The 40-year journey of the children of Israel
in the wilderness of Sinai was written in the Bible as a warning for us, who
are reaching the end of centuries!
Paul in chapter
10 of his first epistle to the Corinthians is encouraging us to consider
seriously the behavior of Israel’s children during their stay in the wilderness
of Sinai in order not to repeat their dramatic mistakes today at the end times.
In other words, we should be aware of
the great similarities between the living conditions and attitudes of the 12
tribes of Israel while being in the Sinai and ours as believers today. Indeed,
faithful people are now living in a spiritual desert symbolized by the physical
one of Sinai in which the Children of Israel were spending 40 years in the time
of Moses. Read what Paul writes in I Corinthians, chapter 10, verses 1-6:
" Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant,
how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat
the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But
with many of them Elohim was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the
wilderness.
Now
these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil
things, as they also lusted.”
The yet to come people of believers have
been freed today from the bondage of sin after crossing the waters of baptism
as the children of Israel saw the end of their Egyptian slavery, after crossing
the Red Sea. The Egyptian army and Pharaoh were buried under the waters of the Red
Sea like our old carnal self, our old man who was enslaving us, is agonizing in
the waters of baptism.
The desert of Babylon the Great,
alias the desert of the sea!
After crossing the waters of
baptism, if you allow me to try to follow some logic of similarities, we are
expected to enter a wilderness symbolized by the Sinai. But what is this wilderness
for today’s believers? Let us try to find out through the Word of our Creator!
First read the prophecy of Isaiah,
chapter 21, verses 1-10:
“{21:1}
The burden of the desert of the sea.
As whirlwinds in the south
pass through; [so] it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land.
{21:2} A grievous vision is declared unto me; the
treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the
spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media;
all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. {21:3} Therefore are my loins
filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing [of it;] I was
dismayed at the seeing [of it. ]{21:4} My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my
pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. {21:5} Prepare the table, watch in
the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, [and]
anoint the shield. {21:6} For thus hath the Lord said
unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth.
{21:7} And he saw a chariot [with] a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses,
[and] a chariot of camels; and he hearkened diligently with much heed: {21:8}
And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the
daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights: {21:9} And, behold, here cometh
a chariot of men, [with] a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon
is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto
the ground. {21:10} O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I
have heard of the LORD of hosts, the Elohim of Israel, have I declared unto you.”
This prophecy is a threat against
the desert of the sea and Isaiah's prophecy reveals that this threat is
addressed to Babylon, the destruction of which will be soon. So here is an indication
about a possibility that the desert in which we are entering after the crossing
of the waters of baptism might be the Great Babylon of today.
Chapter 14 of Isaiah reveals that
the King of Babylon is implicitly Satan, the former Lucifer fallen so also known under the name of Lucifer (which is light in Latin). Let
us read verses 4 and 12-17 of this chapter:
“{14:4}
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king
of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the
golden city ceased!...
{14:12}
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which
didst weaken the nations! {14:13} For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of Elohim: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: {14:14} I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. {14:15}
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides
of the pit. {14:16} They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and]
consider thee, [saying, Is] this the man that made the earth to tremble, that
did shake kingdoms; {14:17} [That] made the world as a wilderness, and
destroyed the
cities thereof; [that] opened not the house of his prisoners?”
This prophecy tells us very briefly
the story of the archangel bearer of light and who became Satan after his
rebellion and his destructive revolt as he was considering himself similar to
his Creator and in a position to usurp His throne. These series of events have
led to the complete destruction of the wonderful creation made on earth by Elohim .
This is indeed the reason why the earth became without form and void (tohu and bohu in Hebrew) as
indicated in Genesis 1, verse 2. It also explains why Satan is present in the
Garden of Eden and incarnating the body of a snake to come and seduce Eve. By
so doing he could bar Adam and Eve from accessing the eternal life!
Since then, Satan had only one purpose:
Turn the earth into a physical and spiritual desert!
Let us read now how John envisions
Satan in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, verses 16-18, having in mind that
the dragon is none else than Satan according to verses 7-9 of the same chapter:
“{12:7}
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, {12:8} And
prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. {12:9} And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole
world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…
{12:16}
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened
her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
{12:17} And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of
Elohim, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. {12:18} And
he stood upon the sand of the sea.”
