The Promised Land

The Old Testament is a bit fuzzy for me, to be honest.  I can talk Romans 12—Living Sacrifices, 1 Corinthians 13—Love, Galatians 5—Freedom in Christ, 1 John 4—God’s Love all day, but once we get to prophets, exile, sacrifices, the Israelites…things are a little more unclear.

Recently, though, I’ve become curious about how all of the events of the Old Testament fit together—specifically, God’s deliverance of His people in to the promised land.  I am challenging myself in the upcoming weeks to commit myself to closer study of the Old Testament, but in the meantime, I consulted the second most holy source for a summary of events: Wikipedia.

This is what I gathered:  God made a covenant with Abraham that the land of Canaan would be the promised land, a place where Abraham’s descendants AKA the Israelites AKA God’s holy and chosen people would dwell.  Those descendants ended up in Egypt by way of Jacob and Joseph, and they were happy, peaceful, and comfortable, but that was not the place where God called them to be.  The Israelites were becoming so numerous that they were beginning to outnumber the Egyptians, and this made Pharaoh, King of Egypt, mad.  So Pharaoh oppressed the Israelites in his country—persecuted them and killed their children.  God told Moses that he would be the one to lead the Israelites out of Egypt in to the land God had promised to Abraham, so he did.  But the Israelites got mad and frustrated at God along the way in the desert because they thought He wasn’t providing for them, even though this whole time, God was fulfilling His purpose for the Israelites by bringing them to their destiny.

I was talking to one of my closest friends and “iron sharpener,” Katie Baker, today and we both realized something about our own lives: sometimes God forces us to get to places where He knows we would not go on our own.  It occurred to me that this is the plan that God has been working out for all of time—not just with the Israelites but also with me.

It is so easy for me to get comfortable in Egypt.  To be amongst people who know me and understand me, in land that is familiar and that I have always known, but it is not my promised land.  And God knows that I will not leave that place on my own.  So He orchestrates my circumstances such that I must go.  And it hurts really badly.  And I have no choice.  I am a controller, so if I have to go, at least let it be on my own terms.  At least let me be the one to choose the trek to the promised land.  No.  Moses must be the one to lead me.  And I find myself on the road to my destiny, the place where He will fulfill His purpose for me, and I will finally be complete in Him, but it hardly feels that way because the desert is so hot, and lonely, and dry.

I have a choice.  I can whine and complain in the desert.  Or I can stay focused on the promised land that the Lord has revealed to me.  I can thank Him for bringing me to the place that I did not want to be, but He knew I needed to be.

“And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.  The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.’” –Exodus 14:13-14

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” –Jeremiah 29:11