Hi dear
Top of the week to you. Sometimes in our lives, it feels like we are going around in circles with no end in sight. Could it be that we are in Kadeshbarnea as intimated by today’s Holy Nougat
“Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.” Deuteronomy 2:14 NIV
Thirty-eight years of going around almost in circles for a journey that could have taken far less time. WOW And all because of fear translated to disobedience.
In case you forgot (or were unaware), Kadeshbarnea (Consecrated wandering) was the desert of wandering. It was the location to which the spies returned with such fear-laden news that the children of Israel gave up hope. They just about turned tail and ran away from God. It was the place where God made it clear that no male from the older generation would enter the Land of God’s Promise.
As strange as it sounds, no one tried to sneak away (perhaps because of the same fear that got them in trouble with God in the first place). And God allowed them to wonder around and around in the Valley of Pruning (the Zered valley, so named for the lush vegetation, frequently cut for food by the natives) for thirty-eight years!
Some scholars are caught up by the battles fought and won in those years. It may be worth considering at some point – but not today. I am inviting you instead to reflect on the significance of God’s spoken Word. The spoken Word, as I’d like us to think about both the promise and the place names, perhaps in reverse order.
In one sense the two are actually linked to each other, as one can tell that the place names allude to the larger narrative surrounding the promise. The children of Israel, as they were commonly called then (since they were not yet a nation in the traditional concept of nationhood) were undisputed you God’s chosen people. In fact, by virtue of the circumcision process, one could even say they had been consecrated to God. And yet they sinned.
Repeatedly.
But sin came with consequences. One could even argue that death was one part of it. Thus, when God promised the children of Israel that the older men would not behold the fulfillment of the Promise (entry into land earmarked for them), it is perhaps fitting that the place name is a memorial to that fact. They wandered in that desert until God’s entire pruning process was over. Then, some 38 years later when all the naysayers and dissenters were eliminated FROM within, it was time to prepare for entry into the Land of God’s Promise.
If, like me, you ever find yourself stuck in Kadeshbarnea, I encourage you to quickly begin to check a few things –
1: are we God’s consecrated, for if so, it is possible that there are some attitudes that need to die
2: can we determine what ‘got us to’ Kadeshbarnea; the quicker we uproot the sin and allow it to die, the shorter will be the pruning process. For though the wandering is established by God, it’s purpose is for sifting and pruning before we can enter into the Land of God’s Promise
3: have we lost sight of God’s ORIGINAL promise; for when we hold on to that vision, the likelihood of fear and grumbling might be decreased
4: try not to focus on the length of the delay, for while the Land of Promise was deferred for that long stretch – the promise came through (albeit in the next generation.
Ultimately we determine the pace at which we get out of Kadeshbarnea and across the Zered Valley. And as lush as the vegetation is there, they were cut away. Let’s not get sidetracked by the little disappointments. Rather, let us lay aside (prune) every weight (and lush vegetation) that so easily beset us; pressing forward in the knowledge of our consecration; which qualifies us to receive the prize of the higher calling (Hebrews 12:1)
Is it time to move on from consecrated wandering?
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
