Welcome to Trace’s Space. Today the account of Moses and the people of Israel has been on my mind. In Exodus the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land begins, it is a event that most children learn some about in Sunday school and occasionally it becomes the subject of a bible study, but for me today I found the information applicable and relevant to the times we are living in today.
Israel had become captive, and Moses was used by God to lead them out of a terrible circumstance. Understand when the Children Of Israel left Egypt, they had never known anything other than slavery and captivity, their entire lives for a couple of hundred years had been ugly, it had been hard. The journey they were about to embark on was not going to be easy, deliverance was not instantaneous, it required forty years of wandering in the Wilderness, that in itself was unknown territory, to a land that was Promised to be filled with all the Goodness Of God.
I imagine they were frightened, they had no provisions and had to rely of God to meet all of their needs, Moses lead the way with the help of a cloud and fire from God, imagine how strange this all seemed.
They became hungry, they became thirsty, they grumbled, but God who is Faithful provided. You know they basically ate the same meal for forty years, manna.
See there is so much meat to this account. God is really speaking to us when we read this. First of all they could have maybe made it to their destination sooner, but God had a plan , first to protect His people from danger, the shorter route was filled with giants, it was evil, they would not have survived. I think our first lesson here is, God sometimes leads us to the wilderness to protect us, but also so that he can lead us through, then out! I believe that God designed this journey because the plan for Israel was big, and in this journey the guidelines for how He desired that they live and worship would be established! They truly needed forty years!
He constantly spoke to Moses, He gave Moses the Law, but what I found interesting was, He waited, and I believe those words came at a certain time because God’s kids were getting rowdy, and tired, and they needed to be brought back to order...see rules and laws are good, people hunger for structure and boundaries. Not only did Moses go to the mountain top, but the word of God was placed upon stone, yep a rock, great symbolism there! You know, Jesus our Rock our Redeemer.
So much in there...
The kicker for me was Moses never got to cross the river. By the time we get through a few more books of the Bible the outcome is interesting. God takes Moses up to the top of the mountain and shows him the land that was promised then tells him he’s not going, and he dies. No explanation.
No one actually even knew where they placed his body, so odd, but I believe that God wanted the focus to be on the fulfilled promise, not on Moses.
So the children of Israel under new leadership, enters the promised land with instruction from the Lord on how that land was to be secured then divided. He was specific. The law was established prior so that they would be able to live together as a great Nation, Israel, just as He had promised.
I guess I should clarify, this is what I am getting from this. My take away!
1. God Provides
2. God Protects
3. He is Faithful in His promises
Even though the journey was long, so much happened most of it is applicable for today. Our need for rules, our need for leadership, our need to be able to trust those who have been chosen to lead us.
Our Giants are different, so is our wilderness, but we have a hope, and that Hope is Jesus! Trust Him, as in the days of Moses, our God can and will lead us to and through!
See you next time!
