Throughout this journey through the Wilderness, God has led His people. They grumbled, complained, doubted, and flat out rebelled. Oh, among them were those whose hearts were so hardened God ultimately had to have the earth swallow them up into its pits. Yet, despite all this, God displays His patience, Grace, justice and goodness as He led the people. They needed to know of Him, not just in their minds; but rather also in their hearts they really needed to know Him in all His Glory.
There was no other way to survive than this—to get to know Him better and to love Him for all His acts of kindness toward them. So, even the hardship that they faced along the way, was for their ultimate good as God transformed their hearts each step of the way. Their history was the intertwining of God’s Grace and man’s failure, just like ours is.
Intertwining of Grace with Justice
Beyond that we saw the intertwining of how mankind’s failures affected entire nations, such as Egypt and Edom. For you see was there not some irony that Abraham’s lack of faith moment was with Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian handmaid. Furthermore, it was in Egypt that Abraham out of fear declared that Sarah was his sister and almost allowed a tragedy—one that God intervened on her behalf. Yet, even to Abraham God forewarned of a time when his descendants would be held captive by another for 400 years (Genesis 15:13).
It was then God who chose Jacob before he was ever born to father the 12 tribes of Israel, while Esau fathered also 12 tribes. Before his birth, God knew Jacob’s heart though deceitful was pliable to and responsive to Him while Esau was not. Esau had sold his birthright for pleasure and married two Canaanite women well before the time he would have receive his father’s blessing. Esau’s heart was already bent on self-indulgence and hardened by his own desires.
Then, despite the reconciliation of Esau and Jacob, here we come to a moment in which Esau’s descendants stood before Moses and would not allow passage of the Israelites through their land. The Edomites had prospered and not undergone the hardship as the Israelite nation had; but they did not recognize God’s blessing. Ultimately, they were cursed by God and will be destroyed as prophesied in Jeremiah, Obadiah, Ezekiel and Malachi.
Yet, through all the hardship God allowed for Israel, He was leading and teaching them every step of the way. God displays His Patience, Grace, Justice and Goodness through the hardships. There is no other way that our sinful hearts turn toward Him and desire Him.
God Displays His Patience, Grace, Justice, and Goodness
Ah, but you would think God could have forced the Edomites to let His people through instead of allowing them to go down into the roughest of terrains where they would meet up with these horrible snakes. He could have; but then would we learn of His justice toward the Edomites or really see the depth of their depravity? Nor would the children of Israel learn of victory in battles. Up until this point, the children of Israel cried out against God with every hardship. That is until the ordeal with the serpents. That was the first time they cried out, “we have sinned against God, forgive and help us.” (Numbers 21:7).
What a lesson! Isn’t that the one we need to learn? Perhaps it is through the wilderness that we learn of God. While He displays His patience, grace, justice and goodness to us, we grow. Then, as we grow, we begin to see even the tiniest glimpse of His Glory. We learn to love Him, trust Him and follow Him through the Wilderness. Whatever it takes, isn’t it worth the sorrow if He is our prize?
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because, He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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©Effie Darlene Barba, 2019
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