Israel had no map to guide them in the desert. They had no GPS system. They were wandering in a trackless wilderness where there were no highways or trail markers.

In this barren land, God gave them supernatural guidance:

And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire , to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (Exodus 13:20-22)