Near the year 1290 BC the children of Israel began their exodus from captivity in Egypt. For hundreds of years these people had been held as slaves while building the cities of Pharaoh. Finally the Lord raised up a new leader for the Israelites.

In this study we will look at seven stories from the book of Exodus that illustrate key points of the children of Israel’s journey out of Egypt and toward the promised land.

We start out as the children of Israel are in Egypt, enslaved by Pharaoh and be forced to make bricks for the Egyptians. The Lord then raised up a leader, Moses, to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Through the flame of the burning bush, the Lord called Moses to confront Pharaoh with the command, "Let My people go." After being broken down through a series of ten plagues, Pharaoh finally let the children of Israel go, and they fled to the Red Sea.

After they left, Pharaoh changed his mind and sent his armies out after the children of Israel. The children of Israel were then sandwiched between an army of Egyptians and the Red Sea in front of them, creating a seemingly hopeless situation. In that moment of desperation, the Lord commanded Moses to use his staff, and the Lord parted the Red Sea so that dry land appeared and the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea unharmed.

So began a forty-year journey to the promised land of Canaan. We can picture almost a million people, an entire nation, slowly making their way through the wilderness. It was a journey in a vast desert, and yet the Lord provided for the people. He led them day by a pillar of cloud and by night by a pillar of fire. He provided bread from heaven for their food (manna), gave them water from a rock, and turned bitter water into sweet water that they could drink.

In the first year of their journey, the children of Israel made their way south to Sinai where they received the Ten Commandments. Next they traveled to the very border of the land of Canaan, but were turned away because they lacked the courage to face the enemies that stood in their way. For the remainder of the journey they wandered in the wilderness of Kadesh. After the fortieth year the Lord finally led them to the border of Canaan. This was the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Here the people formed the nation known as Israel.