"They have been quick to leave the way I marked out for them". God's words to Moses about the people of Israel find many echoes throughout the Old Testament when, in a broken-hearted way, he laments their waywardness, finding them headstrong and deserving to be abandoned.

We usually call the journey of the Exodus a "wandering in the desert". Yet the Biblical account indicates that God gave Israel instructions about moving from one place to another: he was guiding them on each stage of this journey: God had indeed marked out many ways for them, whether physical ways, journeys from one place to another in a great journey to the Promised Land, or spiritual ways, ways of living as God's chosen people, ways of being faithful to God's Covenant.

God guides us also on the pathway of life and enlightens our hearts and minds to know the spiritual way we should follow. Yet we too sometimes begin to wander. By God's grace, like the Prodigal Son, we can always return to our heart and reflect on our lives and so return to God our Father. Jesus teaches us the magnificence of God's unconditional love, accepting our repentance with great joy in heaven.