Here is Satan standing at the head
of his empire symbolized by the sand of the sea, in other words, the desert of
the sea out of which will come the beast as described
at the beginning of chapter 13 of the Book of Revelation.
As we can read a little bit later in
chapter 17 of the Book of Revelation, the beast that rises from the sea will bear
reluctantly and for a very short period of time Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots. This
Babylon the Great whose identity caused a great surprise to John (read about
this in the article on the striking identity of Babylon the Great) was and will
be the cause of death of many saints and witnesses of our Lord! Babylon the
Great is to some extent expected to reign sprititually on the desert in which we are living today.
The people of our Creator will be taught in the wilderness by chosen men. Read how Jesus shortly before his death, prayed his Father about
this in John 17: 11-17:
“{17:11}
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in
the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine
own name those whom thou hast
given me, that they may be one, as we [are. ]{17:12}
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the
son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
{17:13} And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that
they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. {17:14} I have given them thy
word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world. {17:15} I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil. {17:16} They are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world. {17:17} Sanctify
them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
Note that Jesus Christ was still in
the world just before that last Passover. He left the world while we are still
in it. We are living in this world symbolized by the desert crossed by the children
Israel after their exodus from Egypt. And the Lord made sure that many details
of their conditions of life and behavior in the desert of Sinai are preciously
kept in His writings of the Bible so that we can be informed today about the dangers we should avoid if we
want to reach His Kingdom.
We will review few examples with
more details.
Freed from Egyptian slavery during Passover and missing the entrance
of the Promised Land for the festival of Sukkot!
The Children of Israel left Egypt,
the house of slavery; few days after the Passover, during the days of
unleavened bread. Like Jesus Christ who left this world during Passover, the
Children of Israel and their followers were freed from the slavery in Egypt. In
other words, they were still in the world but not anymore part of it. But they
started their freedom in an empty desert!
A year and a half later, after
crossing the desert and have solemnly pledged to be faithful to the LORD, the first King of Israel, the
Children of Israel arrived at the borders of the Promised Land just before the
feast of Succoth. Please read Numbers chapter 13, verses 1-2 and 18-20:
“{13:1}
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {13:2}Send
thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the
children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them…
{13:18} And see the land, what it [is;] and the people that dwelleth
therein, whether they [be] strong or weak, few or many; {13:19} And what the
land [is] that they dwell in, whether it [be] good or bad; and what cities
[they be] that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; {13:20} And
what the land [is,] whether it [be] fat or lean, whether there be wood therein,
or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.
Now the time [was] the time of the first-ripe grapes.”
The time of the first-ripe grapes is
an indication telling us that the spies visit took place shortly before Sukkot,
when the grapes will be in full harvest.
The question we have now to ask
ourselves is:
Would our behavior be the same as the
Children of Israel as we too are on the threshold of entering the New World
promised by the Creator and His Son? Will we like them despise this new kingdom
about to be given to us by letting our carnal nature dominate our lives and will
we put an end to our faith in the omnipotence of Elohim?
The Lord will soon give us the order to leave and flee out of Babylon the Great
(Revelation 18, verses 4-8):
“{18:4}
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. {18:5}
For her sins have reached unto heaven, and Elohim hath remembered her iniquities. {18:6} Reward her
even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in
the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
{18:7} How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much
torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. {18:8} Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and
mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong
[is] the Lord Elohim who judgeth her.”
When the Lord will ask us to leave
Babylon the Great and to run into this new world of freedom, will we like the
Children of Israel be influenced by the discouraging report made by almost all
the spies and will we let the fear push us to lose confidence in the
omnipotence of our Creator? Will we decide to return to Egypt, the symbol of
slavery? Think about the awful crossing of the wilderness by the Children of
Israel and be ready to take the good decision: Strive to enter the Promised
Land at the time of Succoth and try to avoid dying in this desolate wilderness!
At that time: spectacular miracles
but no Holy Spirit,
Gift of the Ten Commandments in writings!
There is a big difference between
the Children of Israel and the very few believers today: at that time, aside
from Moses and the elders appointed by him, nobody received the Holy Spirit.
