Finding God’s Glory on the Long Road of Exodus

The author begins with a personal confession: after watching The Prince of Egypt, she found herself asking hard questions about the Exodus, such as why God allowed Israel to suffer under oppression for so long and why the wilderness journey lasted forty years. Returning to the book of Exodus itself, she came to see that God was not only leading Israel to a destination but also revealing Himself to them along the way.

The post walks through the many hard stretches Israel faced, including fear at the Red Sea, bitter water at Marah, hunger, thirst at Rephidim, an attack by Amalek, and the golden calf. Even a people who had seen remarkable deliverance were still learning to know God and trust His ways, and Moses was among them. The author highlights Moses’s request in Exodus 33 to be taught God’s ways, followed by his plea to see God’s glory. She suggests that the first prayer, which seeks to know God rather than to receive an explanation, is worth taking seriously. She also describes the Hebrew word kabōd as conveying weight, honor, and worth, and notes that God answered Moses by promising to reveal His goodness.

The post closes by reflecting on the cloud of God’s presence that accompanied Israel through all their travels, and on how the journey was not meaningless but a “glory route.” The author applies this to her own circumstances, admitting that she often wishes God had chosen an easier path. She proposes praying for God to teach His ways and show His glory, even when the road does not make sense, and she affirms that God’s glory meets His people along the way.

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