"If one opens the cage of a canary bird that has been born and raised in a cage it will not immediately fly out and away; for some time it will stay in the cage afraid to leave it, then it will timidly go out a little way and if anything frightens it, will hurry back into its cage. Now, the Israelites had been in Egypt like a caged bird. They were not free to go where they would and do what they would. Then all of a sudden they were free. But they were so used always to being told by the Egyptians what they should do, that they were afraid to do things for themselves, and, indeed, did not know how. God knew that if they came to Canaan, and they saw there an army of the Canaanites coming against them to battle, they would be so frightened, that, instead of fighting them boldly and bravely, they would at once go back to Egypt and become slaves to Pharaoh, just as the bird goes back to the cage when it is frightened. God, therefore, decided not to take them at once to their own land, but to lead them in a roundabout way with many turnings and twistings, so that they would not know how to return to Egypt if they wanted to do so." (Show on the map the direct route possible to the Israelites and the actual route that they took.) "And now I am going to tell you something that happened which will show you how, at the very first difficulty, many of the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt and how God saved them from their troubles." Then tell the story of their wanderings, guided by the pillar of cloud and fire, Pharaoh's pursuit and the crossing of the Red Sea. Lay emphasis on the dilemma which faced the Israelites at the Red Sea, and on their consequent state of mind, which is revealed in Exodus 14.10-12. These complaints should be quoted in the language of the Bible. The children might be required to memorize Moses' reply, which sums up the message of the lesson, "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." Read to the class the song of Moses and encourage the memorizing of favorite verses from the song. CHAPTER VIII FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI Exodus 15.22 to 18.27