Well friends, it's my privilege to be with you here today once again and to share with you in the meeting as we met to remember the Lord once again and to study his word today as well. I should say when I'm here, and thank you all very much for your Your donations towards Leigh is from the assembly here. The gifts from the assembly here and for so many of you personally as well. Gifts as well. She's raised, as far as I know, over 2,200 pounds so far on her own. So we're thankful to the Lord for what he's done in that respect. So I do thank you very much for your donations for that as well. Our reading this morning is from Exodus chapter 13. Exodus chapter 13, if there was a heading, the heading would be this, Israel following the Lord. Israel following the Lord, they're moving out of Egypt of course, and they're following the Lord at this time. Exodus chapter 13, And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast. it is mine. And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. For by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place. There shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came ye out in the month of Abed. And it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which he swore unto thy fathers, to give thee a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. Seven days thou shalt eat, I shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days, and there shall be no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in the mouth. For with strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year, and it shall be when the Lord shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore unto thee and to thy fathers, and shalt give it thee. And thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the womb, and every firstling that cometh of the beast which thou hast, the males, shall be the lords. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb, and thou wilt not redeem it. Then thou shalt bake a snack, and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. And it shall be When the Son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this that thou shalt say unto him? By stents of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, and from the house of Dombeis. And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that the Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord all that openeth the womb, being males, but all the firstborn of the children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand and for frontlets between thine eyes, for by stance of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although it was near. For God led lest the people repent, and they see war, and they return to Egypt. And God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had solemnly swore The children of Israel saying, God will surely visit you and ye shall carry up my bones away from here with you. And they took a journey from Saqqoth and encamped at Edom in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by a pillar of cloud to lead them away, and by night in a pillar of fire, and gave them light to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of the fire by night, from before the people. And I trust the Lord to bless the reading of His own precious word. As I already said, the heading was really this, Israel following the Lord. Israel following the Lord. They've come out of Egypt and they're starting their journeys and seeking to follow the Lord. 2. Sanctify unto all the firstborn whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both man and beast, it is mine. The word sanctify of course means to set apart for the Lord. Sanctification is as the heading would suggest is to be set apart for the service of the Lord. This is in connection with the Tenth Plague, of course, and the fact that God had distinguished Israel as his firstborn. The firstborn represented the whole family. The firstborn effectively represented the whole family, and by dedicating the firstborn to God, they were saying that our family belongs. Our family belongs to the Lord. That wee verse, you'll see it in houses every now and then, it says, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. It just reminds us of that. But for us, of course, this is not just a one-off determination. This is not just a one-off determination to set our lives apart for the Lord. Friends, you all know very well it's a daily battle. It's a daily battle to do so, to set ourselves apart for the Lord's service. Salvation is a one-off, it's a moment in time experience. Salvation is a one-off, it's a moment in time experience. If we think of Paul's Damascus Road experience, it was a one-off experience. But sanctification or being set apart for the Lord's service is not just as simple as that. In other words, you must get out of your bed today and tomorrow morning once again and pray to the Lord, Lord help me to glorify Thee today. Help me to glorify Thee today. And tomorrow morning you must get up and you must do the same. Lord help me to glorify Thee today and to serve Thee as I ought. Proverbs 8 and 30 it says, I was daily his delight. What a privilege as one who daily delights to hear our prayers even. Our Lord who daily delights to hear our prayers. Luke 9 and 23 it says, take up your cross daily. Take up your cross daily. We need to determine to follow Christ today and we need to determine to follow Christ tomorrow, once again, and the day after. