The Story - Chapter 6
October 17, 2010
One of the fun things about vacations is arriving at your destination. There is this anticipation of what it’s going to be like when you arrive. It’s one of the fun things about vacations. Maybe it’s arriving at the Grand Canyon, a trip to Washington D.C., or you go to the mountains to ski, a warm beach in the winter or catching your first glimpse of the rides at Kings Island. The arrival is awesome.
But the process of getting there is a different story. Often times, they aren’t so much fun. We can laugh when we watch that wonderful, irreverent movie with Chevy Chase playing Clark Griswold as he takes his family on family vacations.
One of the hazards of taking road trips is including the kids. It’s an occupational hazard which adds stress to the trip. When I was growing up, my 2 sisters and I shared the back seat. Since you took most road trips in the middle of the summer, it was hot, and most people didn’t have air conditioning, the windows were open, we were cranky and would gladly irritate one another as we got into each others space.
They were so much fun. Kids, you need to know, we didn’t have game boys, computers, portable DVD players, cell phones or I-pods. You had to make your own fun, and sometimes the most fun you had was bugging the person next to you, or falling asleep in the back seat with 95o wind blowing in your face. Of course the inevitable question always came up, it’s one I’ve been asked a time or two as well. “Are we there yet?” 5 minutes into the trip and they’re ready for the final destination.
But you need to understand, when the Deutsch family takes a road trip I don’t go through any of this because you see my kids are Pastors Kids. But I try to identify with all of you and the trouble you experience. I’m joking.
Of course the worse thing is when you’re the driver, and you think you know where you’re going, but you really don’t know where you’re going. Nowadays we have Global Positioning Systems, better known as G.P.S. You can have someone else tell you where to go, but have you ever noticed, there are times when you think you’re right and they’re wrong, or it ends up, they’re right and you’re wrong?
Well, all that’s to say, the Israelites were on a road trip from Egypt and their final destination was the land of Canaan . . . the promised land. The land was promised over 650 years before that to Abraham. Moses is the driver, the children in the back seat are the Israelites and their destination was the land flowing with milk and honey.
Instead of having a couple of kids, Moses has between 1 and 3 million children in the back seat. Just like kids getting restless, the Israelites quickly became restless. The Story points out 3 instances where the people really struggled with the road trip.
On page 57-59 or Numbers 11-12. The first complaint is about their overall hardships of the journey. The 2nd instance are complaints about food. You may recall God is miraculously providing manna which falls from the sky everyday. This is a miracle from God. But the people are getting tired of manna. After all, you can only fix manna in so many ways . . . manna stew, manna gumbo, fried manna, boiled manna. They’ve done everything they can do with it, and they complain. Finally, Miriam and Aaron, Moses sister and brother get in on the action and start with the backseat driving complaints. Why does God only speak to Moses? Why does Moses get to drive the car? In all 3 instances God pulls the car over to the side of the road and disciplines the kids.
Numbers 14:22 tells us there were 10 outbreaks of juvenile behavior and the rebels were dealt with by God.
As they continue, a watershed moment occurs when 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders. (13:1-2)
So, Moses sent out one leader from each of the 12 tribes. These are the men who drove the cars for their tribes. Their mission was to go into the land, their final destination, which God was giving them, and explore the land. They were almost there.
On the bottom of page 60, Numbers 13:25, we’re told the spies were gone for 40 days exploring the land of Canaan. They came back and told Moses ‘the land is definitely fertile, it’s beautiful, it’s awesome, it’s flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of the fruit. Doesn’t it sound great!? But then they continue . . .
But there’s a problem. There are tons of people in the land and there are giants in the land and they will destroy us when we enter. So, we should not go.’
A few verses later in Numbers 13:30, Caleb, one of the 12 spies, has a different conclusion. He said they should take possession of the land, because God was with them. Only Joshua agreed with Caleb, believing they should march into Canaan. The other 10 men not only said no way, but they spread a bad report throughout the camp and convinced the people it was a terrible idea to go into the land.
So Moses gathered the people together and tore his clothes as a sign of mourning, because the people didn’t trust the promises of God. He pled with them in 14:8-9,
8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.
This is a great and passionate speech by Moses. So, how do the people of Israel respond? 10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.
I’ve learned when a group of people I’m talking to starts to hold rocks up, my talk has not gone so well.
Now, if you have your maps, let’s make a quick line in your book to move the Israelites to a place called Kadesh-Barnea. This is the place where the Israelites sent out the 12 leaders to spy out the land. It’s the place where the Israelites decided not to trust in the plans and strength of God over the giants of Canaan. This is where the Israelites made a wrong turn. But you see, while we have G.P.S. units, so does God. It’s called the God Positioning System. He can see the big picture, from beginning to end. They thought their G.P.S. was better than God’s and they thought they should follow their own map. That means trouble.
Because of their lack of trust in God, God is going to have them make a hard right and go back south along the Red Sea, deep into the wilderness. You can plot that out on your maps as you make a line going along the right finger of the Red Sea, back into the deep wilderness.
On page 62, Numbers 14:28-34, God said to the people, 'As surely as I live, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: 29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall — every one of you 20 years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.
