O God, when you led your people out from Egypt, when you marched through the dry wasteland, the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain before you, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. You sent abundant rain, O God, to refresh the weary land. (version NLT)
O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah: The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. (version KJV)
O God, when You went forth before Your people, when You marched through the wilderness—Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!— The earth trembled, the heavens also poured down [rain] at the presence of God; yonder Sinai quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel. You, O God, did send a plentiful rain; You did restore and confirm Your heritage when it languished and was weary. (version AMPC)
This scripture portion refers to the passage of the Israelites in the wilderness on the way from Egypt to the promised land.
From our memory, many of us will remember the provision of God during this period, daily manna, water from the rock, pillar of cloud, pillar of fire, quails for meat. While few of us will remember the flip side, the challenges of food, water, meat etc. Good to remember while there were challenges, Yahweh was the provision, protection, even the first cloud navigation system, where the Israelites were guided regarding rest, when to move and the direction to be taken.
The verse specifically shows that Yahweh Lord goes before us marching, steadily progressing, at a steady pace. He kept progressing. This is a learning experience we need to have. Any time we pass through the wilderness, we need to keep moving, we should not be still. That’s what the Lord wants us to do. As people made in His image, we ought to, “Keep moving”. (Keep moving forward, an idea from the Bible was later used in the Walt Disney film, Meet the Robinson.)
As Yahweh marched before Israel, he blessed them with bountiful rain, so that the ground became fruitful for the Lord’s people. In Holy reverence, because of God’s mighty hand, every flesh trembled in the presence of the Lord, the mountains quacked, trembled in the presence of the Lord.
Thus, the passage through the wilderness will be different for you as the Lord is with you. For others, going through the wilderness can be painful and stressful. But since the Lord is with you, as you trust in Him, as you walk in obedience, seeking Him and delighting in His presence, the experience is bound to be totally different.
Honey from the rock, olives from the stony ground, yoghurt from the herd, wine are a few of the sweet blessings the Israelites were provided by the Lord during the 40-year trek through the wilderness.
He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields.
He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground.
He fed them yogurt from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs.
He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats, together with the choicest wheat.
You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes. ( Reference Deuteronomy 32: 13 14)
Note: This blog post is inspired by the sermon I heard at the church I belong to. Greatly blessed by the revelation and the teachings here. I would recommend hearing the original message, do connect with me so that I can get a copy for you from the church admin.
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