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 31, eye, day, daily. Eye, day, daily. We need to determine today to selfish and self-centered practices and do that tomorrow and do it the next day as well, friends. And Acts 17, verse 11, search the scriptures. Search the scriptures daily. we need to determine to learn more about our Lord Jesus Christ through his word and we need to do that today and we need to do it tomorrow and the day after as well friends it's not just a one-off it's not just a one-off thing to seek to to seek to serve the Lord and to seek to to be set apart for him we need to we need to determine to do that from day to day. Some try to tell you that it's just put your hand up on a meeting, just put your hand up on a meeting and commit yourself to the Lord and it's a one-off total commitment experience, friends, it doesn't work like that. There is a certain amount of that involved of course, but it's not just as simple as that. It's not just as simple as that. Friends, it's a daily battle to live for the Lord. The prophet Isaiah reminds us of, maybe the biggest part of the answer to this is, he says in Isaiah 40 in verse 30 and 31, it reminds us that without prayer and communication with the Lord, even the physically strongest amongst us will fail, will fail amongst us. Isaiah 40 verses 30 and 31, even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Physical strength is nothing in this battle. Physical strength means nothing. It's a spiritual strength. Your gifts from the Lord that will see you through. We have to be set apart for the Lord's work. Always remember. Always remember. It's a daily battle. At the end of that verse too then, we read, both of man and of beasts, it is mine. It is mine. The Lord says you're mine in other words. He's really saying you're mine. It's interesting to note that God's first part, first part is people under the blood. First part is people under the blood in Egypt. And then he will bring them through the water of the Red Sea. And then he will gather them round the table at the tabernacle, the tabernacle of shewbread so to speak. What a lovely picture of where we've come from and where we are now. We've been saved, we've been cleansed under the blood, we've been through the waters of baptism and obedience. and we're gathered around the table to worship him even at this time. What a lovely picture even of where the church is today. But notice the lovely parallels as I've said, it was there but the Lord's hand, this was all the Lord's hand, the Lord's hand was upon us, it was all the Lord's plan, these events. And he does this because we are his. He does this because we are his. In 1 Corinthians 6 verse 1 Corinthians 6 verse 20 it says, For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's. We are bought with a price. 1 Corinthians 7 verse 23 says, You are bought with a price, being not the servants of men. Henry wrote it well, he said, I am his and he is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heirs of salvation, purchase of God, born of a spirit washed in his blood. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior. all the day long. That's the blessed side of this truth. That's the blessed side of this truth. But there's a more challenging side to this truth. It's because we are His and we've been bought with a price that we're truly indebted. We're truly indebted to the Lord in all that we do. The thought is this, that what we give to the Lord will not credit us with anything effectively. It will not credit us with anything but it's only a small down payment on the debt that we owe. that we owe to him. A debt that we'll never be able to pay, of course. But no matter how hard we try, we'll never be able to pay the debt of what the Lord has done for us. So our service will not gain us any credits. It's just simply a down payment of what the Lord has done for us. So no matter how hard we try, we'll never outgive God. And whatever hard we try, we'll never out give God. And the Lord gave, because the Lord has given himself for us. But be that as it may, the Lord wants first place. He wants first place in their lives. Not a close second, and definitely not well down the packing order. No, our Lord wants His rightful claim. That's our best efforts. That's our best efforts for Him, not just the leftovers. I read there recently about a famous preacher, Billy Sunday. I'm sure some of you have read about him before. He's a great preacher in the United States. But he was told the story of traveling across the country was a man called William Wrigley. William Wrigley. And he was, if you know anything about Wrigley's chewing gum, he was the man, he was the man that made it. And he made a fortune out of it. Mr Wrigley was a Christian, he travelled, he travelled in this train with Billy Sunday, but he made it his practice to give one tenth of what he owed, what he made to the Lord. And it wasn't the second, it wasn't the last tenth he said, it was the first tenth. In other words, he didn't give him what was left over, he gave the first tenths to the Lord. It's interesting to note that the Lord blessed and prospered this man. And my friend says, God doesn't guarantee material prosperity to anybody in this age, in this age of grace. He doesn't guarantee that to anybody. But no matter about that, the Lord can bless His people and those who are willing to give faithfully and give first place to Him, the Lord will bless them. Not necessarily materially, He could bless us many other ways. And He does bless us many other ways. The scripture does remain just them that honour me I will honour. Them that honour me I will honour and that is what our Lord promises. We but friends we only honour him because it's a duty. We really only honour him because it's a duty because we are his purchased possession. We are his purchased possession. We have only given. We only return him what he's already given. And we thank and praise him for that. Moving on then to verse 3 and 5, it says, and I'm moving this down so that people remember this day in which ye came out of the house of bondage for by strength of hand the Lord hath brought you out of this place for this shall no leavened bread be eaten. 