Why did Israel have to leave the oasis of Elim and keep moving?
Israel had to leave the oasis of Elim because their journey was not complete. They could not remain on the mountaintop; they had to move on through the Sinai and arrive at Mount Sinai, where they would receive the law. The hard work lay ahead in the valley, not at the beautiful oasis.
Les explains that Israel had come to Elim, a beautiful oasis, almost a mountaintop experience after leaving Egypt. But as he closed the previous lesson, you cannot just stay on the mountaintop; all the hard work is down in the valley. So they had to move on. In Exodus 16:1, they took their journey from Elam and came to the wilderness of Zin, between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month. They left Egypt in April, so this is now May. In that part of the desert it is getting hot, and they will need water. With a few million people and all their livestock, it takes a tremendous amount of water. They are moving down through Sinai and will soon arrive at Mount Sinai itself, where they will receive the law. The people soon murmur against Moses and Aaron, wishing they had died in Egypt by the flesh pots, showing how short memory can be.