Today I’m reading in Deuteronomy chapter 1. The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ final address to the people of Israel that have come to the edge of the Promised Land for a second time. Moses recounts their History in this chapter and he explains that their forefathers had come to that same place,the edge of the Land, and God commanded that they go into the land to take it. It was the Land of Milk and Honey, the reason He had called them out and freed them from hundreds of years of Slavery in Egypt, the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And they paused.
There on the edge of Favor, Glory, and Fulfillment they said, “Umm…hey, Moses…wait a minute. How about we send some guys to check it out.” Moses thought this wise and sent out the spies who returned and declared, “It is an AMAZING land. It’s literally everything that the LORD has promised and MORE. But there’s a catch…there’s giants and massive cities whose towers reach up into the sky.”
The people returned to their tents, wept, and declared “Because the LORD hated us He has brought us out of land of Egypt.”
The same GOD who gave them freedom from the ancient world’s greatest super-power without a single Hebrew casualty…who provided manna and quail and water in the desert for hundreds of thousands of people…they declared that God hated them and brought them into the land promised to their Fathers…to kill them. To murder them.
It really isn’t surprising when I think about it because this was very much in keeping with their perspective of God from the very first.
There at the edge of the Red Sea they saw Pharaoh and his chariots bearing down on them and even though the pillar of fire held the mighty Egyptian cavalry at bay…still they believed God hated them and wanted their destruction. The God who had sent wave after wave of plagues until the mighty Pharaoh was brought to his knees…and the Hebrews couldn’t fathom that God had good plans for them? Throughout their journey in the wilderness it was the same. If something was hard or long in coming (food and water) the immediate reaction was “God only wants us to die. It was His plan from the beginning. He likes watching us suffer. He doesn’t care at all.”
Even at Mount Sinai it was the same. God appears in fire and smoke, thunder and lightning, and His desire is direct communication with His people. The LORD God gave the Ten Commandments to them with His own voice…and they said, “He’s going to kill us. Nope. We don’t want to hear from Him. Moses, tell Him to speak through you.” And then throughout the children of Israel keep asking Moses who he thinks he is speaking for God, and Moses also doesn’t care about their needs. He too lead them out to die in the desert because there weren’t enough graves in Egypt.
It is the generation that had wonders aplenty but a memory of Egypt, who heard the voice of God thundering from heaven, whose elders sat and ate in God’s presence even able to see His feet…but longed for the slavery of Egypt to the point they recreated Egypt’s idol in gold and declared it a better god that Yahweh…they stood on the verge of Promise and Provision and saw only their own death and destruction. They believed God cruel and insufficient…incapable and capricious. How? Why?
It was only the generation with no knowledge of Egypt that returned to take the land. They had known only the provision and promises of God from day to day. They knew only victory against their foes, and God making a, on the surface ridiculous, way to healing when serpents plagued, water from a rock, and meals exactly as God promised regularly. They knew only dependence on a God who was faithful every time. Born in the wilderness, their perspective was MUCH different than their forbears because their entire life was making good on that holy dare to taste and see that the LORD is good. No matter how hard it got, God provided. And I think that is the key to understanding the first generation as opposed to the second as they stood at the edge ready to walk into God’s promise.
When things got hard they expected God to be a cruel master. They expected His hatred and condescension…not His infinite love and provision. The Egyptians had been cruel and capricious. But they also kept the Israelites safe and fed. Leeks, onions, bread, meat, water, all showed up without their even trying.
Have you ever noticed that the Israelites never asked for anything? All they appear to have done is complain when they didn’t get what they wanted. They slandered God, they slandered Moses, the declared they both just wanted the people dead. I mean, at least to me that sounds like a pretty typical infantilized mentality. How did no one say, “Hey Moses…we’re getting thirsty. Can you ask God to guide us to water?” That would presume that they thought WELL of God rather than evil. And so on the edge of Canaan…things get hard in a different way…they have to fight Giants. Once again the people accuse God rather than believe that it matters that God is on their side.
But how much are we like that? How often do we stand at the edge of something difficult or find ourselves suffering and we assume God has evil in mind for us or doesn’t care at all. We jump to the conclusion “Where is God?” as a criticism rather than asking “Where is God?” in assured seeking to find Him IN the situation. So many times in my life there have been Giants and seemingly insurmountable Walls of Difficulty and I have had to stand on His promises because they were all I had. And I tasted and saw that He is good.
Today, I want to encourage you that through those Giants and beyond those Walls lie strength and riches. The daily mana from heaven that we have is nothing compared to the provision He wants to give you, the Shalom that He calls you to. The promise is Victory, the promise is Goodness, Wholeness, and Joy. It may not look like our mortal understanding of Goodness…the process might be painful, bloody, and ask everything of us…but His version of everything is far greater than our own.
Believe in the Goodness of God. Believe in His loving heart, and move in the direction He gives you not the one you have for yourself. He has far far better plans for you than you do. Run the race with endurance.
Finding Narnia 
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