From Egypt to the Promised Land

I never thought that I'm in the Promised Land but the message given by my pastor last Friday gave me a new perspective on this issue. The story begins with the deliverance of Israelites from the Egyptians.

'And the Lord said: "I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of the taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them". - Exo 3:7-9.

Israelites (or us) are under the slavery of Egypt (the world). God heard our cries and came down to set us free through Jesus. It took many attempts of miraculous signs by Moses before Pharoah allowed the Israelites go. For the Scripture says to Pharoah: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (Rom 9:17, Ex 9:16). There will be many attempts and interventions from God to break the hold of the world on us before we decide to receive and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour of our lives.

Then the Israelites walked in the wilderness. Why the wilderness? Why do we have to go through the wilderness before we enter the Promised Land? In the context of this post, the wilderness is a sanctuary and a place to receive guidance. It has become a place of miracles that allowed the Israelites to experience God's glory and divine help and guidance. It was the place they received manna, water and quail without any effort of their own (Ex 16:13-15, Ex 17:6, Deut 32:10-14). Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell during those forty years (Deut 8:4). His Spirit went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud by day to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light (Ex 13:21-22, Neh 9:19-20). The wilderness was also a place of worship and covenant. God revealed Himself to His people at Horeb (Ex 3) and Sinai (Ex 19), where He entered into a covenant with them and gave them His commandments. What's the purpose of the wilderness then? It is humble us and to test us in order to know what is in our hearts, whether or not we will keep His commandments, to know that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deut 8:2-3). Also God taught His people on how to be a purified Priestly community that is kept ritually clean in order that they may host the presence of God (Numbers). Today for us, Jesus paid the price to become our High Priest that we will always be a holy people to host the presence of God in us. And the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father sends in Jesus' Name, will teach us all things and remind us of everything that Jesus have said to us (John 14:26).

To us, the wilderness stage is similar to the stage of infant Christians, when we are still having milk and not solid food. When we are still not ready to handle anything stronger (1 Cor 3:2, Heb 5:13). A time when we are still learning the importance of turning away from evil deeds and placing our faith in God (Heb 6:16). Where we're learning God's principles so that we may mature and be able to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right (Heb 5:14). A place where we learn to stand firm in the will of God, to become mature and fully assured (Col 4:12b).

The Promised Land in the OT paints a picture of agricultural abundance, along with the fertile soil and provident climated required for plentiful crops (Deut 8:7-8). The land of milk and honey gives us the images of desirability and abundance, therefore, these two images combine to form a picture of total satisfaction. This does not mean, however, that the Promised Land is a place of inviolable retirement. For one thing, as long as the land remains the object of a quest still in progress, it is a land inhabited by natives who must be subdued (Num 32:22, 29; 33:52) The Promised Land is thus an image of conquest as well as a gift conferred by God and the book of Joshua show how hard the task of conquest was (Josh 12).

Before their first conquest in the book of Joshua, the whole male population was circumcised. Let's take a short look at circumcision in the bible. The first circumcision in the bible was performed by Abraham in Gen 17 when God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants to be their God always and give them the land of Canaan as their possesion forever. The circumcision is the mark of God's everlasting covenant (Gen 17:13). Joshua had to circumcise the Israelites because all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not (Josh 5:5). For us, before we enter our Promised Land, we have to had the circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code (Rom 2:29) so that we will be part of the everlasting covenant of God as promised.

So for us who has had our hearts circumcised by the Spirit, we are currently walking and conquering in our Promised Land like the Israelites did under the leadership of Joshua in the land of Canaan. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12). This land is ours but we must keep fighting for it as long as it is still inhabited by the natives who must be subdued. God gave us to fill the earth and subdue it (Gen 1:28). The Promised Land is not something far, far away but it is here and now. This is our inheritance. 'And we pray for you and asking God to fill you witht he knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this is order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strenghtened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light' (Eph 1:9-12). In Jesus' Name. Amen!

'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.' Joshua 1:9.