5 And it shall be, when the Lord shall bring you out of the land of the Canaanites, the Habibites, the Amorites, the Hittites, and the Jebusites, which he swore unto their fathers, to give thee a land flowing in milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month. We see a promise of strength there. We see a promise of strength in verse 3 especially. For by strength of hand the Lord brought you out. And then we notice in verse 5, the same strength of hand that brought them out, we realize is the same strength of hand that will take them into a land flowing, will take them into a land flowing with milk and honey. In other words, the God that brought them out of Egypt is the same God that will some day take them back, will take them back to the promised land, to the land of Canaan they were promised. Reminds me of that wee verse in the Psalms, I am the Lord, I change not. I am the Lord, I change not. His strength hasn't changed. They may be wondering about in the wilderness, or very near the wilderness at this time, but the Lord's strength hasn't changed. God's strength doesn't change. Our faith in God's promises may. Our faith in God's promises may weaken, but his power does not. We can sometimes limit God in our minds and not just be trusting him as we ought. But the God that has done great things in the past is a God that can do great things, is a God that can do great things in the future. Maybe you have a great need in your life, in your family. Maybe there's someone in your, some one or maybe many in your family not saved. Maybe you have a need health wise for yourself or someone near and dear in your family as well, friends. The God that has saved people in the past, the God that has healed people in the past is well able to do it again, if it be his mind and will. There are many other needs around this with those who need employment, those who are in financial need or whatever. Friends, the God who has done great things in the past is the same God who can do it in the future. His strength hasn't changed, nor has his power. There are circumstances mate, but his power has not changed. Can I encourage you to hold on, hold on to the Lord in prayer. But there is one thing we should be sure of. And that's to simply ask. And that's to simply ask. Sometimes I believe we as believers receive not because we ask not. We receive not because we ask not. And what a shame. That is, that we can talk to everyone else about certain circumstances, but yet we fail to talk to the Lord about friends. That's a shameful thing effectively. And Luke 11 verse 9, and I say unto you, ask and ye shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. 1 John 3 and 23 and whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Friends, do not fail to ask. Be careful not to fail to ask. Remember faithfulness to the Lord and his word is important in this respect as well. It's important in this respect as well. And I say it again in the words of the Lord. I am the Lord, I change not. His power doesn't change. His power doesn't change. Our faith, unfortunately, can waver at times. But His power, His power doesn't change. The promised strength. The Lord's promised strength has not diminished, even as time lapses. Moving on then to verse 14, we see truth for generations to follow. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this that thou shalt say unto him? By strength of hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt from the house of bondage. The truth of salvation, there are many truths we are to pass on to the generations that follow and the one of course is the truth of salvation, the truth of the Lord's keeping power for his believers, the truth of the Lord's strength from day to day, there is encouragement found in the Lord's word, there is the Lord's return for his own. And there's so, so much more that we have the responsibility to pass on to the generations that follow us. Do you know what you can do that will have the greatest influence on your family and those around you? First of all, of course, you must tell them of your salvation in the Lord and how He saved you. But one of the greatest things you can do is just live it. Live the Christian life as you ought. Just live it out. It will be the greatest influence that you'll have on others. The facts are, if you're not really interested, it's going to be hard to get the next generation to be interested. Friends, I believe that's what you see all around us in this land in which we live. It was a godly land as far as I know, before my day even, it was a godly land but I believe there's so many that's not interested today. And they're trying to teach the next generation, and it's very hard to teach the next generation when you're not interested yourself. That's what it is. But we can talk about a lot of things that maybe aren't right in the local church today, but if we're spiritually carnal ourselves, little else will matter. Little else will matter. Sometimes you see in churches there, there are certain families that do a lot in certain local churches. And it happens all over the country. But that's not because there's jobs for the boys, so to speak. jobs for the boys and jobs for the girls so to speak even, but it's mainly because one generation is following the other. There's enthusiasm there, there's interest there in the Lord's work and it's