30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb and Joshua. 31 I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.
32 But you—your bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.
34 For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.'
Can you imagine hearing those words from God? You’re going to learn what it’s like to have me against you. Imagine how frustrating it is when we make a wrong turn, or get caught by a detour, because this was a whopper of a detour. One which would last for 40 years.
Their lack of trust in God’s power cost them entrance into the land, but they also dragged their children into this. Instead of their children living in their own homes and enjoying the fruit of the parents trust in God, and living in the land promised to them, the children would live most of their lives as nomads in the desert.
The Bible teaches us that we go through wilderness experiences for several reasons. Sometimes God places us in the wilderness to test us and train us and teach us. Usually it’s on the heels of something great which is going to happen to us, and God wants us to know that before we enter into that great land, He wants to know that we’re going to trust Him. Some of you are there right now, and God wants you to trust Him.
Sometimes we’re in the wilderness, because we have made that choice. Or at least we’ve extended the time we’re staying in the wilderness. Maybe God only wanted you there for a short period of time, but you’ve extended that time because we made the choice.
And sometimes we’re in the wilderness because someone who’s in the drivers seat made a decision and we’re there because of their decision. For better or worse.
Well, we pick up the story 40 years later. The Israelites are right back where they started 40 years ago at Kadesh-Barnea. Those who were over 20 years of age have died in the desert. Only Joshua, Caleb and Moses remain from the initial group. Moses now leads the people from Kadesh-Barnea to a place between Moab and Aram.
Open your Story Bibles to the map one last time and draw a line showing Moses leading the people back to an area between Moab and Aram. You may want to draw a triangle or something to show a mountain, which would be Mt. Nebo.
We learn that Moses won’t be allowed to enter the land because of a lack of trust he had in God in front of all the people of Israel. So, Moses will die on Mt. Nebo, never entering the land. Yet, God was gracious to Moses. He was 120 years old, and we learn that God preserved his strength and eyesight, and Moses was given the opportunity to get a good look at the land God was going to give the people. Moses would be able to see the land flowing with milk and honey not just for a couple of miles, but all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.
Before he heads up to the mountain, he has a final speech to give to the people. At the beginning of his assignment to lead the people of Israel, Moses tried to get out of it by telling God he was not a very good speaker. Apparently, he’s improved. Moses gives a very moving talk.
There’s one thing I would like to point out in this speech. He gathers the people around him and tells them, ‘they have a fresh opportunity to trust God, unlike their parents. They need to recognize God is leading them, because God has the ultimate GPS system, and God can be trusted. Moses tells them they have a choice to make. Will they follow God and make the turns He tells them to make. Will God be the driver or will they?
He also tells them they must keep in mind they aren’t in the car alone. In the backseat are their children who are going to be effected by every the decision they make, positive or negative. Just like the way they were impacted by the decisions their parents made, so too, their children will be impacted by the way they trust or do not trust God.
I want to read a portion of that speech to you. It’s on page 70, beginning with Deuteronomy 30:11 ~
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws;
then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
I would like you to read the final paragraph with me. Okay, let’s read together –
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Now, what decision do they make? We’ll have to wait until next week. For now, we need to turn our attention to a decision God is asking us to make. Out of this ancient story, what is God asking of us? How is this applicable to us?
Glad you asked. Go ahead and close your Stories.
The Bible teaches us that the Christian life is like a road trip. God wants to lead you and I every single step of the way from His GPS. God wants us to reach the destination point in our journey and He sess the whole picture from beginning to end. He definitely wants the best for us. He also wants us to enjoy the journey. But in order to do that, we must trust in Him.
So, when the divine GPS calls for us to turn to the left, we must turn left. When the divine GPS tells us to turn to the right, we turn to the right. When God tells us to stop, we must stop in our tracks. When God says go faster, we must go faster. When God says break down the barriers in front of us, we need to plow through those barriers, doing it like a linebacker about to knock down his opponent.
We also need to be reminded that whatever choice we make. There are others in the car with us. They will experience the blessings of the good decisions we make, and they will suffer pain according to the poor decisions we make.
So, I ask you what decisions are you making today? The application of this chapter is as ripe for us today as it was years ago.
I want each person to make a decision from those words of Moses. What we are going to read, basically takes the essence of Moses speech and it puts it before us. We need to covenant with God and with one another in our journey through life.
What decision are we going to make today?
You have a choice before you today. A choice of life, death, blessings, curses. Choose life, so that you and your children may love the Lord our God, and listen to Him and hold fast to Him. As Moses said, The Lord is your life. Amen? Amen.
On this “road trip” called life, you will covenant with this local community to trust and obey God, knowing that God will never lead you into a wrong turn. You’ve heard the voice of God through Moses and I ask you to “Choose life!”
If you are willing, would you read this with me . . .
Today I make a covenant with my community that I will choose to live God’s abundant life. I will love the Lord my God. I will be obedient to Him. I will keep his commands, decrees and laws. I choose to live and increase and to receive the blessings God has for me and for this community. I choose to trust in God and His leadership.
