Numbers 33

Two weeks ago as a homework assignment we were given Numbers 33 to study the journey that the Israelites made through the desert. We were supposed to come up with what each station they stopped at meant to them and what it means to us now. For the past two days in class we've been going through it together and gaining some new insight that I'd like to share.

Basically, the Israelites wandered for forty years in the desert and at each place they camped, they gave it a name based on their circumstance. For example, their fifth stop on the journey was the place called Marah which means bitter because the only water there was bitter. We talked about how we can have bitterness in our lives that can kill our spirit just like bitter water kills your body. Being bitter in life is not a good place to stay, especially in a life dedicated to following Christ. Bitterness can eat away at us and cause much pain to ourselves as well as other people around us.

What it came down to was that the Israelites named places after their circumstances when we're told in the Bible to rejoice ALWAYS. We shouldn't let our attitude be shaped by the things that happen to us - that we have no control over. We should be self-sufficient in Christ and not let our unfulfilled needs or bad circumstances determine our moods or actions. In the end, it took forty years for them to get the courage to walk through the Jordan river and step into the inheritance that God had for them when if they would've just been bold in the first place, they could've been spared lots of pain and suffering. Yes there were giants in the land, yes they had huge fortified cities but the Israelites had the ULTIMATE Giant on their side! Guarding them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night! HIS presence with them as the ark of the covenant EVERYWHERE they went!! What did they have to fear except fear itself?

We don't want to be like the Israelites. We don't want to hem and haw and waste time avoiding the call that the Lord has for us. Whether it be bitterness, fear or any other attitude that we've dwelled on in life, we want to step beyond that and boldly step into the Jordan river, going forward into the inheritance that He has for us and not waste any more time on attitudes that bring death to our spirits! In the end - Christ has already beaten death! We have victory in Christ to overcome the things that weigh us down and to not only dodge the arrows of satan but to send our own volley of flaming arrows right back at him!