no coincidence that it's the same family connections that's coming through and doing it because there's enthusiasm there and interest there and that's just the way it is. As someone has said, enthusiasm is infractious. And unfortunately so is apathy. Apathy is infectious as well. I know it's hard to remain enthusiastic all the time. But we must do battle with apathy in our lives for it is very destructive. It is very destructive. For we have many truths to tell the generations to follow and friends will not listen to us very well if we are just apathetic about all that we do. So the truth for generations to follow in verse 14. The promised path then we notice, well there's a promised path and there's three headings here, protection and provision and Pearl avoided that. But there's a promised path here starting at verse 17. And it came to pass when Pharaoh had let the people go that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although it was near. For God said, lest the people repent when they see the war and they return to Egypt. God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines. This is the first thing we notice by the Holy Spirit after Israel left the land of Egypt. God chose a way. God chose a way that they should go. What a lovely thought that God chose a way for his people through the wilderness. What a blessed thought that the Lord is leading the way for us. Sometimes we don't know where we're going effectively. We don't know where we're going or what's going to happen next so to speak. Or whatever way we're heading. But it's comforting to know what the Lord knows. It's comforting to know what the Lord does. It's a humble thing at the end there, but it says this, all the way my Savior leads me, what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt his tender mercies? Who through life has been my guide? Who through life has been my guide? Israel's exodus from Egypt wasn't the end of their experience with God. It wasn't the end of their experience with God. It was just the beginning. It was just the beginning. Things can change with us, and we can find ourselves in a new place. A new adventure so to speak, but all these new adventures indeed should lead to spiritual growth if we react right. Note it only took one night, if you think about it, I thought that was a lovely thought, but it only took one night, it only took one night to get them out of Egypt. They walked out one night and hadn't even time to finish baking. The ladies were baking their bread and hadn't time to go. They just went. But it took 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel, which is a thought and a half. It took one night to get them out of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of Israel. And that was really what they were doing, wandering around the Sinai Peninsula. It can be the same with us in the church age of course. It can be the same with us in the church age. It usually takes years to bring us to where the Lord would have us to be. It takes years to bring us to where the Lord would have us to be. Scripture says that we are his workmanship. In Philippians it says we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus. In other words the Lord is continually working on us. He is continually working on us. In other words, the Lord is just working on us from day to day. If there's one thing we should realize, it is our God is patient. He is patient with us and He continues to work. And that's a lovely thought as well. Of course, we should be patient with one another as well, which is important too. In Psalm 37, verse 23, it says, The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. and he delighteth in his way. In other words, we are not left alone. We are not left alone to our own devices, but there is one who directs our path. There is one who directs our path. In Romans 8 verse 14 it says, As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Friends, sometimes the path that we are on can be a difficult one. It can be a difficult one. It can seem long. It can be painful even. but it could also be a great and a joyful path of course at times but whatever path we're on it's great to know that there's one who's leading us along that path and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Our steps are ordered by the Lord Our steps are ordered by the Lord, whether it's a difficult path or whether it's a good path, so to speak. Humanly speaking, our steps are ordered by the Lord, and it's a lovely thought. That's our protection. There's a path that the children of Israel were on, but first of all, that was their protection. And won't you see the provision now? The provision And God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt. God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. It wasn't God's intention that Israel should take exactly, it was God's intention that Israel should take exactly the route that they did follow. The most direct route from Egypt to Canaan was up along the Mediterranean Sea, of course. It was just straight up along the Mediterranean Sea from there to the top corner of Egypt. And all it had to do was go direct. But the Lord wasn't going to take them that way. God, however, took his redeemed people all the way around the Sinai Peninsula, across the Red Sea. soon of course and God took them right away round to Sinai Peninsula. For there was many things for these newly redeemed people to learn before the Lord was going to take them into the promised land. And before they could come to grips with the giants in Canaan, there was going to be a battle in Canaan before they would get in and they weren't really ready for the battle. They wouldn't