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Looking Back, With Purpose

A lot can happen in a year. In the book of Numbers (yes, people do actually read Numbers), we find the Israelites celebrating the second Passover. That means they had been travelling in the wilderness for a year since leaving Exodus. And a lot had indeed happened;


  • They watched Pharaoh's army drown in the Red Sea.
  • They worshiped God at His holy mountain.
  • They received the 10 commandments, along with all the other details of God's Law. 
  • They built the Tabernacle, along with the Altar and all the other pieces of furniture God commanded.
  • They learned about proper sacrifices for any and every occasion.
  • They assigned the Tribe of Levi as priests and numbered every other tribe, to organize the men of fighting age.
Besides this, in Numbers 9, we learn they came and went at God's leading. The very presence of God came in a cloud that covered the Tabernacle. When it lifted and moved, so did the Israelites. When it stayed where it was, so did the people. 

We're not given any indication that the people complained about this process, but come on, it's the Israelites. Of course they complained. I can imagine people asking why they were stopped for so long. I can imagine others complaining when they had to pack up and move along. It's like a husband a wife agreeing on where to set the thermostat. Someone is going to be unhappy. 

I imagine the people getting comfortable, because that is what people do. We get accustomed to life as it is. We like knowing what to expect. It gives us a sense of control, even if it's a false sense. 

It was about a year ago that my wife and I began to hear from God that changes were coming. We had been serving at our church for quite a while. We had grown comfortable with the way things were. We had a sense of control, which, honestly, is ridiculous when you are doing God's work. 

Now we look forward, with my wife learning her new job and me still looking. But, perhaps because we live in the same town, it is also easy to look back. It occurs to me there are two kinds of looking back. The first kind is looking back and praising God for all He has done in and through your life. The second kind is looking back and asking God why He didn't just leave you where you were. 

The Israelites were on the precipice of change. In Deuteronomy 1, we read about their great failure to trust God. They saw the inhabitants of the Promised Land as an unconquerable foe. They looked back and asked God why He didn't just leave them in Egypt. They had been there over 400 years. Though it wasn't ideal, they were comfortable with the way things were. 

They should have looked back at the previous year and praised God for what He was doing in them and through them. Because they didn't, it cost them. 


15 years is a long time...change is hard. But I wouldn't change a thing. I choose to trust God for each step. I choose to look and move forward. When I do look back, it will be with purpose.







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