Exodus 13:17-22
And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you. 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.
How many times have you heard it said that the Children of Israel were lost in the wilderness for forty (40) years? I know I have. But as we study the Word of God we find that’s the furthest thing from the truth. The Children of Israel were never lost; they were prohibited from entering into the land of promise because of disobedience. They languished in the wilderness because they refused time and time again to follow the directives of God.
But isn’t it amazing while the stories of the failures and rebellion of Israel are familiar to us all, somehow it’s still easier for us to blame Moses for leading them in the wrong direction? For some reason we’d like to believe Moses failed instead of believing God holds folk accountable for their own actions.
We know these biblical stories were left for us to learn and improve from. God did not have writers painstakingly detail the many deeds and actions of the people who came before us just for us to ignore and repeat their mistakes. Yet, that seems where we are. But thank the Lord we don’t have to stay there. We can move to the place God wants us to be if only we learn how to “flow” in His will. I use the term flow to depict the nature with which we are called to journey through life following the leading of the Lord. It is the posture and nature of Moses, Joshua and my personal hero in this story, Caleb.
As tragic as it may be to know that of all the thousands and thousands of people that left the bondage of Egypt, (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) none of them entered into the land of promise. But it wasn’t for the lack of God trying. God performed miracle after miracle to demonstrate His love and favor to these selected people. Even before leaving Egypt God showed them His glory, power and grace. Think about it; God brought ten different plagues against pharaoh. He miraculously opened up the Red Sea so Israel could walk through on dry land. And after their freedom God seemingly did a new miracle everyday. But none as personal and meaningful as guiding them daily with a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. From the very beginning of their journey God was constantly with them. Its hard for me to imagine seeing what they saw everyday and still not be convinced of the awesomeness of God. How could they experience a daily cloud and pillar of fire and not believe? But somehow they didn’t. And as I ponder how that’s possible, I’m afraid to ask the question, “Lord, are we guilty of that too?”
In many respects that question is rhetorical. Of course we are. In some respects we are even worse. While Israel had a physical cloud and pillar fire leading them by day and night, we have the Spirit of Christ on the inside. We have His actual presence within us. That certainly beats a cloud. Yet we too find it difficult at times to follow the instructions of the Lord when things get tough, rough or out of our control. And it’s that point I wish to stress this morning.
Following the Lord is easy when things are going the way you expect. But when the Lord directs us to take an unusual turn, things get complicated. Note at the very beginning of our text this morning that there was a shorter route to the land of promise than going by way of the Red Sea. The entire Red Sea incident could have been avoided if they took the easier route. But that’s not the way God was leading. Now think how many times that has happened to us. How many times have you asked, “Lord Why?” The truth of the matter is we may never understand why God leads as He does. We may never have an answer to His directive, direction, guidance or instructions. And that’s okay. We don’t need to know in order to flow.
Remember I said Caleb was my hero? He had no title. He wasn’t a Levite. In matters of of fact he was from the tribe of Judah; yet he had one irrepressible quality. He knew how to flow!
“And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to thy word: but as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: but my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.” Numbers 14:20-24 KJV
God Bless
