Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, “The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.
Israelites were saved; they’d been delivered by the mercy of God. They’d been passed over by the Angel of death because of the blood of a lamb painted in faith on the doorposts of their homes. Now, this redeemed nation set out for their Promised Land—where they would dwell in safety and blessing. But the text tells us that God did not send them there by the most direct route, by the way of the Philistines. This route would have taken them about a week to traverse. Instead, God led them by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, almost the exact opposite direction they desired to go!. Why did He do this?
It seems that there was a character flaw in the people that needed to be corrected, one that would bring them defeat if it were allowed to remain. They were timid and weak—likely to turn tail and run back into slavery rather than fight their enemies. They needed to be toughened up—formed into the kinds of people who could enter and occupy a good, but challenging land. Though they were freed, they needed to learn to live in freedom. Though they were no longer slaves, they needed to be made into soldiers. And so, God led them to a place of difficulty, pain, testing, and growth—the wilderness. The first lesson—they were to trust their leader (Moses), and live as members of a larger, organized group, traveling in martial array.
Have you found that life often seems just as difficult and challenging since becoming a Christian as it was before? All who trust in the Lord Jesus for forgiveness are freed from sin, forever released from slavery, but it takes time and testing before most of us are willing believe that we’re not slaves anymore, and so we are liable to turn tail in the face of difficulties and go back to our pitiful, though predictable, lives of slavery to sin. It has been said, “You can take the slave out of Egypt, but it takes some time to take Egypt out of the slave!” So God leads us into a wilderness called “the world,” and we walk through it in a process that convinces us we are no longer slaves, but soldiers. Along the way, our character flaws are challenged and (if we welcome His correction) removed. We are trained through the tough, wilderness circumstances of life—to live not as slaves to this world and its attempts to intimidate, but as soldiers of a grand, eternal army—the people of God. Maturity and skill in the Christian life are not won by taking the most direct, easy paths, but by following the Lord of the Wilderness into places and circumstances that will challenge and change the very core of our personality—our character. And we’re not alone, either! We have the church, a band of like-minded rescued slaves, all walking beside each other through this wilderness of the world, heading for a Promised Land called heaven.
Father, make us people who gladly endure the wilderness, that we would be made fit for the kingdom that You have prepared for us.
downtownpastor