Read about it in Numbers, chapter 11, verses 16-17 and 25-26:
“{11:16}
And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of
Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the
people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the
congregation, that they may stand there with thee. {11:17} And
I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which
[is] upon thee, and will put [it] upon them; and they shall bear the burden of
the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone…
{11:25} And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him,
and gave [it] unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, [that,] when the
spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. {11:26} But there remained two [of the] men in the camp, the name of
the one [was] Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they [were] of
them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they
prophesied in the camp.”
If very few are those who have
received the Holy Spirit of Elohim, by cons all the
children of Israel have had the privilege to attend many spectacular miracles
and unheard events demonstrating without any doubt the omnipotence of Yahveh their LORD. These are the miracles that Nehemiah
recalls in the chapter 9 of his book, verses 9-15:
“{9:9}
And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt,
and heardest their cry by the Red sea; {9:10} And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his
servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest
that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as [it is]
this day. {9:11} And thou didst divide the sea before
them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their
persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone
into the mighty waters. {9:12} Moreover thou leddest
them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to
give them light in the way wherein they should go. {9:13} Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest
with them from heaven, and gavest them right
judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: {9:14} And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath,
and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by
the hand of Moses thy servant: {9:15} And gavest them
bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest
forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst
them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst
sworn to give them.”
This was the mean chosen by the LORD
to show His power, by miracles expected to strike the mind of His people. The
extraordinary way by which the LORD gave them the Ten Commandments generated at
the same time a respectful fear among all the children of Israel. Read it in
Exodus 20, verses 18 to 20:
“{20:18}
And all the people saw the thunderings,
and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and
the mountain smoking: and when the people saw [it,] they removed, and stood
afar off. {20:19} And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will
hear: but let not Elohim speak with us, lest we die.
{20:20} And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for Elohim
is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces,
that ye sin not.”
When Paul recalls these events, at
the end of his epistle to the Hebrews chapter 12, verses 18-29, he confirms that
even Moses was terrified! But what is most important here is the warning given to
us by Paul to be careful and to learn from the past:
“{12:18}
For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with
fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, {12:19} And the sound of a
trumpet, and the voice of words; [which] voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any
more: {12:20} (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so
much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with
a dart: {12:21} And so terrible was the sight, [that] Moses said, I exceedingly
fear and quake:) {12:22} But ye are come unto mount Sion,
and unto the city of the living Lord, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an
innumerable company of angels, {12:23} To the general assembly and church of
the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to the Lord, the Judge of all,
and to the spirits of just men made perfect, {12:24} And to Jesus the mediator
of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh
better things than [that of] Abel. {12:25} See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more [shall not] we [escape,] if we
turn away from him that [speaketh] from heaven: {12:26}
Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once
more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. {12:27} And
this [word,] Yet once more, signifieth the removing
of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things
which cannot be shaken may remain. {12:28} Wherefore
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we
may serve the Lord acceptably with reverence and godly fear: {12:29} For our Lord
[is] a consuming fire.”
The lesson from the past to learn
here is that the Children of Israel, few weeks after having received the gift
of the Ten Commandments under terrifying conditions, quickly forgot their
Savior. Let us read how Asaph is writing about this in
Psalm 78, verses 10-11 and 42-43:
“{78:10}
They kept not the covenant of Elohim, and refused to
walk in his law;
{78:11} And forgat his works, and his wonders that he
had shewed them….
{78:42} They remembered not his hand, [nor] the day
when he delivered them from the enemy. {78:43} How he
had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan…”
The Children of Israel have a so short
memory that they don’t believe anymore in the unlimited power of the LORD!
Today, the community of believers as
a whole does not have similar opportunities to assist to miraculous events like
the plagues of Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea with the complete destruction
of Pharaoh's army or the statement of the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai. By
cons, these same believers can get as a gift the Holy Spirit after baptism and
this Holy Spirit is a tool enabling to grow in ourselves spiritual fruits such
as faith! (Galatians 5: 22)
Moses, a visible leader with a veil to hide his face!
Jesus Christ, the invisible Lord removed the veil!
