Page 30 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies - Textbook w videos short

family and of every animal. As a result of this plague, Pharaoh told Moses to leave Egypt.

It wasn’t long, however, before Pharaoh changed his mind. Furious at the people of God for what God
had done to his own family and to all of Egypt, Pharaoh sent his armed forces after the escaping
Hebrews. God would use this incident to demonstrate once and for all that He was far greater than the
most powerful man on earth.

Israel was trapped. With the Egyptian forces closing in on one side and the Sea behind them, it looked
like an impossible situation. But the sea was miraculously parted, allowing Israel to cross on dry land.
When the Egyptian forces pursued the people of God, the sea closed and the Egyptians were destroyed.
Never again would Egypt dominate the Jewish people. And neither the Egyptians nor the Hebrews would
ever forget the miracle. Each year when Jewish families celebrate their Passover meal, they re-tell this
story!

After they were safely across the sea, Moses led 600,000 men, together with their families, (perhaps as
many as 2-3 million) out of Egypt and directed them toward the Red Sea as they journeyed to the
Promised Land. God led the people with a pillar of clouds during the day and by a pillar of fire by night.

Early in the journey, Moses received the Ten Commandments
and the rest of the Law on Mt. Sinai.
Unfortunately, the people rebelled before Moses could even
come down the mountain with the stone tablets. When Moses
found them, they were worshiping a golden calf.

The rebellion continued. The people came to the edge of the
land they’d been promised and sent 12 spies into what was
known as “Canaan.” Ten of the spies said the land would be
too difficult to take. Only Joshua and Caleb begged the people
to trust the Lord. The people did not trust the Lord and as a
result, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 more years.

Only after the entire generation of those who’d faltered had
died did the people prepare to enter the land. Under the
leadership of Joshua (Caleb also survived), the Hebrew people
finally crossed the Jordan River near Jericho, finally ending
their period of wandering. As the people camped on the
western side of the Jordan, they were within sight of Mt. Nebo,
where Moses had taken his view of the land before dying.

According to Joshua 14, it took about six years for the tribes of Israel to conquer the Land of Canaan and
to overcome the military might of the ancient Canaanite. At this time, Joshua divided the land among
the tribes and allotted portions according to the Word of the Lord, the size of the tribe, and by casting
lots. Joshua told each tribe that they were responsible to subjugate their portion of the land and
remove the defeated people. Many of the tribes failed in this responsibility. The map to the left shows
how Israel was divided among the tribes.

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