"What takes God so long?" Deut 1:1-3

There seems to be an overcast sky when we are waiting on God

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plains opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them,(Deut 1:1-3)

This is a rather sticky subject for me because I always feel like I am waiting on God to do one thing or the other in my life. I am waiting for that wonderful husband, for those kids, for that vision, to finish school, to know what God created me to do, for when my family will be perfect or not so perfect. I have found myself waiting for that next great job that pays more, or gives me more time to spend with my family, I have waited for the job that would not require me to work on Sunday, or cause me to travel too much. I have asked God a few times before this question, "what is taking you so long to answer my prayers".

So reading our story today, struck a nerve with me. As we jump into the brand new book of Deuteronomy, let us see if we can deduce from our story one of the reasons why God takes so long sometimes to answer our prayers.

Here is the context of our story; Israel has wandered in the desert for forty years and they are across the Jordan ready to enter into the promise land of Canaan. Their first city to conquer will be Jericho, however before they go right in, the Lord through Moses writes a whole book of remembrance. This was to remind this new generation of their history, where they came from, how the Lord delivered them with miracles from Egypt–when some of them were not even born or were too young to remember–God took their parents to the land he promised but because of their disobedience, rebellion and distrust of their God, they refused to enter the land and complained, "...Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us" (Deut 1:27). 

Even when Moses reassured them that God will fight for them (1:28). They would not listen. So God grew angry at them and disciplined that generation to wonder in the desert for forty years for a journey that was only eleven days. Imagine that, 40 years for an 11 days journey….that is messed up!!!!!

God's plan is for clearer skys once we get on His program

So what made the former generation take forty years instead of eleven days to receive their awaited promise? The verse tells us, it was because they disobeyed God. God said go into the land, they said; let us send spies (1:22). God said I will be with you, they said; "we shall be defeated against these giants and our children will be killed" (1:26-28, 39). So since they refused to trust and obey, deciding to take matters in their own hands, God decided to withdraw the Promised Land from them and give it to their Children. Then he allowed that generation to die off in the desert, never receiving the promise he had first offered them. 

The first generation of Israel rejected the promise and so God offered this promise to their children who accepted to go into the land just as God had directed. People are still rejecting God's promise today. 2000 years ago God gave another promise–a promised one– given not only to Israel but to the world, some are receiving the promise by faith and others are saying, there must be another way (John 3:16-21). God says believe in my son Jesus and you will have life, however those who reject him say, crucify him. But the generation that receives the promise one, He has given the right to be called Children of God (John 1:12).

Apart from the big promise of a savior who takes away the sin of the world–God has made individual promises to us, as we live our lives. How are we doing in following his leadership?

If I look at my life, are there things God–through his word and His Spirit–has asked me to do, but I have become stubborn or rebellious not to do them? Maybe God has asked you to forgive that friend or co-worker who has done you great wrong, maybe the Lord is telling you to leave that boyfriend of girlfriend you are living with, or sleeping with. For some it might be Him saying, "stay in that Marriage, it is something you will have to surfer for my name. However I will make it right". To others God might be telling you to quit that job and take a leap of faith, trusting that God will supply all your needs. To me it has been, "be still and know I am God". On bad days I struggle with this command, and what helps me is when I remember God's faithfulness and goodness in my life through the ages…it moves me to be still and wait on His timing.

So until we come to terms with what God is asking us to do, and offer a sacrifice of trust, faith and obedience we might not be ready–like Israel–to go to the promise land which God has for us. I am not saying that everything we do not have now, is because we are disobedient–we all know we have not been promised to have it all in this life–in this life we will still suffer even when we do the right thing (1 Pet 3:17-19)–but what God has promised is that He will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory and He will always be with us (Phil 4:19).

To Trust and Obey God's ways, brings a brighter horizon for our lives

Therefore, if you are that one who still needs to take that step of faith–may this come as a reminder to you and an encouragement for you, to trust God and obey Him, because there is truly no other way to be happy in Him. There is no other way to victory, to peace and fulfillment but to trust and obey God in a timely manner. 