Moses, the leader of the Children of
Israel, was clearly visible, but his transient glory forced him to wear a veil
in order not to frighten his people. Read how Paul writes about this in II
Corinthians, chapter 3, verses 7-14:
"{3:7}
But if the ministration of death, written [and] engraven
in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his
countenance; which [glory] was to be done away: {3:8} How shall not the
ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? {3:9} For
if the ministration of condemnation [be] glory, much more doth the ministration
of righteousness exceed in glory. {3:10} For even that
which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory
that excelleth. {3:11} For
if that which is done away [was] glorious, much more that which remaineth [is] glorious. {3:12} Seeing then that we have
such hope, we use great plainness of speech: {3:13} And not as Moses, [which]
put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel
could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is
abolished: {3:14} But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken
away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail]
is done away in Christ.”
But on the opposite, today’s community
of believers thanks to the Holy Spirit is not separated by any veil from the
glory of the Lord Jesus as we can see from the following verses in II Corintians 3, verses 15 to 18:
“{3:15}
But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail
is upon their heart. {3:16} Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. {3:17}Now the Lord is that
Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord [is,] there [is] liberty. {3:18} But
we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, [even] as by the Spirit of the
Lord.”
Lack of joy,
Refusal to obey,
Lack of perseverance and pride!
These are a few of the defects found
in the children of Israel. We will investigate them and try to give some
guidance in order to find ways to escape these traps and avoid the kind of sufferings
endured by the Children of Israel.
Lack
of joy.
What strikes first in the attitude
of the Children of Israel is their lack of joy and enthusiasm throughout all
their stay in the desert of Sinai. Indeed, very soon after the crossing of the
Red Sea, the Children forgot the wonderful moment while discovering miraculously
their new freedom. Instead of joy we find mostly bitterness at each step of
this journey. This is very disappointing when we know that their Creator and
Liberator was among them in the middle of their camp!
In Marah, only
three days after the crossing of the Red Sea, their first murmurs are heard as
can be found in
Exodus 15: 23-24:
“23
Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the
waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the
name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people
complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” Instead of putting his
trust in the LORD happily and ask as Moses because of the water, the people
pitched and angry against Moses who is innocent.”
A month later, the Children of
Israel made their come- back to square one and grumbled again against Moses and
Aaron as shown in Exodus 16, verses 1-4:
“1
And they journeyed from Elim, and all the
congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is
between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the
second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. 2 Then the whole
congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in
the wilderness. 3 And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had
died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of
meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought
us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”4
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you.
And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may
test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.”
The children of Israel completely forgot
that they were the ones who screamed for help from the LORD to be freed from
Egyptian slavery and were also the ones who freely decided to follow Moses
after Passover! Instead of blaming themselves, they turned themselves against
Moses and Aaron.
But here is the answer given by Moses and
Aaron in verses 7 and 8:
"...
7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord; for He hears your
complaints against the Lord. But what are we, that you
complain against us?” 8 Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord
gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for
the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we?
Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”
And follows an
endless series of growls from the Children of Israel, like the one in Exodus
17, verses 1-3:
“1
Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey
from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and
camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the
people to drink. 2 Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give
us water, that we may drink.”So
Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?” 3
And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against
Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and
our children and our livestock with thirst?”
By cons look at the exemplary
attitude of Moses, when with the help given by Hur
and Aaron, he will contribute to the victory of the LORD against Amalek in Exodus 17, verses 8-16:
“8
Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 9 And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men
and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand
on the top of the hill with the rod of Elohim in my hand.” 10 So Joshua did as
Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek. And Moses,
Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 And
so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let
down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands
became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And
Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side,
and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down
of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his
people with the edge of the sword. 14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this
for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua,
that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek
from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and called its name,
The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;[c] 16 for he said, “Because the
Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek
from generation to generation.”
Put in a very difficult situation taking
into account his old age, Moses, did not follow the usual attitude of the
children of Israel and did not start to grumble against his Creator because the
fight lasts too long. On the contrary, Moses and his faithful servants have sought
ways to fulfill what was expected from them by Yahveh:
Keep hands up!
And unlike Israel,
They did not give up!
Up to us to do the same and to
follow with perseverance Paul's advice under all circumstances:
"
Rejoice
always! '
(I
Thessalonians 5: 16)
Refusal
to obey.
