Calvary Church • 11338 Ozga Road • Romulus MI 48174 • 734.941.0236 • calvary@calvaryromulus.org
. . .You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
Psalm 138:2 NKJV
God Teaches His People to Trust Him
6. The Wilderness
Deuteronomy 8:1-20
In our teaching on the Law, we left the people at Mt. Sinai as recorded in the book of Exodus. God was preparing His people for living in the land He was giving them. He had led them out of Egypt. He had communicated how they were to live by giving them His laws. The people sinned by rebelling, distrusting God and worshipping a golden calf but God persevered with His people. Moses interceded and God brought judgment through a plague; several thousand died, but He did not completely destroy His people.
The record of the wilderness experience:
Exodus 14-18: Egypt to Mt. Sinai (about 3 months)
Exodus 19-Numbers 10: At Mt. Sinai while laws were given, tabernacle is planned and constructed (about 2 years)
Numbers 10:11-Numbers 13: Mt. Sinai to Canaan; spies sent out; people rebel
Numbers 14ff: Started on 40 years of wandering
The book of Numbers continues this story; it can be summarized this way:
God continues to prepare His people Numbers 1-10
The people continue to distrust God Numbers 11-19
God continues to persevere with His people Numbers 20-36
GOD CONTINUES TO PREPARE HIS PEOPLE Numbers 1-10
By teaching them about purity
By giving them priests to intercede
By assuring them of His presence
God continues to prepare us as well Romans 8:28-30
THIS PREPARATION PROCESS INCLUDED THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE
Why did God lead His people to the Promised Land through a “wilderness” or desert by a route that was several hundred miles out of the way? The answer can be found in the following passage:
Deuteronomy 8:1-3,11,15,16 "Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. . . . 11 "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God . . . 15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, . . . 16 . . . that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end.
God led His people into the wilderness, not because He had something against them, but because He want to do them “good in the end.” God was leading the people to a land where there would be abundant prosperity in comparison to slavery in Egypt. And prosperity is dangerous because it can lead us to self-sufficiency and pride rather than trusting in God. So He led them in the wilderness to humble them and test them and do them good – to make them conscious of their total dependence on God for everything. He did not want them to be able to say “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:17)
John Piper: “The wilderness is never easy; it is never easy. But it is for our good if we will be trained by it. And those who are best trained are most happy, most free, and most thankful wherever their journey leads.”1
God uses various circumstances of life in his preparation process for us as well. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
THE PEOPLE CONTINUE TO DISTRUST GOD AND SIN AGAINST HIM Numbers 11-16
By questioning the wisdom and goodness of God
By constantly complaining
They complained about their hardships
They complained about no water
They complained about their food – bread, meat
They complained that they had left Egypt – remember how good we had it
Mark Dever: “In Shakespeare's play 'Henry IV', the Archbishop of York reflects on his role in the rise and fall of kings. He has helped to put the current king on the throne but is now unsure of the forces on his side and those on the king's side, and so says, 'past and to come seem best, things present, worst.' We have all experienced changes in our judgment and feelings as the facts present themselves. The present often seems a seedbed of discontent. The culmination of human discontent can be found in the book of Numbers.”2
By ultimately rebelling and refusing to obey God Numbers 13:1-14:10
Refused to enter the Promised Land
God brought punishment on the people for their sin
He sent plagues of disease (leprosy), fire and poisonous snakes
Even though God extends His grace to us abundantly, we are still an imperfect people that continue to sin and are in need of constant repentance.
GOD CONTINUES TO PERSEVERE WITH HIS PEOPLE Numbers 17-36
By continuing to extend grace to them
By continuing to supply their needs
By enabling them to finally reach the Promised Land
God continues to perseveres with us as well Romans 8:31-39
THE LESSONS OF THE WILDERNESS
Man’s helplessness
Even though the people saw God’s glory and power in delivering them from Egypt, they continually grumbled, disobeyed and did not rest in His power
God’s faithfulness and power to supply
God can prepare a table in the wilderness
John Piper says “It is a terrible and foolish thing to say to God ‘My life would be better if I hadn’t ever followed you.’”3
The wilderness takes away everything that causes us to trust in ourselves and our own resources. The test is whether we will be thankful for God’s merciful provision and rest in His power. The good that comes is the assurance that every obstacle will be conquered and overcome and transformed into good as we trust and obey Him
Psalms 37:3-7
God always. . .
Keeps His promises
Takes care of His people, even in difficulty
Has a purpose in “wilderness experiences”
Demands love & trust for our own good
There are dangers in both prosperity and difficulty
Prosperity: other gods, complacency, lack of prayer and dependence on God, pride
Difficulty: complaining, lack of faith, questioning God, ungratefulness (God isn’t good), rebellion and disobedience
Solutions
Recognize and admit our helplessness, sinfulness, need for God as well as God’s grace, mercy and goodness
Trust God for strength, forgiveness, motivation, desire, needs, wisdom for right decisions, proper thinking, courage and faith
The Apostle Paul confirms the lessons of the wilderness experience. 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
1 John Piper sermon, Can God Spread a Table in the Wilderness, November 22, 1981, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/1981/321_Can_God_Spread_a_Table_in_the_Wilderness/, accessed 6/27/09.
2 Mark Dever sermon, The Great Story: "Past and to come seem best, things present, worst.", February 17, 2002, http://www.chbcaudio.org/docs/summaries/2002/020217.htm, accessed 6/27/09.
3 Op. cit., John Piper sermon, Can God Spread a Table in the Wilderness, November 22, 1981.
Next: The Promised Land
Next: The Promised Land