have been ready for the battle in Canaan. So patience was actually one of the things they were going to learn. Patience was one of the things these people were going to learn. And someone else has said, the longest way round can be the shortest way home. The longest way round was the shortest way home and that's exactly what it was for Israel. If they hadn't tried to go direct, As we read there earlier on, they had to come up against the Philistines, there would have been a massive battle and someone would have ran the whole way back to Egypt effectively. As the scripture reminds us, they repented and wanted to go back to Egypt. But the longest way round was their shortest way home. Sometimes our longest way round, the way of difficulties, Can be our shortest way to spiritual growth. Can be our shortest way to spiritual growth. Canaan doesn't picture heaven of course. Canaan doesn't picture heaven, it pictures spiritual growth effectively. Led by the way of the wilderness, that they may learn to trust the Lord more. They may learn to trust in the Lord more, learn to trust in his sufficiency in every difficult circumstance, whatever they may be, and truly demonstrate the Lord's power. God's way is not always the easy way. His way is not always the easy way. It can sometimes be a way that you would never take of your own free will. You would never take of your own free will. If me and you were going from the north corner of Egypt to Israel, we'd go along the Mediterranean Sea, and we'd take the American army with us to get past what he calls, but they hadn't got that. But God's way isn't always the easy way. He took them down around the Sinai Peninsula. But what we learn here, is that even in the wilderness, even in the desert place, our God can sustain his people. He can sustain his people. Psalm 138 verse 7, Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. Though thou stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, on thy right hand shalt save me. We have a God that has his hand upon us. can revive us and can save us no matter what situation we find ourselves in. We have one who looks out for our needs, who provides. It provides for each and every one of our needs and what a blessing it is to have one who meets all our provisions. So that's protection, provision. I want you to notice just pearl avoided. That's at the end of verse 17. And it says, And God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although it was near. For God said, Lest the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. Israel wouldn't have been ready, as I already said, part of this, wouldn't have been ready to do battle, to do battle with the foes that were in Canaan, the Philistines, etc. ahead of them, if they had went the direct route along the edge of the great sea. But this is the nature of God, this is the nature of God, that God doesn't permit us to be afflicted. above that which we are able to bear, above that which we are able to cope with. In 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13 it says, but God is faithful who will not permit you to be tempted above that which you are able. But will with the temptation also make a way of escape. that ye may be able to bear it." Israel's way of escape was to travel down the Sinai Peninsula until they were stronger and ready to do battle with the Philistines. It's very reassuring to know that our God is compassionate enough not to test us above that which we are able. In other words, God in his grace has planned a route has planned a route for his own people that he knows that they will be well able to cope with. In other words, God is not sending us into battle that we're not ready for. He's not sending us into battle that we're not ready for and are not able to cope with. In Psalm 17 verses 7 and 9 it says, Show thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou who savest by thy right hand those who put their trust in thee, from those who rise up against thee. Keep me as the apple of thy eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy wings from the wicked who oppress me, from my deadly enemies who compass me about. He will hide me, the Hamrider, has said he will hide me he will hide me where no harm can ever be hide me he will hide me under the shadow under the shadow of his of his hand we have a god that keeps his hand upon us he will he will steer well away from peril that we're not able that we wouldn't have been able to cope us at that time in verse 18 we notice a principled response then a principled response And the children of Israel went up, harnessed or armed, out of the land of Egypt. The word harnessed or armed is an interesting word. In other words, it means that the children of Israel left Egypt in an orderly manner. They left Egypt in an orderly manner. They did not come out of the land like a disorderly mob. I've said this in the past, but they did not come out of Egypt like a disorderly mob, but they came out in an organized way, even in military fashion so to speak. They didn't have an army as such, but they came out in multi-fashion. If you had seen them moving through the wilderness, you would notice just how orderly they were. You would notice just how orderly they were. And that's a lovely thing that the world would look, if the world would even look into church and just take a look around and just see how orderly it is. What a lovely testimony that would be. But the scripture says of us of course, let all things be done decently and in order. What the world observes is important of us. It's important that the world is not seeing a non-ruly rabble disobedient to their shepherds and worse still disobedient to