A while back, I was rereading the Exodus of Israel, and the wilderness aspect of the story struck me during my reading. For the longest time when I read their story, I would sometimes think, Wow, those Israelites were pretty whiny and dense. How could they see all these miracles and still have issues trusting God?
I know these thoughts sound pretty prideful. Well, this time reading through humbled me because I realized that we are in a type of wilderness, and sometimes I act just as badly as Israel did.
Israel went physically into a wilderness after the dramatic miraculous departure from Egypt. These people who had been slaves for many years were finally free. They were exhilarated until pressures hit. The first one was when the Egyptian army went after them, and they were ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ by being between an army and a sea. Yet, God once again showed them His power by parting the sea.
After their miraculous escape through the sea, the people sing a triumphant song to God praising Him for His wonderful deeds. The people were joyful and happy for three days. In Exodus 14: 22, the Bible points out that Moses led them into the Wilderness of Shur, and after three days in the wilderness the people started to complain because there was no water. Now, I don’t know how many times I have read this, and thought that these people were ridiculous. It only took them three days to start complaining. Didn’t they know that God could do anything? Didn’t they know that all they probably needed to do was to ask Him for some water? However, this time I thought well, how would I act if I was them? Who is to say that maybe they had just gone three full days without water? I have a hard time making it one day without water on Atonement. I can’t imagine walking around in the wilderness for three days and not having anything to drink. Given, I don’t know if they actually went without anything to drink for those three days, but it is a possibility. The point is, though, they were thirsty, and they got scared.
There are many times in my life that I have witnessed God’s hand move for me or a loved one. There are many times that I have had my prayers answered. There are many times that I know a miracle just happened. Yet, when the trials come, and they do, I have a tendency to sometimes forget all those God moments and to get scared, anxious, worried, and maybe even begin to complain. I start acting just like Israel, and that is not the way one who is a believer should behave.
There is a lot to learn from Israel and their time in the wilderness. One thing that I had never noticed was that God chose to lead them from Egypt by the wilderness instead of the land of the Philistines which would have been faster, because as it states in Exodus 13:17, “God said, “ Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and they return to Egypt.’” He actually chose the wilderness route to protect them. He didn’t want them to become so afraid that they would turn back into the land that He just freed them from.
God did a lot of miraculous things for them in the wilderness. He provided them sustenance. He made sure their clothes did not rot, and their shoes did not fall apart. He protected them from their enemies. He sheltered them. He watched over them. He provided for all their needs and wants for the forty years in the wilderness. He did all of this for them despite their disobedience and grumblings. I like what is revealed in Deuteronomy 8: 2-6 as to the reasons for the wilderness:
You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you, allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth. Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years. You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God disciplines you. You shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
This same God that did all of this for Israel is the same God we worship today, and I do believe He is still in the business of taking care of His people. We may not be literally walking through barren land, but we live in a spiritually barren world. Yet, just like Israel, we have a provider who is willing to provide for us. In fact, He tells us that “whoever comes to [Him] will never hunger, and whoever believes in [Him] will never thirst” (John 6:35). Our job is to do what He says, to go to Him, put our trust in Him, and let Him be our provider, which is what most of Israel did not learn to do. They did not live by faith, therefore, when troubles hit them they complained and became fearful.
So, how are we doing in the wilderness? Do we sometimes act like them? I know I do. I think that is why their wilderness story struck me deeper this time around when reading it. I believe God wanted to use their story to humble me and to show me that the Israelites are not much different than me. This is what I love about God’s Word. It doesn’t matter how many times I read a scripture, a chapter, or a book in the Bible, I will always glean something new. What I have really gleaned this time is that the wilderness, to me, teaches us to rely on God when we are wandering through the unknown, through trials, through times that we can’t fix, etc. These are those times that we must fight the carnal tendency to worry and complain, and instead look to our provider and go to Him for He can provide for all our needs without us doing anything except to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
I would like to end with the Messiah’s own words in Matthew 6: 25-34:
Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient.