The history of the journey of the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, through the wilderness, and into the promised land, exemplifies the journey from a material to a spiritual sense of being, a mental journey, which all must eventually take.
Sin, hate, fear, ignorance, ambition for material place and power, inevitably lead to sorrow, loss, disease, and failure, and all the suffering connected with bondage to material sense. Because of the struggle in human consciousness for release, sooner or later there is born a willingness to start on the journey out of unsatisfying material belief toward the longed-for freedom and peace. The journey will be hastened according to one's willingness to surrender preconceived material concepts of life and happiness, and one's receptivity to the spiritual concept of God and man.
In their emergence from Egypt, their triumphant passage through the Red Sea, and their wandering through the wilderness, the Israelites were encouraged by anticipating their final entrance into the promised land of peace, plenty, and security. That expectation encouraged their lagging footsteps and spurred them on to victory.
