It’s lost its power over you. That’s the power of baptism.

1 Corinthians 10:1–3 ESV

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food,

Campsite 4: Marah (bitterness)

Exodus 15:22–24 ESV

Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

Marah means bitter. It was named after the bitter waters that the Israelites drank upon reaching the campsite. So after they crossed the Red Sea, they journey for three days into the wilderness, come to this campsite that has lots of water, but when they drink it it tastes bitter.

Three days represents a short time after experiencing the grace of baptism, you’re so powered up and excited, but then you’re quickly disappointed by church life. It’s uncomfortable. It’s frustrating. People don’t behave the way you think they should. You don’t behave in the way you should. So then what happens? You grumble. But there’s a way to turn even the obstacles into joys. How? We need to do what Moses did. We need to go to the Lord in prayer.

Exodus 15:25–26 (ESV)

And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

God says something really special here. He identifies Himself as Jehovah Rapha, God the healer. How can we be healed? If we diligently listen to Word of the Lord and keep it. I pray that our ministry is a ministry that diligently listens to the Word of God amen?

Campsite 5: Elim (trees)

Exodus 15:27 ESV

Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the water.

Elim is the plural form of ayil, meaning strength or trees. It was an oasis with 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees. These numbers are significant in their own right. Israel had 12 tribes and 70 elders.

Exodus 24:9 ESV

Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up,

In the NT, there are the 12 disciples and the 70 followers of Jesus.

Matthew 10:1 ESV

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction.

Luke 10:1 ESV

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.

It says 72 here, but some manuscripts say 70.

Elim foreshadows the blessing of rest that awaits all who follow the Lord through the suffering and bitterness of life. If you seek the Lord when you’re in Marah, He will lead you to Elim.

Campsite 6: By the Red Sea

Numbers 33:10 ESV

And they set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

The book of Exodus doesn’t mention anything about this campsite, but we see it clearly in the list of campsites in Numbers 33.

Campsite 7: The Wilderness of Sin

Exodus 16:1–3 ESV

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

The word sin here doesn’t mean sin. Sin here means thorny bush, swampy land, or clay. The Israelites arrived at this campsite on the 15th day of the second month. When did the exodus take place? On the 15th day of the first month. So it was exactly one month after the exodus, and the Israelites were running out of food.

The lack of food caused them to grumble, and their words were like thorns in God’s heart. And instead of smiting them, God provided manna for the first time. For five days, the Israelites would collect one portion of manna in the morning. And on the sixth day, they were to collect a double portion. Why? Because there won’t be any manna on the seventh day.

Exodus 16:4–5 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

How do you train a dog? You give it food right? Maybe God was training His people with food also. What was He training them for? To keep the Sabbath day.

Exodus 16:27–30 ESV

On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.

Jesus is the true manna from heaven.

John 6:31–35 ESV

Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

What’s the difference between physical bread and spiritual bread? When you eat the physical bread, it transforms into a part of you. But when you eat of the true spiritual bread, it transforms you.

Campsite 8: Dophkah

Dophkah isn’t recorded in the book of Exodus, but it shows up in Num. 33.

Numbers 33:12 ESV

And they set out from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

Dophkah comes from the word dapaq, meaning ‘to beat, to knock, or to drive hard.’

The Israelites arrived at the Wilderness of Sin after one month of traveling in the wilderness, and the Bible says it took them another month to reach the 11th campsite in the wilderness of Sinai. So what this means is that they spent 30 days across four campsites. They wouldn’t move because now they’ve got manna from heaven. They’ve become comfortable. But God wants to drive them to Sinai.

Campsite 9: Alush

Alush also isn’t recorded in Exodus, but in Num. 33.

Numbers 33:13 ESV

And they set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

Alush means ‘to knead.’ Like the verb for kneading dough. So what probably happened is that at this campsite, the Israelites began to cook manna in different ways.

Campsite 10: Rephidim

Exodus 17:1–3 ESV

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

So now that the food problem has been solved, now the Israelites have a water problem. And guess what happens? They grumble again.

Exodus 17:4–6 ESV

So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

So Moses strikes the rock, and water comes out. So the rock was struck by the leader of the Israelites, and through it the Israelites were saved from their thirst.

1 Corinthians 10:4 ESV

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

How do you think the rock followed them? We don’t know. Maybe it followed them by rolling with them. The first rock and roll.

Conclusion: Attitude and direction

What we see in the first ten campsites of the wilderness journey is the attitude that God has toward us.

At Succoth the Israelites ate unleavened bread. We need to clean out the leaven of worldly thinking.

At Etham they received God’s protection in the form of the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud.

At before Migdol they received the baptism of the Red Sea.

At Marah they suffered the bitter waters, but Moses prayed to God and the waters became sweet.

At Elim they came to an oasis of 12 springs of water and 70 palm trees.

At the wilderness of Sin, God provided food for them in the form of manna and taught them to keep the Sabbath day.

At Rephidim, God provided water by commanding Moses to strike the rock.

And what we see is that the Israelites grumbled against God whenever they lacked something. They just witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, but only three days pass by before they grumble because of the taste of the water. And then they grumble when they run out of food, and then again when they run out of water. This shows us that their attitude toward God was still like the Egyptians. They had a cat attitude toward God. What’s a cat attitude?

There once was a man who goes out one day and buys a dog and a cat. And as the owner is feeding the dog, and the dog thinks, ‘You’re giving me food, you must be God!’ But when the owner feeds the cat, what does the cat think? ‘You’re giving me food, I must be God!’

Why? Because the Egyptians had many gods, and if they needed something from one god, they would go and sacrifice to it. If they needed a good harvest, they would worship the god of agriculture. If they wanted children, they would worship the god of fertility. And so the Egyptians saw their gods as vending machines for blessings. I put the sacrifice in, you give me what I want. What happens when the vending machine gets stuck? You shake it, and even kick it right?

The beginning of our spiritual journey into the wilderness has to do with our attitude toward God. We have to be humble and curious. Humble means that we’re slow to criticize, we’re slow to grumble, we’re looking to God for help when we need it. Curious means that we want to know who God is, what He has done, what He’s said, and where He’s leading us.

Now what about the direction? Canaan was in the northeast, but they kept going south, south, and more south. Why?

that the way to Canaan is northeast, but God keeps leading them south, south, and more south. Why? Because God promised to Moses that the Israelites would worship God at Mt. Sinai. And Mt. Sinai was in the south.

Exodus 3:11–12 ESV

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

So instead of going to Canaan by the way of the Philistines, or the way of Shur, the Israelites went according to wherever God led them.

1 Corinthians 10:1–6 (ESV)

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.