Scripture:
Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
Consider:
I’ve read Exodus cover to cover and nowhere in that book does God promise a quick travel to the promised land. There’s lots of discussion about what the promised land will be like, a guarantee of God’s protection along the way, and some expectations for who and how the Israelites will be on the journey, but nowhere does God put an Expectant Time of Arrival.
Why are the Israelites so upset when they find themselves wondering in the wilderness? I think this is a case of mis-matched expectations. None of the Israelite’s escaping capativity thought to pull their cell phones out of their pockets and see how long the route would take - which in and of itself would only work if they stayed on the straight route directly from Egypt to the Levant where they would land. After their first reroute through the Reed Sea, the Hebrew people kept circling and rerouting around land closures for 40 years. It was the opposite of a direct path.
They couldn’t take the direct path, but the Israelites weren’t ready for the promised land. Instead of looking forward with hope to the place God had planned for them, the people complained. Instead of being grateful for the consistent provision of food and water, they asked for some pizza in place of the manna. Instead of following the one simple rule to worship the one God who had delivered them from Egypt, they pretty quickly set about making new ones.
The Israelites weren’t ready, so God planned a reroute to give them time to adjust their attitudes and expectations. I don’t entirely know if God finally decided they were ready or just sort of said “they are as good as they ever will be”, but eventually they did end up exactly where God had planned for them to go all along.
Respond:
Is there somewhere you have been hoping to go or a place from which you want to escape, but you haven’t yet found the path to get there?
Consider today whether your expectations and God’s are the same? Is it possible God is placing you on a different route so your heart and mind can be prepared for the eventual arrival? What would it look like to embrace the pause instead of trying to rush along the path to this uncertain destination?
Pray:
Father God, This way of faith is full of obstacles, and we are often discouraged when we can’t see the Promised Land beyond the next turn. Fill our hearts with your goodness, open our eyes to see, feel and taste your goodness that we may persevere in answering your call. In the name of Jesus we pray.
These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link.
