Working backward from the Sabbaths in the 2nd month, and using the travel record and Israel’s camping for the Sabbath, and that they were at Succoth just after the First Day of Unleavened Bread, this camp in Etham was almost certainly over a Sabbath. More specifically, this would have been the first Sabbath since the Passover, and thus, the Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That should ring a bell.
Now, notice that it was at Etham, likely on the day after the Sabbath, that the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud. It seems likely that it was the next day because they were not travelling on the Sabbath, and thus, the cloud did not need to go before them and lead the way until they started moving again the next day. What this means is that God’s visible presence with them in the cloud seems to have started on Wavesheaf Day.
That was the day when, once they were in the land, the nation waited until God was acknowledged with an offering of firstfruits before they started harvesting the barley. Deference to God came first. In the New Testament, Jesus is identified as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Once He was raised and accepted by the Father, then the spiritual work could begin. But He had to go first. And here we find a parallel with God going first. He went before Israel so they could make this journey of seven weeks.
