u-weren't meant for the desert #-2
the conclusion

Now the real work of deliverance begins. How do a million slaves become a nation? How will they eat when all the food rations run out? What about water, clothes and SPF-55 suntan lotion? And btw, what are the rules and where did Moses say they where going? They had questions with no answers--at least none that satisfied them. So they began the nice habit of groaning, moaning, and complaining in the desert.

God had a plan and answers so He sends Manna--literally defined as what is it, quail, and water from rocks so that they survive. He leads them in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night so that they are secure. He sets up a system of rules, regulation and ten commandments so that they move toward community. But no good deed goes unpunished, so they basically ignore and disregard Gods directions and commands and end up with an extended stay in the desert. Some say that their trek through the desert should have taken a year or two at the most but they just kept taking lap after lap in the desert. The Children of Israel didn't just take one or two or even three laps around Mount Sinai but they went around and around and around (getting dizzy yet), for forty (count them), years due to their own hardheaded disobedience. I guess that is why we call them the children of Israel.

They had a plan--they had a promise --they had protection. They even had provisions for the trip. Their clothes didn't even wear out. But they also had frighten secret agents who came back from spying out the land with reports of giants that were too big, walls that were too fortified and armies that were too fierce. And so they just kept on taking laps around Mt Sinai.

Now back to my beginning question--Why would any group of people who were promised a great place to live--a promised land choose to live in the complete opposite--a desert? Here's the reason I asked the question is because I'm part of a community of faith who after years of trying, have finally made it through the desert and are on the brink of crossing the Jordan River. NOW, comes the hard work of deciding whom we will listen to. Sure there are giants in the land of promise--but, I remember the story of a little boy, a sling and five smooth stones that equaled no giant. It's true, the city walls of the present occupiers of the land are fortified--but the walls of Jericho came tumbling down one day after a number of laps around them and a loud shout. The armies of the land may even be huge in number--but God did use Gideon and three-hundred careful drinkers to defeat the Midianites.

The sad truth is that some of us have been on our way to the Promised Land for such a looong time-that we've gotten used to the desert. And now it can be hard to even distinguish the difference between the two. You can hear things being said like, "Hey, the desert's not so bad after all. We get all the manna and quail we can eat, cool refreshing water from the rocks, and to top it all off we also get God in a cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. What more could a good desert dweller need?" Desert dwelling appears ok at first, but the consequence of purposely choosing to dwell--live--exist in the desert is that we soon forget that it is not our destination or Gods promise for us.

The reality is that all of us are susceptible to desert dwelling, if we are not dialed into God promise for us. We are busy people doing good things for the Kingdom--things that can keep us from the main thing if we are not careful. The desert is a nice pass-through on the way to Gods promise for us but it is not the destination because we weren't meant for the desert - jfhey-ii

Then Joshua gave orders to the people's leaders: "Go through the camp and give this order to the people: 'Pack your bags. In three days you will cross this Jordan River to enter and take the land God, your God, is giving you to possess.'" Joshua 1:10-11 (The Message)