Exodus
13:17, “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:”
God
led the children of Israel out of Egypt by way of the wilderness of
the Red Sea. He didn’t take them through the land of the
Philistines, even though that would have been the shorter route to Canaan. The Bible says that God was afraid they would give up
and return to Egypt if they had to fight a war with the Philistines.
Forty
years later, they would have to fight the inhabitants of Canaan to possess the land that God promised. But God knew they were
not ready for that, just leaving Egypt. It took 40 years of
conditioning to prepare them for their inheritance. They had to learn
to follow the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night and
totally trust God for their provision.
Their
faith would come as they experienced God’s intervention. Their
mindset had to change from a dependence upon their captors to a
dependence upon God. They had to move from receiving at the hand of
man to receiving at the hand of God.
The
40 years of trials and testing tempered them. Sure, they had their
failures and setbacks, but each time those very experiences revealed more of God's character to them. If they would listen and follow
God’s counsel, they would always have God’s provision. Those who obeyed and followed God’s leading crossed over Jordan with Joshua
into the Promised Land of Canaan.
Centuries
later, are we so different? We are no different, and God is still the same. His promises are just as real today as
they were to all who followed Him before us. Will we experience
failures and setbacks? Sure, we will! But if we listen and
follow His counsel, we will see God for who He is. The “I Am” of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He promised to be to Moses and the
children of Israel.
The
trials and testing are tempering us, preparing us for what is ahead.
God knows what we are facing and what it will take to be victorious
over it. And just as the children of Israel crossed over Jordan into
their Promised Land, we will finish the mission Christ has given us
and be caught away by Jesus Himself forever to be in the presence of
the Lord.
1
Peter 1:7, “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be
found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus
Christ.”
