On one hand, this passage is the equivalent of watching slides of someone elses vacation, using a sheet as a screen. On the other hand, there are a couple of interesting things here, sort of like finding a light blue stone in a gravel parking lot…or a 4 leaf clover. Oh, and by the way…splinters are bad.
I wonder why God wanted the record? Most of these cities have been lost to history, disappearing from existence, or being renamed so many times that the original name is simply lost. We know they wandered in the desert, but we can’t retrace their steps exactly.
So why keep a record at all? Maybe it had some function to encourage the people during the time they wandered, or as they entered the Promised Land. It may have helped them remember what God did for them at each campsite, mental images that would be stimulating to them, but are lost on us. It seems kind of like reading someone elses hiking journal…not that exciting if you haven’t made the trip.
I count 33 different encampments, and some of them were fairly short according to other parts of the Bible. So that means the people never stayed in one place for much more than a year (on average). Then, 9 moves after Aaron dies in the last year alone. I wonder what effect constant moving has on your outlook? If I moved every year or two, I doubt that I would be fixing up the places I lived. I have traveled Israel and some surrounding countries and noticed that they really don’t seem to “fix the place up” much. In fact, Israel is much like the United States, but the nomadic nations around it are clearly distinguishable by the amount of debris laying around. I wonder if that’s part of the nomadic culture…since you’re always moving, why bother with improvements?
The Lord warned the Israelites to completely remove any nation that occupied the land, and He specifically told them to get rid of every single idol. Idol worship is why they are taking over the land in the first place, so they clearly cannot allow them to remain. Pagan people and idols are compared to a splinter in your eye or a thorn in your side. I don’t think anything hurts worse than a splinter in your eye. I’ve had small things scratch my cornea, and it will literally shut you right down. It’s hard to do anything when you have a splinter in your eye.
As I read this today, I am annoyed by a small splinter that I can’t seem to remove from my hand. It’s too small to see, but it’s very clearly there, since my hand is sore to the touch in that area, and very tender. That tiny sliver has affected my ability to do some things well.
Allowing any sin to remain in your life is like leaving a splinter in your eye. Do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Say goodbye to bad habits and limit the access that friends with bad habits have into your life. Stop putting false teachings into your mind, there are many TV shows, magazines and radio stations that want to program you to think the way they think. Don’t even get me started on the Internet. The internet is a great tool, but like any tool you can get hurt if you don’t use it correctly. Wise up. Get rid of the splinters and you will be more effective.
I wondered if Israel was as large today as what God promised them. Here’s what I discovered:
The land that God granted to Israel is slightly larger than the plot that they occupy today. From a quick glance at several maps, it looks like they could claim some land in the north that currently belongs to Lebanon, and maybe a small portion in the northeast that belongs to Syria or Jordan. All of the land occupied by the 2 1/2 tribes on the eastern side of the Jordan are now the property of other nations. (Jordan and Syria).
In Genesis 15 we learn that God granted Abraham a much larger tract of land, all the way from Egypt (about 80 miles south of the current land tract) up to the Euphrates River (much further north, in the upper third of Syria). They are currently occupying the center of that larger area…and one day David will rule all of it.
If Pastor Kathy were writing this, she would include right about here a thoughtful probing question that made you reflect on your personal walk with Jesus, or on life in general….. (crickets chirping…)
….I’ve got nothin’..
Faithfully,
PR