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A Journey In The Wilderness
Becoming Fruitful In The Kingdom

by Paul K. Weigel

Chapter Five

The Allegory Of The Children of Israel

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did— and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come. 1 Cor. 10:1-11 NIV

The Children of Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt is by far the most detailed account of any time in the history of God’s people. In some cases, the Scripture account was written on a daily basis with many details about what happened on a number of fronts. All of this detail has a purpose. It has been accurately maintained for close to 5000 years as 1 Cor. 10:11 says, “for our warning”. The New American Standard version translates “warning” as “for our instruction”. Based on this and the fact that even David gave an account of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt in the Psalms, God has underscored to us the importance of this story for our welfare and understanding. If this story is for our instruction, then it is more than just the deliverance of God’s people from an oppressive situation, but a demonstration of how God delivers His people. It is an allegory for our own deliverance and a warning for us to not react to God’s ways, as Israel did.

Consider that God planned and executed the deliverance of the Children of Israel in a detailed way. Scripture says that God hardened Pharaoh’s Heart to show the surrounding nations that He was Israel’s God. He proved to the Children of Israel and to Moses that He would defend them and provide for them in supernatural ways. God knew exactly what He would do with them and where he was taking them. He knew exactly how He would defeat the nations that would oppose them. Everything in the story was predetermined to be just the way it happened. The only thing that was not predetermined was the Children of Israel’s failure to follow God in faith. It is clear that the recording of all the detail was designed with a purpose. The story is an allegory, but also a paradigm of the methods God used and the purposes He had at every stage in the Children of Israel’s journey. Their Wilderness experience says as much about God as it does about Israel. His plan was concise and purposeful in every detail. He arranged every circumstance for a specific reason. He hardened Pharaoh’s Heart. He had the Egyptian Army attack when Israel was at the Red Sea. He had them run out of water, then provided water from the Rock, and so on. Each event in the story was planned by God for us to read and learn from today. That is what 1 Cor. 10 says.

From this story of the Children of Israel, we are to learn what God’s purposes are, what His ways are, and what we should and should not do. Specifically, the story warns us to cooperate with God in the Wilderness, and not to rebel against the discipline and purging of the Process. The lesson teaches us the way God sanctifies His people, and in that, to not rebel against His hand of discipline and purging.

The Children of Israel were promised a land filled with milk and honey. They were promised vineyards they did not plant, cities they did not build. They were warned that when they came into the fullness of the promise, they must not think they had achieved this by the power of their own hand. This is a picture of grace. The Promised Land is a place of grace for the New Testament Believer. It is a place of being and doing, with the emphasis on being. The Promised Land was not only a place of abundance, but also a place of peace. There would be no war. The enemies of Israel were put to rest by God himself. Peace, to a people who had been fighting for decades inside the Promised Land was very important and appealing. The Kingdom of God is characterized by peace. Jesus is called “The Prince of Peace”. For the Believer, the Promised Land is a place of peace and rest. The Kingdom of God is not about physical things, although it has effect on the physical dimension, but it is a place of spiritual peace. Our enemies, which are the works of the Flesh, will be put under the authority of the Holy Spirit. The abundant provision is also a spiritual abundance as well: intimacy and fullness, contentment and knowledge of God.

So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. Joshua 21:43-45 NIV

The Promised Land was also a place of bringing glory to God. The very fact that God’s people trusted Him and faithfully obeyed Him, even when they didn’t understand what He was doing, was pleasing to God. Israel did what God told them to do, and because of that, He was able to overcome their enemies for them. He had a people through whom He could express His love, His ways, and His power. This brings glory to God. It also revealed Him as God of Heaven and earth, and left a witness in Scripture for generations to come. Israel, during much of the taking of the Land, was faithful and God proved to be faithful to them. He gave them the Levitical Law which outlined the principles of modern day hygiene and which saved them from disease and epidemics. He taught them the principles of spiritual law so they would live a fruitful and emotionally peaceful life. His intention was to bless Israel and to show the nations of the world that in Him there is blessing. By following Him, they had an abundance of blessing on all levels of life. Hebrews 8:4-7 says that the Old Covenant is a shadow, or pattern, for the New Covenant Church. God is going to write His law on the Hearts of His people. He is going to circumcise our Hearts, which means to set us apart, as a people who are wholly His. Those people who have been circumcised of Heart will be guided by the Holy Spirit and have the authority and power of God within them. They will be victorious in the Spirit realm, defeating the enemies of God and taking rulership over the earth. God’s purpose is to have a people who will be obedient to the Holy Spirit, so He can bring them into blessings that have never before been known.

