Now the time had come: the desert was actually right in front of the Israelites. Moses later described it as “the great and terrible wilderness.” He did not understate it one bit! What feelings must the Israelites have had when they saw this vast unknown area before them? They may have imagined the dangers that lurked there. Perhaps they thought of the almost unforeseeable needs of their great people, even just water and food for people and animals!

And indeed, if we take this desert as a symbol for the wilderness in which the people of God still move today, namely the world, then fear is appropriate on the one hand, because dangers are there, and they are real! If we do not see them, we will fall.

So there they were in Etham, “at the edge of the wilderness.” Moving forward, right? “And the Lord went before them.” The Lord! Before them! They only had to follow, then the way was clear and safe. He not only gave them aids, not only a leader from their midst, like Moses; He took it upon Himself to lead them.

The entire security of God’s wandering people lies in their dependence on their God and in obedience, today as much as ever. He still goes before those who belong to Him. He shows them the way, protects them from the dangers of the path, provides for all necessities, and allows them to experience the blessing of fellowship with Him. And in the end, soon, He brings them to the promised land—not to Canaan, from which the enemies still had to be driven out, but to the Father’s house, which is filled with the love of the Father and the Son.