Another repetitive fault of the Children
of Israel is their refusal to obey clear and precise orders given by the LORD or by
Moses. This persistent disobedience occurs sometimes with small seemingly
unimportant instruction like the one about the manna as indicated in Exodus 16:
16-20:
“16
This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it
according to each one’s need, one omer for each
person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are
in his tent.17 Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some
less. 18 So when they measured it by omers, he who
gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.
Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. 19 And Moses said, “Let no
one leave any of it till morning.” 20 Notwithstanding they
did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred
worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.”
But disobedience also occurs against very
important commandment such as this one given in Exodus 20: 1-6:
“1
And Elohim spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the
Lord your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the
Lord your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy
to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
But once again, less than two months
after the statement of this key commandment, read how the Children of Israel are
going to disobey in Acts 7, verses 39-43:
“39 whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40
saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who
brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’[l]
41 And they made a calf in those days, offered
sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42 Then
Elohim turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in
the book of the Prophets:
‘Did
you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during
forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You also took up the
tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry
you away beyond Babylon.”
Lack of
perseverance!
The Children of Israel in many events
were lacking of perseverance. At every trial and despite the strong
demonstration of the presence of the LORD, the children of Israel were quick to
forget why they came out of Egypt. They did not persevere, being always ready
to go back to Egypt, toward the kingdom of Satan, toward slavery days they vomiting few months ago!
Today, such an attitude could be
compared with the one of some believer who would leave their congregation at every
difficulty in their life and would resubmit themselves to the power of Satan
... instead of asking our Father to help us to overcome such event or to accept
any possible punishment.
Be careful as a lack of perseverance
may cause us missing the eternal life in the new world to come as the children
of Israel missed their entry into the Promised Land, as we read in Numbers 14,
verses 1-4:
“1
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and
the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel
complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them,
“If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this
wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us
to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become
victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So
they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
By the way, the main cause of this
lack of perseverance is inspired by vanity, another weakness about which we will
meditate as vanity is making us to
Have more faith in ourself than in the
Creator!
Vanity.
Vanity is indeed playing an
important role in the negative behavior of the Children of Israel, on the
threshold of the Land of Canaan they were so much hoping for. But
because of their vanity, they came to prefer the way of death in Egypt or in the
desert. Incidentally, the LORD will fulfill their request as He will make them
walk in the wilderness until the death of the last of them some 38 years later.
Please read the dialogue between Moses and the LORD about this event in Numbers
14, verses 11 and 20 to 25:
“ 11 Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject
Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have
performed among them?...
20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21
but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the
Lord— 22 because all these men who have seen
My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put
Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 they
certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall
any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb,
because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me
fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall
inherit it. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the
valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red
Sea.”
How can be seen the vanity in the
behavior of the Children of Israel? In fact, they are afraid to enter the
Promised Land because their inhabitants are too strong for them, their
fortified places could not be taken with their weapons and their
human resources!
This is indeed the vanity of Israel:
Rely only on themselves
and on their own strength to do the will of their Lord! Refuse the idea of
the existence of an Almighty Creator able of much more than their own small power full of proud!
The Children of Israel made a comparison
between themselves and their enemy, between themselves and the threat that
exists in the Promised Land. The Children of Israel have a behavior similar to
the one of our "advanced"today’s society who
cannot accept the almighty power of the Lord who is by far superior to their’s.
This attitude full of vanity cause the
blindness of the people who, when facing a real danger, will completely forget
to ask for the help of their Creator and will miss miserably in their life. For
the Children of Israel, they will be unable to enter the Promised Land and the
next generation will be the one who will enter under the leadership of Joshua.
Interesting to
note that this next generation will not enter at the time of the feast of
Sukkot during the seventh month of the year, but a little before Passover in
the first month of the year.
This is what is written in Joshua 4, verses 19 and Chapter 5, verses 10 to 12:
“19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth
day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on
the east border of Jericho. ...
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the
month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. 11 And they ate of the
produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched
grain, on the very same day. 12 Then the manna ceased on the day
after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no
longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.”
The Children of Israel of this
second generation will enter the country with an attitude of faith completely
opposite to the one of their parents as we read in Joshua 6, verses 1-5 and
16-20:
“1 Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the
children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. 2
And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your
hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march
around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once.