So what takes God so long?... Maybe it is because He is waiting for me to obey. In His grace, this time of waiting never goes to waste–in the waiting process He is changing my heart to get in step with His. Only as my heart becomes more and more conformed to His, will I start seeing more clearly the purposes and will of my God (2 Cor 3:18, Col 1:9-11).

Be encouraged, His grace is sufficient to help you take that hard step of faith. Try it and see if God will not make good on His promise to you. May this be true comfort for your soul…

For those who are waiting on God, because He says, "wait"..then glean encouragement from this song, on the right way to wait.
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Until next time Read…Share…and be Comforted.

You are faithful, "A Summary of Numbers"

The beauty of God's promises

Hannah Arendt says, "Promises are the uniquely human way of ordering the future, making it predictable and reliable to the extent that this is humanly possible". However, how possible can the future be when a promise is made by man, who does not control the future? But God who holds the future, can give us an assurance in his promises and this He does–not only in the book of Numbers–but all through our lives.

God made a promise to one man, Abraham that out of him there will come a nation, more numerous than the stars and out of this Nation will come a seed who will bless the whole world forever (Gen 12).

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” Gen 12:1-3

This promise of a Nation, involved not only a people, it involved a land, a system of government and a promised blessed seed. The people God chose were named Israel (Gen 32:27-18)), the Land was designated to be Canaan (Gen 15:18),  their leader was to be God Himself (Eco 3:10) and the promised seed was to be a God-man, who will remove the curse of sin from mankind (Gen 3:14-19) and become the source of blessing for the world. 

Now this is quite a promise to fulfill, as I like to say it was a God-sized promise that only He could fulfill. The big question is, was this promise conditional on how His chosen people acted towards Him?  Like a man in love, was his promise to his bride "till death do us?"…or was it more…"as long as you make me happy and do all I say, then I will love and bless you with all I have promised?". 

C.S. Lewis answers this for us in his book Mere Christianity, when he says, "A promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things that I can do, about actions: no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way. He might as well promise to never have a headache or always to feel hungry.” In the same way, God's promise was unconditional, it was based on what God could do and would do, it was based on His unfailing love and not on the people, the object of His love.

So In Numbers we see how God fulfills this promise step by step. He molds this rebellious people in the desert, teaching them to obey Him. The book of Numbers, begins with a census of the fighting men (Chapt 1-4) and after 40 years of training, the book ends with another census (Chapt 26-36), this time the second generation of Israel are now ready to enter and possess the promised land*. The promise of a people under God is coming to light and God continues to work out His promise, by giving them a land they can call their own. 

The book ends when Israel is on the brink of entering into the promised land, and another book Deuteronomy begins as the Lord through Moses takes another opportunity to prepare them for their new life in Him. 

Our next book Deuteronomy is a book of remembrance and encouragement-reminding Israel of how they are to behave as people under God, offering them a remembrance of God's faithfulness through their history and encouraging them of God's continued faithfulness to them in the future-this is actually one of my favorite books in the Old Testament…Why? Well join me for the next few weeks as we journey through the stories of Deuteronomy and see how God, as a faithful lover fulfills His promise to Israel and eventually to the world.

 

So we can take away from the book of Numbers that, although Israel like us, are a rebellious people, our God is faithful to the end. We now know that God did not only fulfill the promise of a chosen people, and land to Israel but we live at a time in history when He has fulfilled the promise of the blessed seed.

This promise seed which was to come from the line of David, came in the person of Jesus Christ (Mat 1:1-16), He indeed removed the curse bestowed on us by Adam (1 Cor 15:22). 

22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.-1 Cor 15:22

So trust Him my friend, and be assured that unlike man, God can make your future sure and reliable based on the hope found in His promise to you, if you would believe. Out of the over 3,500 promises in the Bible made by God to us, I leave you with one today, be encouraged because the Lord God says, "For I hold you by your right hand—
I, the Lord your God.
 And I say to you,
‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you"-Isaiah 41:13...now this is true comfort for the soul.

Next time we jump into Deuteronomy but until then…Read…Share…and be comforted.

* NKJV Nelson Study Bible, Summary of Numbers, 226.