5. Notice also seven Places, some of which are clearly, others not so definitely, identified. 1.) Rameses, the starting-point of the Israelites (Exod. 12. 37). 2.) Baal-zephon, the place of crossing the Red Sea (Exod. 14. 2). 3.) Marah, where the bitter waters were sweetened (Exod. 15. 22-25). 4.) Elim, the place of rest (Exod. 15. 27). 5.) Rephidim, the place of the first battle, near Mount Sinai (Exod. 17. 8-16). 6.) Kadesh-barnea,[C] whence the spies were sent forth (Num. 13. 26). 7.) Jahaz, in the land of Moab, south of the brook Arnon, the place of a victory over the Amorites (Num. 21. 23, 24).
III. THE JOURNEYS OF THE WANDERING. These, with the EVENTS connected with them, may be arranged in order as follows:
1. From Rameses to the Red Sea (Exod. 12. 37; 14. 9). With this note: 1.) The crossing of the Red Sea.
2. From the Red Sea to Mount Sinai. Events: 2.) The Waters of Marah. 3.) The repulse of the Amalekites. 4.) The giving of the law. 5.) The worship of the golden calf. At Mount Sinai the camp was kept for nearly a year, and the organization of the people was effected.
3. From Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea (B. C. 1490). At the latter place occurred, 6.) The sending out of the spies (Num. 13. 1-26). 7.) The defeat at Hormah (Num. 14. 40-45). It was the purpose of Moses to lead the people at once from Kadesh up to Canaan. But their fear of the Canaanite and Amorite inhabitants made them weak; they were defeated and driven back into the desert of Paran, where they wandered thirty-eight years, until the generation of slavish souls should die off, and a new Israel, the young people, trained in the spirit of Moses and Aaron, and fitted for conquest, should arise in their places.
4. From Kadesh-barnea through the desert of Paran and return. This was the long wandering of thirty-eight years. We trace the route from Kadesh, around the desert of Paran, to Mount Hor, to Ezion-geber at the head of the Gulf of Akaba, and at last to Kadesh once more (Num. 20. 1). There occurred, 8.) The water from the rock at Kadesh, and Moses's disobedience (Num. 20. 10-12). 9.) The repulse of Arad (Num. 21. 1). It would seem that the Israelites made a second attempt to enter Canaan on the south, and were again defeated, though not so severely as before.
5. From Kadesh-barnea around Edom to the river Jordan. After this second defeat Moses desired to lead the people through the land of the Edomites, and to enter Canaan by crossing the Jordan (Num. 20. 14). But the Edomites refused to permit such an army to pass through their land (Num. 20. 18-21). Hence the Israelites were compelled to go down the desert of Zin, past Edom, as far as the Red Sea, then east of Edom, a very long and toilsome journey (Num. 21. 4). Note with this journey: 10.) The brazen serpent (Num. 21. 6-9; John 3. 14, 15). 11.) The victory over the Amorites (Num. 21. 23, 24). This victory gave to the Israelites control of the country from Amon to Jabbok, and was the first campaign of the conquest. The long journey was now ended in the encampment of the Israelites at the foot of Mount Nebo, on the eastern bank of the Jordan, near the head of the Dead Sea. 12.) The last event of the period was the death of Moses (Deut. 34. 5-8) (B. C. 1451).
IV. THE RESULTS OF THE WANDERING. These forty years of wilderness life made a deep impress upon the Israelite people, and wrought great changes in their character.
1. It gave them certain Institutions. From the wilderness they brought their tabernacle and all its rites and services, out of which grew the magnificent ritual of the temple. The Feast of Passover commemorated the Exodus, the Feast of Pentecost, the giving of the law; the Feast of Tabernacles (during which for a week the people lived in huts and booths), the outdoor life in the desert.