This you shall do six days. 4 And seven priests shall bear seven
trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march
around the city seven times, and the priests shall
blow the trumpets. 5 It shall come to pass, when they make a long
blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout;
then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every
man straight before him.....
16 And the seventh time it happened,
when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said
to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! 17 Now the city shall be
doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her
in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And
you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when
you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and
trouble it. 19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze
and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
20 So the people shouted when the
priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of
the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down
flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and
they took the city.”
What we read above is also an indication that
this generation of Israel has no vanity. They know that Yahveh
is walking with them and is Almighty. Moreover the LORD is asking for the
participation of His people and He is also associating them in the
victory at the very critical moment when the wall is falling.
What lessons should we draw from these events, having in mind we
are on the border of
the new world?
As said at the beginning of this
article, do not forget that all the texts we have read have been kept
preciously for you who are living today at the end-times. So
how to take them into account in our daily life to garantee
our future?
Are we so different from our
ancestors by adoption? To answer this question, let us stand in front of a mirror and watch
carefully at ourselves. The mirror particularly suitable for this
purpose is the Bible, the Word of our Lord as we can read in James, in his
epistle chapter 1, verse 23:
“23 For if anyone is a hearer of the
word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24
for he observes himself, goes away, and
immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks
into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
A lack of faith!
Obviously the life we have in the
western world, is very different from the one of the Children
of Israel in the wilderness: we don’t walk several days to find water and we
don’t have to wait several weeks for some meat.
But one of the major problem of this world, is its reluctancy
to accept any substantial reduction in its standard of living! Influenced by
this, believers are often ready to follow the Lord for small things like to
keep the day of rest, the Sabbath or the holy days, the observance of clean
food and maybe even the payment of tithes. But compliance with these laws is
not always done with love and enthusiasm: we obey only half-heartedly
as long as it does not reach our
comfort!
Isaiah describes this attitude in
chapter 29, verses 9-16:
“The Blindness of Disobedience.
9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with
wine; They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For the Lord has poured out on you The spirit of deep sleep, And has closed
your eyes, namely, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, namely, the
seers.
11
The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed,
which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he
says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 Then the book is delivered to one who is
illiterate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I am not literate.”
13
Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And
honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, 14 Therefore,
behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work
and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the
understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.” 15 Woe to those who seek
deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, And
their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?” 16
Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He
did not make me”? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has
no understanding”?
Aren’t we too often like the
children of Israel, ready to return to this world and its system as they wept
so many times and yearned to return to Egypt or even the desert? This approach
is caused by a complete lack of faith. If we have this attitude when facing only
small difficulties, what will happen when we will have to cope with much more
serious situations such as those described by Paul in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, chapter 11, verses 35 to 40?
"35 Women received their
dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting
deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. (note: this is the first
resurrection described in Revelation 20: 4-6). 36 Still
others had trial of mockings and scourgings,
yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They
were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were
slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being
destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of
whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens
and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a
good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 Elohim having provided
something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”.
We should compare the today’s community
of believers as a team of underground movement fighting in the middle of an enemy
territory. Be careful because part of the enemy is our own carnal nature! This
is why Paul continues with encouragement in Hebrews 12, verses 1-3:
"1 Therefore we also, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.3
For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”
Lack of Joy!
Lack of joy is also what makes us
look like the children of Israel. People spend much more time to show their
dissatisfaction and to find quantities of topics to complain about as the
children of Israel had the habit of doing. Paul encourages believers to be
always happy in his first epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter 5, verset16!
Paul also expresses his joy in
Chapter 4 of his epistle to the Philippians:
" 1 Therefore,
my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in
the Lord, beloved. 2 I implore Euodia and
I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the
Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who
labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellowworkers, whose names are in the Book of Life. 4 Rejoice
in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!5 Let your
gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to Elohim; 7
and the peace of Elohim, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,
whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure,
whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any
virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The
things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and Elohim of peace will be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your
care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked
opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have
learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all
things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to
suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me.
14 Nevertheless you have done well that you
shared in my distress. 15 Now you Philippians know also that in the
beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with
me concerning giving and receiving but you only. 16 For even in
Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. 17
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your
account. 18 Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having
received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you,
a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to Elohim. 19 And my Elohim
shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 20
Now to our Elohim and Father be
glory forever and ever. Amen.
