Despising the Promise

In the beginning of Exodus 15 the Israelites are singing the praises of God; fresh from the deliverance of enslavement, eyewitnesses to the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of their former taskmasters. Just before, they were lamenting their freedom, wishing a return to the service of a whip in lieu of pursuing a promise. But now things are looking up, circumstances have changed…but hearts have not. In three short days following their celebration, they will murmur again.

Continue to flip the pages…the pattern does not waver. Time upon time Israel, in their own eyes, is faced with an unimaginable situation; their eyes are blinded once again from the promise. God delivers. It may be manna today, sweet water another, or victory over an enemy the next. However, their eyes and hearts remain in continued reflection of what has been.

Numbers 11:5-6

We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leek, and the onions, and the garlik:
But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

Their obscured vision prevents them from seeing the miraculous events that had kept them 40 years and placed them at the edge of Canaan; a blessing that had kept scars off their backs and unshackled them from Egypt’s yoke. For with all the signs that God had showed them, their hearts were still in Egypt. Ten times they would provoke Him. Inevitably, in the face of Joshua and Caleb’s account, their continued spurning of the promise would cause them to lose it.

They are days when we don’t understand the workings and movements of God’s will in our lives. Perhaps even sometimes as true believers, in moments of great despair, we persuade ourselves to distrust and fret. Rebellion will feed itself off the murmuring of our minds, convincing us that the shackles of sin and “liberties” of this world outweigh the promise. That somehow in our service and pursuit of godly things, we have been abandoned. Satan would like nothing more than for us to sway ourselves that where we have been prevails over where we are going. Our vision must remain steadfast I should continually remind myself that when times get bitter, when things get tough, when the trial seems insurmountable…there is a land of promise. Milk and honey flourish there and despising it is not an option.