This is a short passage but to me extremely critical in the direction that God would take the Israelites. God knew that the people that He would lead were fickle and complacent. They would not fight for what they wanted or were directed but rather they wanted things handed to them. As a result, althought the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, God took them a longer way. If they had gone the shorter route, they would face the Phillistines (their ultimate enemy) and war would be inevitable. So God led them via the desert to the Red Sea. However, the Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. Also of significance was the bones of Joseph that would be taken on the trip to fulfill the oath that his bones would not rest in Egypt. The Lord's presence was then recognized by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night so that they could travel all day long.
While God's miracles and the awesomeness of the plagues fill this book, it still is a book of great promise and theology. Little details, such as the ones that were in this passage, were really awesome as they have come alive.
Praise for today: For you make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands, How great are your works, O Lord, how profound your thoughts! Ps 92:4-5
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