Saturday, Nov. 16
Numbers Chapters 19 and 20 Click here to read
We speak of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, but these chapters bring home the length of the journey.
I’m sure some of you reading this share my difficulty in dealing with times when life is in suspension. As a nation we’re in the lame-duck period of a presidential administration, when the outgoing leaders are diminished, but the incoming leaders do not yet have authority. Things tend to drift.
We have those times in our own lives, when one season has run its course, but what will replace it is not yet certain. Those are stressful times.
So far the story of the Exodus has been one of movement: the escape from Egypt, crossing the sea, setting up the Tabernacle, establishing new patterns of worship. Chapters 19 and 20, in just a few short verses, show how long and frustrating the journey must have been.
The people were not allowed to pass through Edom.
We can only imagine this isn’t the only time that there’s a sign of progress that turns into a time-consuming detour. More walking. More moving. More of the same.
The people grumble. Moses responds. More of the same.
But, making it worse, Moses begins to lose the people who have been with him from the beginning. His sister and brother, Miriam and Aaron, both die. God tells Moses he will not himself reach the promised land.
Reaching the Promised Land has already taken many generations…and we’re not there yet.