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:9-10 NIV

Each stage in the Children of Israel’s journey is a stage in God’s refining process of setting us aside as wholly unto the Lord. Each step in the journey is meant to bring us to greater humility and surrender to the Holy Spirit. The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land chronicles the systematic process that God uses to prepare us for our ministry of being and doing. He reveals this Process to His people so that we will cooperate with it, and not rebel, as the first generation of Israelites did. Understanding this Process is of importance since we will probably never enter the promises or the fulfillment of our call without understanding the process of preparation. Israel perished in the Wilderness without knowing the victory or the fullness of provision that God had planned for them. They were delivered powerfully from Egypt. They saw the miracles of the plagues. They plundered the Egyptians of their gold, silver, and fine clothing. They even saw God part the Red Sea on their behalf. They received water out of the Rock and were fed manna in the Wilderness, but they were still far from possessing what God had in store for them. The Promised Land was much more than that. We may be content with some healing and some spiritual manna from time to time, but there is so much more that the Lord has prepared for us. We have been promised by Jesus, that we would do greater things than what He did (John 14:12). We have been promised the power to raise up and pull down kingdoms, to raise the dead, and to heal every sickness. We have been promised love, joy, peace, and provision from God for every need. We will be like Him and rule the Universe with Him. These promises are conditional upon our obedience to Him, just as they were with Israel. The restoration of the Church to wholeness will produce an interdependent, unified force on the face of the earth which will conquer the opponents of God, the Flesh, and the Powers of Darkness and set men free. The Church will also be known for its love between its members.

The Church is being lead into the Wilderness by the Holy Spirit. He is drawing those called of Him to follow Him. Some have entered the Process, but have run aground on the shoals of bitterness, unbelief, and rebellion. Some of the Church have given up on their call and have turned back looking for a place of comfort, even if it is not the freedom and blessing they were promised. If you are feeling that the Spirit is beckoning you to get back to walking with Him. Do not refuse His call!

Like any Bride who is preparing for a wedding, she may be somewhat disarrayed as she is being readied, but this disarray is only on the outside. We, the Bride of Christ, may appear to be in total disarray as the Holy Spirit prepares us for Jesus, but fine gold will be the result of His work. The time of preparation for Jesus’ return and the beginning of a New Age will bring turmoil to both the world and the Church. The true Church will be strengthened by the turmoil, not swept away by it. It will literally thrive on the persecution and the de-stabilization of the world’s systems which will happen just before the appearance of the Anti-christ. These things will only serve to further purify the Church. What is Flesh will collapse, but what is Spirit will endure forever. Those who are prepared will not be washed away by the coming turmoil. The sanctified Church will not look like the Church of today. It will be more zealous and passionate. God will purify the Hearts of His people, so He can pour His power through them without destroying their lives. He would never risk losing one of His children to prove who He is to the world. This purity of Heart will protect us from “blowing up” in spiritual pride when God does dramatic and powerful things through us. Our surrender and humility will be entrusted with power and authority so He will get the glory.

The Journey by the Children of Israel has three distinct stages to it. In each of these stages, God deals with a different area of the Believer’s Adamic Nature. These stages are: the Wilderness, Jericho, and the defeat of the Seven Nations. In each of these stages, God had a specific purpose in mind when redeeming Israel. The following three chapters are dedicated to understanding the process, the stages, the steps, and God’s purposes and ways, so we can better respond to the preparation He has prescribed for us.

 

© Paul K. Weigel, January 2000

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