Within the forty years it took Israel to travel from Egypt to Canaan, multitudes perished in the wilderness. That might come as a huge surprise, considering the fact that exit from Egypt was an intervention of divine favor. God’s mighty hand rescued an oppressed community from slavery to liberty. Divine guidance would usher them to a promised land flowing with milk and honey!
Make no mistake, God was in the midst of that multitude, perceptibly, practically, and experientially. At no other time in the history of mankind has God manifested His Presence as evidently as to the multitude that came out of Egypt by the hand of Moses! [See Deut. 4:32-35]
Nowadays, however, in great wonderment, folks question how a good God could rescue slaves out of a tyrannical empire only to destroy them Himself with such extraordinary devastation. But what is more amazing is that many who claim to be followers of Christ embrace concepts that are hopelessly ignorant of who God is. They conceive of a fictitious pacifist clown and call it God. The catastrophic experiences of Israel in the wilderness are incongruous with their notions of God. Why, because many who call themselves Christians today find no value in studying Scriptures. Even among professionals in fields that require vast amounts of study, are folks who claim to be followers of Christ, but have never read through the Bible once! Countless multitudes of professing Christians have no grip on the basics of faith, are not ashamed of their dearth, and couldn’t care less! Christianity has been turned into a tragic religious charade!
The Second Census
Two years into the desert sojourn, Moses and Aaron counted the people. The book of Numbers has all the details. There’s a record of six hundred thousand. Folks see it as the number that left Egypt. It isn’t. The census only counted males who could go to war, above twenty years of age. The entire tribe of Levi was excluded from that sum, so were women, boys, girls, and men above military age. Bible commentators suggest that two million souls left Egypt, and that is a fair estimate. When the first census was conducted at Sinai, the caravan comprised about two million souls!
Thirty-eight years later, as the wilderness sojourn was coming to an end, another census was called. This time, Moses and Eleazar conducted it. Aaron had joined the ill-fated statistics. Here below, we’ve attached a diagram to help you compare the numbers. Remember, in each census only men of military age from eleven tribes were counted. Majorities were not summed up.
With those numbers in mind, now review the following verses:
63 Those are the men that Moses and Eleazar the priest counted. They counted them on the flat ground in Moab beside the Jordan River. Jericho was on the other side of the river. 64 None of the men that Moses and Aaron had counted in the Sinai desert were still alive. 65 The Lord had said about those men, ‘They will certainly die in the desert.’ Among all those men, only Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun were still alive. Numbers 26:63-65 (Easy)
The forty-year wilderness journey was a disastrous experience. Statistically, such a large community living so closely together should have resulted in a population explosion. Instead, the latter census showed fewer numbers, with some tribes having suffered astronomical loses. Reading through Exodus and Numbers, you get the impression that the desert experience was one of extreme grief, death, exasperation, and pain.
Wilderness as a Type
Israel’s desert sojourn is a parable of your salvation. It typifies your Christian pilgrimage from the point of accepting Jesus as your Savior to your entrance into eternal bliss.
So, what lesson(s) should the modern-day believer draw from Israel’s experience? In His own words, Jesus compared it to guests invited to the wedding of a king’s son. “Many are called”, He warned, “but few are chosen” (Matt 22:14). God is the King in the story, and Jesus is the Bridegroom. Friends who snubbed the invitation are Jews. Gentiles are substitute guests. The fellow who was found improperly dressed and kicked out of the party is a ‘believer’ who tries to live the Christian life by his/her own standards.
Parable of the Sower
In the third chapter of Mark’s gospel, and the eighth of Luke, Jesus points out four different grounds upon which a sower’s seeds fell. The seeds, all of highest quality, came from the same source. But fields upon which the seeds fell determined the eventual harvest. The seed is God’s Word, men’s hearts are the ground. Seeds cannot take root in a rocky heart to begin their harvest producing process. A thorny heart chocks the seeds of God’s eternal Word. Such a heart prioritizes earthly concerns above the eternal. Wayside hearts allow whims of passing opinions to evaluate God’s investment. Even a very good field only produces a harvest in varying quantities. How well seeds are nurtured matters greatly!
Which of the four fields does your heart represent?
Of more than half a million warriors counted by Moses and Aaron at Sinai, only two men made it to the second census. Do you get the metaphor? Of the four grounds upon which God’s precious Word is sowed by His servants, only one field produces anything at all. I ask you again; which of these fields represents your heart? Think this question over and give yourself an honest answer.
When sown seeds are devoured by birds, choked by thorns, or wither away for lack of moisture, what does the farmer do? He is satisfied with the little harvest that the good ground yields. What does God do when a harvest doesn’t match His investment? What does He do when His Word is distrusted, flouted, abused, or discredited? He remains true; He cannot disown Himself.
God is not looking to fill stadiums with fans. He is looking for trusting children. Such are they who cherish the Words of His mouth. Remember, for a small piece of pure gold out of a furnace, loads of ore perish in the crucible as impurities! For every Joshua and Caleb that crossed the Jordan into Canaan, millions of carcasses were scattered across the wilderness of rebellion and stubbornness. And every one of those who perished had the same promise as those who persevered!
When the Door Closes
10 The great day of the Lord will suddenly happen. That will surprise people, like when someone comes to rob them. There will be a very loud noise in the sky. The whole sky will go away. Fire will burn the whole universe and it will destroy everything. The earth and everything that people have made will then become clear. 11 Certainly, God will destroy everything in this way one day. So think about how you should live now. You should be the kind of people that God is happy about. You should show that you belong to God. (2 Peter 3:10,11 ~Easy)
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10 But when the Day of God’s Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a raging inferno, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment.
11-13 Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness. (Message)