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Lindsey Nichols

Miss Akers

Honors English 9

20 October 2017

The bible tells about Moses struggles, but the people who followed Moses went

through many struggles as well. God punished them, put them thru several challenges,

and forced them to live with the consequences of their decisions to ensure their loyalty

to him, and to give lessons and help teach His future followers and ensure that the

mistakes of the Israelites didnt happen again.

The Israelites after arriving in the promised land, Canaan, were caught in a

famine. They were expecting a beautiful oasis where they could live happy carefree

lives, not the arid, dry, and deserted desert they arrived in, but they stayed loyal and

lived there anyways. When the famine hit they were left starving, so they left and

traveled to Egypt, to live in the land Joseph had promised them. Joseph said God has

made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me without delay. (BAIL page 105) and the

Israelites left, and abandoned the land God had given them. When a new pharaoh took

over Egypt the Israelites were enslaved when they stayed in Egypt, and didnt leave to

go back to Canaan.

This suffering was a double sided sword because not only were they suffering by

working for the Egyptians, they also suffered betrayal. God had told them, in his

covenant with Abraham, I will make of you a great nation I will bless those who bless

you and curse those who curse you. (BAIL page 71) but the Israelites were instead

slaves to the Egyptians who were worshiping false Gods, and reducing the children of
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Abraham, who were promised a great and powerful nation, to slaves meant to do their

labor. God had told Abraham that he would give them the promised land and protect

them, but the Israelites had left the land God had given them and went to the Egyptians.

God understood that the Israelites moved so they could grow food and not starve, but

when the famine was over they stayed in Egypt refusing to go back to Canaan.

The Israelites had refused the land the their God had given them in exchange for

a foreign land where they worship false Gods. It is no surprise then that God had let

them suffer a little in the land they had given up the promised land for. Of course God

helped them in the end, but by then all the Israelites wanted was to go back to the

protection of the promised land.

When God finale helped the Israelites escape Egypt he called Moses up to

mount Sinai and gave him the 10 commandments. While Moses was talking to God the

Israelites started worship a false god, the golden calf. When Moses returned he was

enraged, he and the loyal followers of God killed and murdered them all, because the

first commandment God had given moses stated: You shall have no other Gods before

me. (BAIL page 133)

God had specifically told the Israelites that no one was aloud to worship false

Gods, yet the Israelites did it anyway. If God had been merciful then the Israelites would

have just continued to worship the golden calf and refused to obey God who had

created them and everything they love, including the gold used to make the Golden calf.

So to ensure this would never happen again God told Moses Whoever has sinned

against me, him I will blot out of my book (of righteous people)... I will visit their sin upon

them (At the appropriate time I will punish them) (BAIL 136)
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Moses told the people still loyal to God, This is what the Lord God of Israel,

says: Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from

one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor. (The Bible,

Exodus 32:28) God then punished the other Israelites, who had not worshiped the

golden calf, forcing them to wander the desert 40 years while they searched for the

promised land. The people of Israel remained in the wilderness for forty years- more

than an entire generation. (BAIL page 137)

God punished and let the Israelites suffer to ensure that they were still loyal and

would follow God through any hardships. Even though the Israelites were lost and knew

God could help them they knew that God had a plan and followed him anyways.

God may also have been letting the Israelites suffer as further punishment for

leaving the promised land he gave to them. The Israelites left the promised land and

were forced to wander for 40 years in search of the land they refused from God.

Moses and many other biblical figures such as Abraham, Adam, Eve, and Noah,

may have suffered, but the Israelites that followed Moses suffered continuously, being

enslaved by the Egyptians, punished for worshiping the golden calf, and forced to

wander for 40 years in search of the promised land, and yet they continued to follow

God to prove they were loyal in order to avoid divine wrath. The suffering of the

Israelites served as an important lesson the future followers of God, and ensured that

the next generation of Israelites were loyal and knew there were consequences to their

actions.