God has disciplined me many times in my life and it would take a book to hold the commentary! At times, I didn’t know why I was wandering but I came to understand. I realized darkest times in my life were because of rebelliousness against God. I was my worst enemy. Only when I returned to God and submitted to His leading did I leave the valley. Why are so many today wandering in their ‘desert’? Just as I once did, they see God’s miracles around them but refuse to focus on what they see and choose to focus on what they do not have.
God promised to deliver the Israelites to the Promised Land. Do you believe that God meant for them to just walk in without any effort or discipline on their part? Think of your own life. God expects us to be faithful and trust Him to do what He says and to follow His leading. If you feel that God is leading you to be a welder does He ‘do a memory dump’ in your brain so that you can instantly be a welder? No. If you feel God is leading you to be a doctor, does it just happen? No. You have to work. You have to grab onto the hope of that promise and do what you need to do to become what you feel God is leading you towards. You are the one who has to ‘fight the battles’ required to gain the education and skills to be what God is leading you to be. It is through personal discipline that skills are acquired to reach what God has led you to do. The Israelites could not see that. They had no discipline and provoked the Lord to wrath.
God delivered them from Egypt with miraculous wonders. God parted the Red Sea so they could escape. God traveled with them in the desert. They still chose to focus on what they did not have; not what God had done. God expects us to be proactive; not passive. The people provoked God and as loving fathers should always do, he disciplined them. Of all the Israelites who left Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered the Promise Land. When Joshua and Caleb saw the obstacles their attitude was with God on their side they would prevail. The others saw the obstacles, forgot God’s promise, and were ready to give up. The people’s disobedience led to their judgment.
Studies show that children want boundaries in their lives because they feel more secure. We gain comfort in knowing there are limits to how far we can push the envelope. These boundaries keep us safe from ourselves and from others who recognize boundaries of behavior. Where would we be without discipline? I thank God that He loves me enough to have set boundaries. Without godly boundaries, we hurt ourselves, we hurt others and it put us on a destructive path.
God disciplined the Israelites for the atrocities they committed! We should never judge because we are as guilty as our neighbor. God is a Holy God. All sin is an abomination in His sight. We might steal an apple from the market and believe that we are better than our neighbor because our neighbor was an adulterer and adultery is a greater sin. This is not true. Moses is an example. Moses committed a sin that was, by humanly thought, nothing compared to the people’s sins but Moses suffered the same consequence. Sin is sin. God says that ‘leaders and teachers’ will be held to higher standards than those they lead and teach. Moses experienced that.
Even though God’s discipline was swift and fast, these Bible passages have a great ending! God spared the next Israelite generation and when they returned to God, He delivered on His promise! Today, it is no different. Are you in a rebellious period of your life? Have you lost all personal discipline and believe whatever you want to do is acceptable to God – without boundaries? Do you want to end the cycle of wandering? It’s simple. Ask God to forgive you. Ask God to guide you through the obstacles and trials of this life. Trust God to do what He says He will do. He said come to Him, all that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Jesus is reaching out to you, right now and promising to deliver you from your ‘wanderings’. It is so comforting to know that we have a loving Father who cares enough to discipline His children when we need it instead of letting us go down the path to destruction!
Papa Joe Mac's Commentary:
God has disciplined me many times in my life and it would take a book to hold the commentary! At times, I didn’t know why I was wandering but I came to understand. I realized darkest times in my life were because of rebelliousness against God. I was my worst enemy. Only when I returned to God and submitted to His leading did I leave the valley. Why are so many today wandering in their ‘desert’? Just as I once did, they see God’s miracles around them but refuse to focus on what they see and choose to focus on what they do not have.
God promised to deliver the Israelites to the Promised Land. Do you believe that God meant for them to just walk in without any effort or discipline on their part? Think of your own life. God expects us to be faithful and trust Him to do what He says and to follow His leading. If you feel that God is leading you to be a welder does He ‘do a memory dump’ in your brain so that you can instantly be a welder? No. If you feel God is leading you to be a doctor, does it just happen? No. You have to work. You have to grab onto the hope of that promise and do what you need to do to become what you feel God is leading you towards. You are the one who has to ‘fight the battles’ required to gain the education and skills to be what God is leading you to be. It is through personal discipline that skills are acquired to reach what God has led you to do. The Israelites could not see that. They had no discipline and provoked the Lord to wrath.
God delivered them from Egypt with miraculous wonders. God parted the Red Sea so they could escape. God traveled with them in the desert. They still chose to focus on what they did not have; not what God had done. God expects us to be proactive; not passive. The people provoked God and as loving fathers should always do, he disciplined them. Of all the Israelites who left Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered the Promise Land. When Joshua and Caleb saw the obstacles their attitude was with God on their side they would prevail. The others saw the obstacles, forgot God’s promise, and were ready to give up. The people’s disobedience led to their judgment.
Studies show that children want boundaries in their lives because they feel more secure. We gain comfort in knowing there are limits to how far we can push the envelope. These boundaries keep us safe from ourselves and from others who recognize boundaries of behavior. Where would we be without discipline? I thank God that He loves me enough to have set boundaries. Without godly boundaries, we hurt ourselves, we hurt others and it put us on a destructive path.
God disciplined the Israelites for the atrocities they committed! We should never judge because we are as guilty as our neighbor. God is a Holy God. All sin is an abomination in His sight. We might steal an apple from the market and believe that we are better than our neighbor because our neighbor was an adulterer and adultery is a greater sin. This is not true. Moses is an example. Moses committed a sin that was, by humanly thought, nothing compared to the people’s sins but Moses suffered the same consequence. Sin is sin. God says that ‘leaders and teachers’ will be held to higher standards than those they lead and teach. Moses experienced that.
Even though God’s discipline was swift and fast, these Bible passages have a great ending! God spared the next Israelite generation and when they returned to God, He delivered on His promise! Today, it is no different. Are you in a rebellious period of your life? Have you lost all personal discipline and believe whatever you want to do is acceptable to God – without boundaries? Do you want to end the cycle of wandering? It’s simple. Ask God to forgive you. Ask God to guide you through the obstacles and trials of this life. Trust God to do what He says He will do. He said come to Him, all that are heavy laden, and He will give you rest. Jesus is reaching out to you, right now and promising to deliver you from your ‘wanderings’. It is so comforting to know that we have a loving Father who cares enough to discipline His children when we need it instead of letting us go down the path to destruction!