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As the children of Israel left Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. Many illustrations depict them walking double file through a narrow gorge bordered by “walls of water.” In that configuration, the line of Israelites would have been 800 miles long. Thirty-five days and nights would have been required for the 2-3 million people involved. To cross the Red Sea in a single night, the path needed to be at least three miles wide, with the people walking 5,000 abreast.

Once the children of Israel had left Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness, Moses faced a series of other monumental problems. The people needed to have 1,500 tons of food each day, according to the quartermaster general of the United States Army. It would take two freight trains, each a mile long, to convey that much food.

The amount of firewood necessary for cooking this much food would be 4,000 tons. That would mean several more freight trains, each a mile long, every day. Eleven million gallons of water would be required each day as a bare minimum for drinking and washing. It would take a freight train with tank cars 1,800 miles long to convey that amount.

Each time the Israelites camped, a campground two-thirds the size of Rhode Island was required, a total of 750 square miles or 480,000 acres of land.

Could Moses have calculated all this in advance? Could he have organized the people to provide these vital provisions and space for themselves? Hardly. If God could take care of these logistics to care for His people, shouldn’t He deserve to be listened to and obeyed?

Psalm 81 says, “Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob...You called in trouble, and I delivered you… “Hear, O My people...There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god...I am the Lord your God,  Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

“But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me. So, I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels. “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways! I would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock, I would have satisfied you.”