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After having camped at Mount Sinai for almost a year, the cloud lifted and the Israelites set out on their three-day journey to the wilderness of Paran.(1) (You may recall that the wilderness of Paran is where Hagar and Ishmael found refuge when Sarah had Abraham send them away.(2)) The wilderness of Paran was bounded to the north by southern Canaan, otherwise known as the Promised Land. They were in the fourteenth month of their exodus from Egypt and they were now closing in on the prize that was before them – the Promised Land!
The people that left Sinai were much different from those who had arrived a year earlier. They arrived as a ragtag multitude bound together by the promises of God; they left as an ordered people, united in the presence of God. Prior to Sinai, they had experienced God’s provision and protection, but at Sinai they had experienced His Person and His presence dwelling in their midst. They arrived in Sinai with a self-centered view of God, His promises and His purpose. They left Sinai as the recipients of His Law and His covenant, now having a better understanding of His purpose and His plan for their lives. The Israelites left Sinai, not only having experienced God’s presence, but also having experienced His wrath and His judgment following their errant worship of the golden calf. Prior to Sinai they had witnessed God’s power directed toward their enemies, but now they had seen His power directed toward them and their disobedience—and they had learned to live in reverence and awe of the Almighty God.
As they set out from Sinai, the Mount was behind them, but the Ark of the Lord’s covenant was before them. Though the people would never return to the Mount of the Lord; the Lord of the Mount would continue to go before them. The ark, which had been crafted while they were at Sinai, contained the two stone tablets of the Law—God’s covenant with His people; as well as the golden pot of manna—a testimony to future generations of God’s faithful provision. On the top of the ark was the mercy seat, the place where God spoke to Moses in the wilderness tabernacle—the visible symbol of His gracious presence. The Ark represented the presence and the promises of God that went before His people.
They arrived in Sinai carrying riches from Egypt. While there, God transformed those riches into His wilderness tabernacle—the earthly dwelling place of God. The tribe of Levi arrived in Sinai as one of many. They left Sinai having been consecrated as the servants and priests of a Holy God.
Picture this: the Ark of God’s Covenant goes before them, the Mount of the Lord lies behind them, the Tabernacle of the Lord travels in their midst and the Cloud of the Lord covers them. They arrived in Sinai led by God; they now left Sinai enveloped in His presence—shaded, protected and bounded by His limitless power and grace.
Being positioned in such a way in the presence of God gave them a posture of confidence in the power of God. Sadly, their confidence would be short-lived due to their subsequent disobedience. But now, as they advanced closer to God’s Land of Promise for them, and the ever-closer reality of the enemies that stood before them, they confessed a confidence in the power of God to accomplish His purpose by defeating and scattering those enemies and giving His people rest.
As we journey on to the Paran in our path, we, too, can do so in the confidence that we are enveloped in His presence. We are shaded, protected and bounded by His limitless power and grace. We can be confident that He goes before us to direct our steps, He goes behind us as our rear guard, and He walks beside us to draw us close to Him. He will scatter the enemies before us and yes, He will give us rest.
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You can read about the Israelites’ journey from Mount Sinai to the wilderness of Paran in the tenth chapter of the Book of Numbers.
This post is taken from chapter 8 of my book, TThe Wandering Years. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Numbers 10:11-12, 33-36 (NLT)
One day in midspring, during the second year after Israel's departure from Egypt, the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant. So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on in stages until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran…. They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD's covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest. As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them. And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would cry, "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!" And when the Ark was set down, he would say, "Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel!"
(2) Genesis 21:10-21
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