Facing the Unknown the People Want to Return to What They Know After spending 430 years in Egypt, the Israelites are finally free. They head out for the Promised Land and one of the first things they do is complain. They beg to go back to Egypt (Numbers 14:3). Then they spend forty years in […]
God’s Gift and the People’s Responsibility 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 […]
Psalm 157 from Beyond Psalm 150 Despite forty years of faithful service leading God’s chosen people, God prohibits Moses from entering the promised land. This is all because of a single act of disobedience. This one action is enough to keep Moses from realizing the reward he desires. It’s a reminder that, through the law, one […]
Psalm 156 from Beyond Psalm 150 With the people poised to take the promised land, Moses recaps their forty-year history in the desert and reviews the instructions God gave them. At one point Moses leads the people in a liturgy of blessings (for obedience) and curses (for disobedience). In this the Levites make a statement […]
When God Tells Us to Do Something He Has a Reason and We Should Obey After Joshua leads the people of Israel into the Promised Land and takes control of it, he divides the territory among the tribes. Though they have conquered enough of the area to occupy it, remnants of other people, such as […]
God Sends an Angel to Guard and Guide His People into the Promised Land I’ve read the book of Exodus a dozen or so times, but I never remember reading today’s passage. I’m sure it was there, but it never clicked with me until now. The Israelites have left Egypt. They wander around in the […]
In earlier posts, I noted that after the Israelites left Egypt, they spent 40 years in the desert before entering the land God promised for them. I also observed that Moses waited 40 years before leading them out of Egypt. This makes for an unnecessary delay of 80 years. However, why were they in Egypt […]
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, […]