Day 05 - "Long Cut" to the Promised Land

Today, we wrapped up our time in Luxor with a visit to the massive Karnak Temple. This sprawling temple complex covers over 200 acres, the equivalent of approximately 151 football fields!

One of its most awe-inspiring features is the Hypostyle Hall, boasting 132 towering columns. To grasp their sheer size, picture seven grown men standing hand-in-hand just to encircle a single column.

Karnak Temple was constructed over nearly 2,000 years, bearing the mark of around 30 different pharaohs, each contributing through building projects or military campaigns. One particular focus of our visit was the campaign inscriptions of Seti I, the father of Ramesses the Great. His reliefs depict a battle against the Shasu Bedouin, likely near Canaan. Among the intricate details on the wall reliefs are a series of military forts, evidence of the New Kingdom’s control over the trade routes between Egypt and Israel. Archaeological excavations as well as historical records indicate that between Egypt and Canaan, there were approximately 12 to 14 forts serving as ancient checkpoints—early forms of passport control, regulating trade, preventing unauthorized entry, and controlling the movement of enslaved peoples.

One fort depicted on the wall bears the name “Migdol,” a place mentioned in the biblical text. This connection ties directly into Exodus 13:17, where God instructs the Israelites not to take the direct route—the Way of the Philistines, also known as the Way of Horus and the Coastal Highway—out of Egypt. This route followed the Mediterranean coast into Gaza, leading straight into Canaan. However, God warned that if they took this path, they would encounter war for which they were not prepared. Instead, He led them into the wilderness—a longer, more difficult journey, but one designed for their spiritual growth and formation.

This moment in history and its depiction at Karnak remind us that God does not always take us on the shortest route. Instead, He often leads us on what we might call the “long cut.” The longer path is not about efficiency; it is about transformation. It is in the desert where we learn to trust God, where our faith is strengthened, and where our souls are shaped. God’s way is not about speed but about formation.

The lesson is clear: we are called to follow God’s leading, step by step. He provides manna for today, guidance for today, and asks us to trust Him for tomorrow. As we journey, whether through literal deserts or through seasons of uncertainty, may we embrace the path He sets before us. It is in the waiting, the wandering, and the trusting that we are shaped into the people He intends us to be.

So let us continue to follow. Let us allow ourselves to be formed. And in doing so, we will step into the promised lands that God has prepared for us.

The Journey is the Destination.

Jerrell