The Blessing of Detour ｜ Exodus 13

There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a “detour” sign when you are in a hurry to get to your next appointment. Indeed, the unexpected intrusion of a detour is something no one likes. It is the derailment of a plan, the delay that feels like a waste of time and energy, and an obstruction to our goals that often leaves us impatient and anxious.

Yet these uninvited detours are seemingly inevitable. Whether it is the dash back home to pick up the phone you have left behind, or the promotions or job opportunities that have passed you by, they happen. Despite our best efforts to avoid them, these hiccups are part of life.

But what if detours are not the coincidental, meaningless nuisance we have taken them to be? What if every detour serves a purpose beyond the comprehension of our result-driven mind?

Exodus 13 gives us a rare glimpse into the rationale behind the most famous detour in the Bible—Israel’s detour into the wilderness after their departure from Egypt.

It was a bit of an anti-climax. After the 10th plague where God struck down all the firstborns in Egypt, Pharoah had finally agreed to let Israel go to serve the Lord. God had finally demonstrated to Pharaoh and everyone in Egypt that He alone is Lord. It was the exodus of 600,000 men (Ex 12:37; likely up to 2 million people if including women and children), marching away from their lives as slaves after 430 years as foreigners in the land of Egypt.

God’s deliverance of His people could not have happened in a more astonishing and awe-inspiring fashion. They have experienced God’s miraculous protection from the 10th plague with the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts, followed by Pharaoh’s change of heart and the deliverance from slavery that had appeared impossible.

Yet as they were supposedly making their way to the promised land, a land that the mighty God would certainly give them, God unexpectedly led them on a detour. “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea” (Ex 13:17-18).

We have thought that detours are mistakes and hindrances. We never thought that God would lead us on a detour. But here we have God leading His people, seemingly away from the promised land, into the wilderness. Just like the way we do not understand why a seed needs to remain dormant in the soil for so long before the first leave emerges, this added journey feels like a terrible mishap.

But God had an important reason: He did not want His people returning to Egypt in the face of potential war. Knowing what a fierce enemy the Philistines would become later in Israel’s quest for the promised land, God knew that the hearts of the Israelites were far from ready.

In fact, even we can see all the evidence that Israel’s heart was not ready. They were constantly looking back at their life in bondage as if it was the best thing that happened to them.

“Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” (Ex 14:11)

“Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Ex 16:3)

“Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Ex 17:3)

A heart ready for blessings

The promised land was a gift, but the people needed to be ready to receive this precious gift. Unbeknownst to them, the deliverance they needed was not just from the hands of Pharaoh, but a transformation of their hearts that had been bound by the illusion of Egypt. They needed to see that the promised land was indeed better than being entrapped in slavery, and that knowing their God is better than a false sense of security and the comfort of familiarity.

They needed to want to be God’s people, to want the promised land, and to be willing to fight for it, instead of always looking back at their lives in Egypt. They needed to be ready before entering a land of pagan gods and more false promises, so that they could resist the temptations that lie ahead, instead of letting this gift destroy them and their relationship with God. They needed to know who they were and who they were called to be in order to live out their identity as God’s people.

Therefore God led them on a detour because it was the necessary journey for their hearts. It was the clean break they needed, where they got to witness God’s faithfulness and daily guidance. “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people” (Ex 13:21-22).

They needed to learn that God was not like the other masters they had served because only their God is faithful and compassionate, even if He is powerful and majestic. They needed to learn that God was not there to exploit them, but to be with them, to guide them, provide for them, and protect them. It took the detour and the wilderness, when people were away from other resources and distractions (whether it be war or pagan culture), for them to see that God is enough. They could, indeed, rely on God and God alone.

The wilderness is not the promised land, but paradoxically, no one will be ready for the promised land without the detours. We are all eager to get to our destinations, but God is working on our hearts—a heart that truly longs to be with God, a heart willing to follow God and be His people.

Are you feeling a bit deflated by the recent setbacks in your life, or are you wondering when you will get off the detour and be back on the right track? Our God is the Lord who is constantly at work, even when we think we are running in circles. He knows what we are going through, and He is watching over our hearts closely. Maybe you can say a prayer to God today, and ask Him to open your eyes to see the beautiful transformation He is working on in your life, so that your heart will be ready for more blessings.

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