One of the main tenets in Scripture is the concept of free will. The ability to decide your own path (not necessarily the outcome) is paramount to salvation. I’m choosing to follow God, rather than being forced to follow God.
That concept is arguably the main point of contention between God and Pharaoh. Over and over again, God gives Pharaoh the charge to let His people go, and over and over again, Pharaoh refuses. It’s a choice that decimates Egypt, kills thousands of innocent people, and will eventually lead to Pharaoh’s death.
But free will is there for the Israelites, too. When Pharaoh finally does relinquish control over Israel and they leave into the desert, God intentionally leads them away from the land of the Philistines.
From a tactical perspective, it makes sense why. The Philistines were a considerable force. Their five main Philistine cities (Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza) were technologically-advanced, strategically-aligned, and filled with a nomadic race of people that only knew war.
They were not the type of people that Israel needed to meet right after leaving Egypt, and God knew that. Exodus 13:17 specifically says that He led them away from the Philistines because otherwise, they might “change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
Eventually, this is exactly what happens. In Numbers 12, when Joshua sends the spies into Canaan, they return with great news about the land, but bad news about the people. “It’s too difficult,” they claim, so they make plans to return to Egypt.
Let’s make one thing clear about this scene, though. The reason they didn’t go through the Philistines in Exodus 13 is not because God isn’t powerful enough to defeat them, but because the faith of the Israelites wasn’t strong enough. That’s where free will comes in: God could lead them to the land of the Philistines, assure them they would win, but it was up to Israel to commit their hands to battle.
How many times have you seen this in your own life? I have often made the mistake of thinking I’m up for a challenge, only to face it head on and shrink in fear. Instead of castigating these Israelites for their lack of faith, try to see it from their angle. They had just been slaves, and now they’re expected to be warriors? It’s a hard sell.
They needed time to develop their faith. By Numbers 12, they should have been ready. They weren’t, so God gave them forty more years of wandering to build it up. When they returned the second time, they would go straight into the heart of Philistine territory.