their chief shepherd. or Lord Jesus Christ. It's important that the world's not seeing a casual, don't care, much attitude towards the Lord's work, or the Lord's word, or the Lord's house, the Lord's gospel. Casualness in its every shape and form, of course, is dangerous. It's dangerous, casualness effectively. is a disease that just continues to spread. It continues to spread right throughout our lives and throughout the assembly. People become not casual. They don't even turn up to church anymore. That's how casual they become. That is a danger. Casualness and disorder are a danger. For one thing, a casual attitude, first of all, dishonors the greatness of our God. Friends, we gather As we gather to worship the Lord, or the Pete's Gospel, or whatever it may be, we gather to worship our great and almighty God. And friends, it's unbelievable that we should gather to worship him in a casual manner. It's not something we should be doing. We should have a principled response, in other words. For our God is great, and all we do and say should serve to honour Him. All we do and say should serve to honour Him. Verse 19. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. Encouragement found in Joseph's bones. It's a strange place to find encouragement in the bones of a man, or find encouragement in a coffin where they're carrying the bones in. Encouragement found in Joseph Bones. The work of encouragement is a great work of course. It's a great work. Do not underestimate what encouragement can do for believers, for those who will seek to work at it and encourage others. Some effectively hammer the congregation too much and it becomes discouraging and self-defeating for them. It's a happy meeting friends. Large workers and faculty need more encouragement than they do need homework anyway. And that is very true. It's always great to find people that are an encouragement along life's road as you come to do anything for the Lord. Friends, be encouraging for the world is trying to discourage us week in, week out. And let's not be a believer discouraging. But before Joseph died, he made his brothers and Moses promise that his bones would be taken out of Egypt and taken in a coffin and taken back to the land of promise, taken back to the promised land. What did this coffin mean to the generation of the Jews? It would remind Israel that God keeps His promises first of all. It would remind Israel that God keeps His promises. And He will complete His promise no matter the timescale. And we're the same. We have a problem with timescale. We think that if something goes on too long, it's never going to happen. We do think like that. But friends, no matter the time scale, God keeps his promises of what they would learn from this coffin in Egypt. It would remind them of the overall plan of God as a better plan. For them, it might not feel like that at the moment, but in time, God's way is always best. In time, God's way is always best. Joseph had many trials and troubles himself personally but was finally delivered from them all and in turn he delivered Israel itself from a great famine. Joseph even figured it all out himself before and he figured it all out himself in the end of the book of Genesis chapter 15 verse 20 he said that for as for you you thought evil against me but God meant it all to be good. but God meant his own good to bring to pass as it is this day to save many people a life. He was used to save many people a life even through the difficulties that he was brought to. Friends there can be times when it looks as if everything is going wrong and at that time we must seek to trust the plan. Please trust the plan. God has a plan and we must seek to trust in God and his plan and his way for our lives and the scripture does say Romans 8 and 28 for we know that all things work together for good to them to love God and to them that are called according according to his purpose we have to there's times we just have to sit back and say we trust the plan we trust the Lord that he has his hand upon these circumstances be encouraged God keeps his promises God keeps his promises. They may take time, but they will be fulfilled. They will be fulfilled. Encouragement found in Joseph's bones. National progress then, we notice in verse 20, and they took their journey from Saccoth and encamped in Edom on the edge of the wilderness. Israel's journey to a strange place, but It is all in the plan of God once again. Israel is on the move. It may seem like a great place, but the fact that so many people are on the move is a blessing in itself. You could say it was in the middle of nowhere, it was on the edge of the Red Sea. Beyond that there was a hot and burning desert wilderness. Some would say that the desert had no real purpose, had no real purpose for Israel. But I think we've already seen that the desert had a purpose for Israel. That the Lord had been taken away from dangers that they couldn't cope with at that time. And there always was a purpose. There's always a purpose in what the Lord is doing, in other words. There's always a purpose in what the Lord is doing, but sometimes we'll not find out the purpose until we get the glory of what the purpose was. But there's always a purpose. In the Christian life, we'll find ourselves in some strange places, some desert places, or maybe a place that looks like nowhere. We think we're going nowhere at that time, but the wonderful thing is that God has a plan. He has a way out. He has thought a way out of this situation, and we just need to pray for patience at that time in our lives. It is simply for us just to trust Him, to trust Him in any situations and wait on the Lord's next move. Psalm 