Lessons from the Bible, the old testament. After Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt, the Lord kept them in the wilderness for forty years. Why?
After Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt, the Lord kept them in the wilderness for forty years. Why? What did these people need to learn before they got to the Promised Land? Are they the same lessons we need to learn before we get to the Promised Land?
While in Egypt, the Israelites had intermarried with other peoples and adapted their religion or adopted new beliefs based on the society they lived in or the tribes they married into. By the time Moses and Aaron came along to lead them out of Egypt, very little of their previous belief system remained and there was little consistency in what did remain.
One of the purposes of the wilderness experience of the Israelites was their re-education in the ways of God. They needed the time to learn again about God and His expectations of them. Separated and cut off from the rest of the world, the Israelite's classroom was the desert. Here they had to learn again to communicate with God, rely on God, follow God and accept provision from God. Their survival depended on the rebuilding of their faith. The wilderness was their opportunity to restore their relationship and intimacy with God.
Today, we go through what are known as wilderness experiences. These are the times in our lives when we feel most separated from God. We feel abandoned and alone. We feel spiritually dry. During these times, we too must learn to rely on God for provision, comfort, and guidance and deepen our communication with Him. Ironically, it is when we feel most cut off from God that we are closest to Him. Just as when the Israelites were in the wilderness, feeling cut off and abandoned but being provided for at the most basic levels, so are we.
Jesus had to go through a wilderness experience, too. He went into the desert for 40 days, symbolic of the 40 years spent there by Moses and the Israelites. While in the desert, Jesus suffered from the loss of comfort provided by the world and had to rely on God alone to sustain Him. He endured His own temptations while in the desert and overcame them. Wilderness experiences toughen us up and bring us closer to God. They are purifying, like the furnace that purifies metal and makes it stronger. We are made stronger and more effective when we use our wilderness experiences to mature and grow closer to God.
While in the desert, the Israelites were taught again what Godliness is. They had fallen into pagan belief systems, adopted other gods and taken on worldly behaviors that were an affront to god. They were largely immoral and had to learn Godly behavior. God presented Moses with the Ten Commandments and the Law to purify the Israelites and discipline their minds and their actions before leading them into the Promised Land.
God was wise and kept them out of the Promised Land for the span of a generation. He converted them within that time span, raising up a new generation that knew nothing but complete reliance on Him for their survival. This is symbolic of our lifetimes. We are brought through this lifetime on earth to purify us before we enter the Promised Land of Heaven.
One of the first tasks of the Israelites was to relearn obedience to God. This wasn't going to be an easy lesson for them, either. They were drunk with freedom after generations in Egypt as captives. Their first thoughts must have been that "I am now my own master!" Trudging through the desert, day after day with little for their bellies or for their thirst, they soon remembered that in Egypt they were fed and had water aplenty. Slavery started looking better to this constant marching on an empty belly and a parched throat.
At this point, when they had no other choices, they were ready to once again be mastered. And, once brought to this point, they were teachable. God provided for them with manna from Heaven. They had to obey strict rules about the gathering of manna or go hungry. They learned to rely on God and obey His rules. And they learned that this Master was loving and generous, willing to forgive and in committing themselves to His service, they were set free. This Master let them choose Him; He didn't force their service or obedience. This Master was worthy of being served.
So it is for us, too. When we learn obedience, God is free to bless us with rewards. When we stumble around trying to be our own masters, we tell God, "I know better than You." We cut ourselves off from His grace. When we are willing to submit to His will, we are provided for. He doesn't ask us to obey so that we can be His slaves, He asks us to obey because He knows what is best for us. He has the advantage of seeing all things ahead of us and knows what things will hurt us and what things will help us. This is the lesson about obedience that He taught the Israelites in the wilderness.
The Israelites also had a serious lesson to learn about faith. The wilderness was the perfect place to teach them, too. There, they had to learn to trust every single day that God would provide. They had to believe that when they got up the next morning, there would be manna for them to collect, there would be water for them and their flocks and that they would make it safely through the day. They had only themselves and God to rely on.
You might think that when you get up in the morning, every morning, for forty years and find your day's food miraculously provided for you that you would learn faith pretty quickly. This was not the case, though. And before you're too tough on the Israelites, how strong is your own faith? Do you have faith that God will provide you with everything you need today? Everyday? Do you have faith that God will lead you where you need to go everyday? I didn't think so. Don't feel bad, I don't either.
Patience must have been one of the toughest lessons for the Israelites. It is for many of us, too. Imagine leaving home one day on your way to a new home. You have everything you own with you, have to cross through a gigantic desert and it takes you forty years. Forty years! It's difficult to even imagine. Oh, and you walk the whole way. I'm sure the kids were in the back hollering, "Are we there yet?" It must have been frustrating to say the least.
All along this journey, they had to keep in mind the Promised Land. They surely were anxious to get there. They struggled with patience, too. While Moses was on the mountaintop getting the Ten Commandments, the Israelites where down below fashioning a golden calf to worship! This, when every meal across every mile was provided miraculously for them. They were an impatient lot. But so are we. We want what we want when we want it. Impatience is something that has grown worse in the digital age, too. We tend to have microwave mentalities, expecting everything to be done instantly.
But patience is something the mature Christian has to learn. And it's usually learned the hard way, like the Israelites learned it. Patience is really a quiet faith that God is in His Heaven working all things for us in His perfect timing. It doesn't come easy, but when it does come, it brings tremendous peace.
If you find that you're experiencing a spiritual wilderness, get hold of a good study Bible with a concordance. Look up obedience, faith and patience. Spend time with the Scriptures on these topics. Be quiet; know that God is closest to you now. Listen for His voice and learn to hear it. Learn to answer, learn to wait. God is in His Heaven working all things for us in His perfect timing.
"Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." KJV
