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Bible Insights

How Big Was the Promised Land?

God gave the Promised Land to the descendants of Abraham, not because they deserved it, but to use them to punish other nations who were wicked.

After he gave them the territory, their job was to drive out the other people (thereby punishing them).

Though the nation of Israel did this to some extent, their efforts were incomplete. This was to their detriment and God’s dismay.

God also gave them laws to obey. They didn’t do a good job at following through with those either.

Had they completely done all God instructed them to do, he would have given them even more territory: this time because they earned it.

Sadly they didn’t do their part, so they never received all the land God wanted to give them. The Promised Land could have been bigger, but because of disobedience, the nation missed the full blessing of what God had in mind for them.

I think it’s that way with us sometimes.

God wants to give us more, but we don’t do our part to receive it and so we miss out.

[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 19-21, and today’s post is on Deuteronomy 19:8-9.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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Bible Insights

Three People Who Played the Blame Game

Once, when the Israelites were in the desert and thirsty, God told Moses to speak to a rock and water would pour forth. Instead, out of anger towards the people, Moses hit the rock with his walking stick.

Water still gushed out, but God was displeased over Moses’ lack of following directions.

Moses’ punishment was that God would not let him go into the territory he promised to give the nation. After forty years of faithful service, one mistake cost Moses dearly.

Deflecting our faults onto others doesn’t remove the consequences.

When it came time for Israel to take the land—without Moses—Moses blamed the people for God’s anger with him and punishment.

Moses, however, wasn’t the first to play the blame game. Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve ate fruit from the one tree God told them not to. Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed the serpent.

Even so, they still received punishment for their disobedience: God kicked them out of the garden.

It may be human nature for us to blame others for our mistakes. While doing so may deflect our faults onto others, it doesn’t remove the consequences. Just ask Moses, Adam, and Eve.

[Check out Numbers 20:7-12, Deuteronomy 4:21-22, Deuteronomy 32:48-52, Genesis 3:12-13, Genesis 3:23-24.]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Christian Living

Have You Had A Desert Experience

From time to time, I’ve heard people say they’re “in the desert.” They are speaking figuratively, of course, but nevertheless it is a dry place, a barren wilderness, an unhappy situation to be sure.

Their desert experience is not a literal place of residence, but a spiritual condition, a state of being. For them, the desert is an apt metaphor for the angst of their soul.

They can’t wait to get out of the desert and often wonder why God has left them there.

Sometimes their plaint against the almighty is angry or even bitter. Why is he ignoring them?

The desert is also a reoccurring theme in the Bible, but there it is mostly literal.

Many of the biblical characters who find themselves in the desert do so because they are running away from something or someone. They are in the desert by their own doing. Moses was one such individual.

Others find themselves in the desert because they are being punished or need time to learn something. Consider the people of Israel, who had a 40-year timeout because of their disobedience.

A few people are in the desert because they seek solitude and a place to pray without distraction. Jesus would be a prime example. He went there intentionally and left when he was finished.

When we find ourselves in the midst of a desert experience, instead of lamenting our situation, a little introspection might be in order. Perhaps we are in the desert because we are on the run or have been given a timeout.

It’s not God’s fault at all, but our own doing.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

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10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Bible Insights

Forty Years—Times Two

The Israelites left Egypt for what should have been an eleven-day trek across the desert to the “promised land.” However, because of their disobedience, God gave them a 40-year timeout in the desert.

This, however, may not have been the first delay.

Prior to that, Moses sensed that his place was to rescue his people, but when initial opposition occurred to his leadership, he high-tailed it out of there, only to spend 40 years hiding in the desert.

Imagine that. Moses spent a total of 80 years of his life in the desert.

Now Moses’ initial 40-year desert retreat could have been a needed time of preparation, but I think not. God could have worked through him at any time—then or later. I think Moses shirked his initial call.

He needed 40 years of alone time, tending to his sheep, before he would be ready to hear God and obey.

So, had Moses not procrastinated for 40 years and had the people of Israel not been disobedient, earning another 40-year delay, they could have arrived in the land God promised them 80 years sooner.

[Numbers 14:33, Acts 7:30]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

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Bible Insights

Bookends to the Desert Experience

After the Israelites left Egypt, God gave them a 40-year timeout in the desert. This was because of their lack of trust in his pledge to provide for them as they entered into the land he promised.

This meant that what should have been an eleven-day journey, ended up being a 40-year desert experience—which for most, literally lasted a lifetime.

While their desert sojourn was marked by complaining and disobedience, there were a couple of significant bookend events to their time of waiting.

First, they celebrated Passover for the first time just before they left Egypt to head to the desert. Then they celebrate it again, 40 years later after they leave the desert.

The first Passover was marked by God’s provision for them to leave Egypt, while the subsequent ones were intended as a reminder of the first.

Second, two miracles occurred, allowing them to enter and later leave the desert. After leaving Egypt, and being pursued by its army, God parted the sea so they could escape the attack and enter into the desert.

Forty years later, when it was time to leave the desert, God parted the Jordan River—at flood stage—allowing them to leave.

So their desert experience began with Passover and the parting of the sea; it ended with the parting of another body of water and another Passover celebration.

[Leviticus 23, Joshua 5:10, Exodus 14:21, Joshua 4:18]

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Bogged Down Reading the Bible?

10 Essential Bible Reading Tips, from Peter DeHaan

Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.”

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