37 verse 7 it says, Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 40 verse 1, I waited patiently for the Lord and He inclined His ear unto me and heard my cry. Progress will come but sometimes a desert place turns up as well. Sometimes a desert place turns up. Philippians 4 verses 12 and 13 I know both how to be abased and I know both how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. But with Christ's strength we can deal with both being abased and to abound. National progress. Israel was pressing on, but there were many difficulties ahead of them. They will end up being abased in one place, in a desert place, and they will be bounded in another place, where they are bounded across the Red Sea. But the Lord's strength, they were fit to cope with both. So that was national progress. The following day and night, verse 21, verse 21 and the lord went before them by day and a pillar of cloud and led them the way and by night and a pillar of fire and gave them light to go by day and night a nation was guided by a pillar or a column most believable was a column a column of cloud by day which became a pillar or a column of fire by night. It was effectively the visible presence of the glory of God. The pillar was identified with the angel of the Lord who led the nation and God occasionally spoke from a from that pillar. The pillar of cloud would protect from the extreme heat of the sun and the fire would give light in the camp of night. So everything effectively was provided for. In Nehemiah we read of the same circumstances, Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 12 it says, Thou leadest them in the day by a cloud by a cloudy pillar, and in the night by a pillar of fire, and gave them night in the way wherein they should go." The important thing is that all bases were covered. All bases were covered by day and by night the Lord had provided for his people. As Christians We're never left alone. We're never left to our own devices. There is divine light and guidance for our taking. But we must follow the Lord's Word, of course, being the most notable light that we have. John 16 verse 13 says, When He, the Spirit of Truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. As you make your journey in this life, Know that you're not alone. You're not alone as a believer. We are never left as orphans. We have God not only among us, but in us. We have God not only among us, but in us, and we've been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We do not have the cloud by day or by night. Instead we have the Spirit himself guiding you, guiding you into all truth that you may journey and trusted with journey willingly alone in his presence. John 14 verse 18 it says, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. I will never leave you nor forsake you, the scripture says elsewhere. Psalm 121 verses 7 and 8, the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy soul, the Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forever and more. What a lovely thought. Thank the Lord we have one that preserves us and also one that we are to seek to closely follow. All the way my Saviour leads me, what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt his tender mercy? Who through life has been my guide? We're to follow day and night, friends. We're to follow day and night, and He seeks to lead. The Lord seeks to lead us day and night. And what a lovely thought to have one who provides for every need. All bases are covered. All bases are covered. As we are following the Lord, we're to be set apart for the Lord, sanctified to Him. The Lord says, You're mine. And we are His. We've been bought with a price. Promise strength, for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out. And the same strength that brought Israel out of Egypt is the same strength that will take them into the land of Canaan, the land flowing in milk and honey. The truth for all generations, and it shall be when thy son asketh thee in the time to come, what is this? Friends, we have many great truths to pass on to the next generation. The promise passed. The children of Israel knew protection. God led them not through the way of the Philistines. They were protected from the Philistines at that stage. Provision. God led the people about through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea, provided for them while they were there. Parallel-pointed Israel would not have been ready to do battle with the Palestinians at that time, so they were sent down around the Sinai Peninsula. Sometimes the Lord sends us a longer route, but it's effectively the shorter way home. Principled response, it means that the children of Israel left Egypt in an orderly fashion. They didn't come out like a disorderly mob. Order is important. Dare we approach a holy and almighty God in a casual manner. Encouragement found in Joseph's bones, and Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. It was only a matter of time till the promises would all be fulfilled. It was only for us to wait and for them to wait at that time as well. National progress, and they took their journey from Shakhov and then camped in Edom, in the edge of the wilderness. Edom was not a great place, but it was a time just for them to trust the Lord, to see for the Lord's next move. And following by day and by night, the nation was guided by a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud, and a pillar of fire. And praise God, friends, we have one who guides us, one who keeps his hand upon us, one who preserves our going out and our coming in, as the psalmist would remind us. I trust the Lord to bless the meditation on this work. Thank you.