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A Logistical Nightmare for Man But Not For God

In Exodus 13, it states that “when Pharaoh had let the people [of Israel] go… God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.  And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt…And the Lord went before them” (13:17-21).  Chapter 14 states that when they came to the Red Sea at night that the Lord parted the waters—“So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand on their left” (14:21-22).  What would that have been like?

At Mount Sinai, the Lord instructed Moses to number the people, and it was found that the males, who were 20 years old and above and who were able to go to war (Num. 1:2-3), numbered 603,550 (1:46).  This did not include any males under 20 or any women or the tribe of Levi.  Therefore, it has been estimated that there were at least 2-3 million Jews who came out of Egypt.  That is a huge nation that was on the move.

Have you ever stopped to think about what it must have been like for that many people to leave Egypt, cross the Red Sea, make their way to Mount Sinai and have any semblance of order about them?  What about the logistics of just making sure everyone had food and water?

At one time, the Quartermaster General in the Army gave the following statistics.  He determined that Israel would have needed 1,500 tons of food each day—which would require two freight trains a mile long each to carry.  They would have needed 4,000 tons of firewood per day to cook their meals—which would require at least 2-3 more freight trains a mile long each to carry.  In order to have enough water to drink, cook and wash, they would have needed 11,000,000 gallons each day—which would require a freight train of tank cars that was three miles long every day.

For that many people to cross the Red Sea, the opening would have to be huge.  If it was narrow and they only crossed double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to pass.  The opening had to be a good three miles wide, so that they could march across 5,000 abreast in one night.  And, when they got ready to camp at the end of each day, it would require a campground that was 750 square miles (two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island).

This would have been an absolute logistical nightmare for Moses to figure out.  But, with God, we read the events as if it was the easiest thing in the world.  Do you realize that the God who did this is your God?  When things in your life seem to be insurmountable and you feel overwhelmed, just remember what God did for Israel.  He will do it for you, too!