The people of Israel were led by the very presence of God:
Numbers 9:15 On the day the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it.But from evening until morning the cloud over the Tabernacle looked like a pillar of fire. 16 This was the regular pattern—at night the cloud that covered the Tabernacle had the appearance of fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from over the sacred tent, the people of Israel would break camp and follow it. And wherever the cloud settled, the people of Israel would set up camp. 18 In this way, they traveled and camped at the Lord’s command wherever he told them to go. Then they remained in their camp as long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle.
As I read that I thought, wow, wouldn't that be nice. To know, without a doubt, where God wanted you to go, how long to stay there, etc. Then I read this:
Numbers 10:29 One day Moses said to his brother-in-law, Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, “We are on our way to the place the Lord promised us, for he said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised wonderful blessings for Israel!”
30 But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go. I must return to my own land and family.”
31 “Please don’t leave us,” Moses pleaded. “You know the places in the wilderness where we should camp. Come, be our guide. 32 If you do, we’ll share with you all the blessings the Lord gives us.”
Moses, what the heck are you doing? Asking a foreigner to be your guide? Why do you need a guide? Don't you trust God to lead you? His very presence has been your guide. I peeked ahead to the next chapter, and saw where things begin to turn ugly (but that's for tomorrow). As I "peeked ahead", it made me wonder...did the people start to mistrust God because their leader did? It also reminded me to pray for our leaders - especially our church leaders - that their faith in God would be strong and pure, that they would be able to lead us with clarity and integrity.
I should catch up with you and go through this with you. I'm still in Genesis (Moses & Aaron are absuing Pharaoh on behalf of God).
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see what happens with Moses and Hobab...
why would moses do that of all things. His bro-in-law may be nice but he's human and could be selfish and take advantage of him. That s why GOd is the perfect guide.
ReplyDeleteCooper