21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The
brethren who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, but
especially those who are of Caesar’s household.
23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all.[c] Amen.”
Joy must be
part of us, otherwise when we will be offered to quit the new Great Babylon,
those who will not do it with enthusiasm will be sent back to the desert of Babylon
to face its law, or more precisely the lack of Law under Satan’s ruling!
Let us read in Isaiah 48, verse 20:
"20 Go forth
from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, Declare,
proclaim this, Utter it to the end of the earth; Say,
“Yahveh has redeemed His servant Jacob!” 21
And they did not thirst When He led them through the deserts; He caused the
waters to flow from the rock for them; He also split the rock, and the waters
gushed out. 22 “There is no peace,” says Yahveh,
“for the wicked.”
Lack of
obedience and Continuous Spirit of rebellion!
Our carnal nature makes us prone to continuously
oppose our Creator sometimes by simple negligence but also pushed by a spirit
of rebellion. It is negligence when we have the feeling that our Father is not too
interested in what we are doing and if consequently we don’t care about His
laws. Too often we think that Yehoah is too far away to see all our dirty deeds.
But we should pay a serious attention about what He says in Jeremiah, chapter
23, verses 23 and 24:
"23
“Am I Elohim near at hand,” says the
Lord, “And not Elohim afar off? 24
Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So
I shall not see him?” says Yahveh; “Do
I not fill heaven and earth?” says Yahveh.”
In our blindness, we also inventing reasoning
taking their root in this world, to convince us that what is written in the
Bible is only valid under certain circumstances left to our judgment. We believe
wrongly that we are like gods capable of deciding when a law is good or not!
Nothing has changed under the sun,
what was, is what will be and we have forgotten how the children of Israel
disobeyed non-stop in the desert, and for their loss.
Lack of Perseverance!
Last but not least, a very serious
defect which can endanger the future of today’s believers is a lack of
perseverance. This shortcoming is particularly serious today as we are now approaching the time when the spectacular promises made to Abraham is about to happen. Compare
this with the children of Israel when they were on the threshold of the
Promised Land, we are on the threshold of the spiritual kingdom of our Savior.
The Bible forecasts that a majority of the mankind will fight against our
Savior and refuse to the Promised Kingdom for the same reason invoked by the
children of Israel about 3500 years ago, namely the fear of the impressive
power coming from the Beast and therefore a lack of confidence in the power of
our Father.
If we want to overcome this lack of
perseverance, we must keep in mind the spiritual kingdom of our Father as our
main target and not get distracted by anything else whatsoever. Our best ally
is the spirit of freedom, total freedom that our Creator has given us. Do not
be afraid of losing your job and prefer, if this is the only choice to follow
your own beliefs based on morality and honesty. Fight against your selfishness so
that your heart will not become a heart of stone but will remain open to goodness
for your neighborhood. Paul encourages us not to hurt your opponent even if he
is heinous. Remember, David has never laid a hand on his King Saul even in the
most critical moment where Saul wanted to kill him!
Do not try to keep a good-looking for
outisde, but on the contrary have in mind these wonderful
words of our Lord as we can read in Matthew, chapter 6, verses 31-34:
"31 Therefore
do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What
shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these
things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all
these things. 33 But seek first the
kingdom of Elohim and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient
for the day is its own trouble.”
This is the right time to remind
that Yehoahh has maintained alive a population of around 1 million people in the
terrible wilderness of Sinai where it is usually impossible to survive more
than few weeks. Moreover the children of Israel were wearing the same shoes all the time and
they were fed by the miraculous manna every day except the Sabbath.
Keep in mind the good news given by Jesus-Christ: Since His first
advent, Believers have a place of choice!
"For assuredly, I say to you
that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not
see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
(Matthew 13: 17)
Do not let these marvels pass away from you and be ready to see the
appearance of this new kingdom symbolized by the holy days of Sukkot, the Feast
of huts.
The writings of the Bible are a precious gift from our Lord helping
us to avoid a
repeat of the silly mistakes made by the children of Israel while they were
crossing the wilderness of Sinai on their way to the Holy Land.
Do not miss your entrance with the Lord in the Millennium!