The miracles of Exodus are amazing: the Plagues of Egypt, the pillar of fire and smoke, the parting of the Red Sea, manna and quail, and the water from the rock. These miracles from God are indescribable awesome. You would think these would be indelibly etched into the minds of those who experienced them firsthand. Shoot, the 3-hour Charlton Heston version is etched into mine. Its fascinating that they would be willing, even anxious, to abandon God after a couple of months.
But for me the most important miracles in Exodus are the quiet ones. The daily miracles of the logistics involved with the movement and sustainment of the people. Exodus 10:37 records 600,000 men besides women and children. That implies 600,000 men of military age, say 20 to 60 yrs old. From this we can realistically extrapolate that the total Exodus included 1.5 to 2 million people. The U.S. Census estimates the population of New Hampshire in July 2021 to be about 1.4 million. The Superbowl crowd in the Superdome this weekend will be about 75,000, so the Exodus had the same as 20 Superbowl crowds. If 1.5 million Hebrews were in a modern military parade formation 100 people wide (about a football field goal line to goal line) that parade would be 8.5 miles long. That's without luggage or goats. This group of people with all their stuff could have been so big that one day’s travel would put the people in back only up to where the people in front had started that morning. How long did the Red Sea stay open?
If everyone needed just 1 gallon of water per day for drinking, food prep, and hygiene, they would need a water supply of about 1000 gallons per minute all the time. That's not including any for the livestock. If the group came to an oasis or spring, like Marah, they would need to fill 1000 buckets or jars per minute. Today we read they had to wash their clothes to consecrate themselves. More water. They are in a desert. I’m not even going to talk about the line for the porta-potty.
They were also to gather an omer of manna each. On the internet (so it must be true), an omer is about 9 cups. If you spread 9 cups of rice evenly (like dew) it would take several square feet of space. If you estimate each cup would take one square foot, God is providing about 300 acres a day of manna and 600 acres on Fridays.
As we read about the Tabernacle, think of all the materials the Hebrews were carrying. That includes about 2000 pounds of gold, 7500 pounds of silver, and 5000 pounds of bronze, plus livestock for the daily sacrifices. They even brought lumber. That had to make moving harder.
Enjoy the story of Exodus (I always like to go back and watch “The Ten Commandments” after I read it). I encourage you to watch for the small miracles of daily life for these people 4000 years ago and for us today.
Thanks for reading along with me. I hope you are enjoying the adventure.
Tom