THE WILDERNESS JOURNEY

SCRIPTURAL PORTION FROM THE BIBLE: Deuteronomy 2: 7

The Israelites were led forty long years through the wilderness, and as they had reached the borders of the Promised Land, Moses bid farewell to the people of Israel and handed over the leadership to Joshua. Moses stood on the side of Jordan, and declared “the Torah” to the Israelites to remind them of God’ providence in their journey from Egypt, and exhort them to remain faithful to God throughout their generations.

The dreary path of the Israelites in the wilderness gives us beautiful lessons of the providence of God; the larger picture of his molding hand working in our lives to prepare us for the eternal destination of Canaan.

Moses reminded the people that they had come through a very great wilderness (v 7: he knoweth they walk through this great wilderness). To the Lord God Almighty, the wilderness was neither great, nor difficult. But for the Israelites who sojourned for forty years, every step that they took posed a potential threat to their lives. It was a place of hopelessness and pain. They had to walk on foot, and it was no easy reckoning, crossing miles across hot sand dunes. And the Lord God knew their difficult walk through the wilderness. He understood the pain and struggle that they had to go through.

The wilderness is a place, where one can easily lose one’s direction, with constantly moving paths and sand dunes. The path was mostly unknown to the Israelites. But the Lord knew how to steer them on their onward journey. The next step was always clearly instructed to them (Deut 2:3 - ye have compassed this… long enough: turn you northward).

Sustenance of life is also very difficult in a desert. Harmful creatures may strike, thieves may plunder and rob, attire may wear off, water and food may run out and storms can arise. But the Lord knew it all. He provided them with everything that they needed for their journey. (Deut 2:7 - blessed…all the works of thy hand…thou hast lacked nothing). All efforts were blessed by the Lord. Many a times, provisions were made before hand, even before the need arose. Hence they had no want for anything.

Deut 2: 7 implies assurance and hope to every believer, who are sojourning to the eternal shores. In our walk of life, we may have to cross dangerous and unknown paths. We will have to walk it ourselves; no one else can do it for us. It may give us mental agony, physical pain and only a fading ray of hope.

But the Lord knows our struggle to traverse the unknown path in front of us. He has directions for every next step prepared beforehand. So we can calmly follow his directions which will surely help us reach our destination.

God has provided and will again provide for our sustenance in our difficult times. Every effort that we take to go through the dreary path, controlled by the will of God, will be blessed.

God was with the Israelites for the forty long years (Deut 2:7, these forty years the Lord has been with thee). His provisions for their prolonged journey were a proof of his presence, not only to the nation of Israel, but also to the surrounding gentile nations.

We can be rest assured that even if we pass through the darkest valley or the deepest sea, the Lord God will be with us, knowing and guiding our future steps, blessing every effort we take and ensuring that we lack nothing for the journey. The presence of the Lord is with us and before us. We will be able to enjoy his presence during the journey and others around us will be able to witness his blessed presence with us.