The Lessons of the Detour

January 19, 2022 Ken Winter

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The journey of our lives often resembles a car ride on an interstate highway. Sometimes we are able to fly along with very little interruption from traffic. But most often, we are surrounded by crowded lanes of traffic that slow our progress. The congestion too frequently leads to accidents and, on occasion, to unexpected detours.

We never planned to encounter the accidents or the detours, but the reality is that they are a part of traveling along the interstate. The same is true of our lives. This week let’s look at the detours we come upon along the way, and heed some of the lessons the Israelites learned through the detours they encountered during their journey.

Their forty-year journey was almost at its end. All that stood between them and the Promised Land was a piece of land inhabited by the Edomites. The Edomites had refused to grant the Israelites passage through their land, and God directed His people to take the detour.

It’s easy to gloss over the travelogue of places they passed through while making their detour.(1) The names are hard to pronounce, and we tend to want to bypass the geography lesson in our attempt to get on to the “good stuff”. However, if we do, we will miss some of the most important lessons that God would teach us in the wilderness. After all, let’s not forget what Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”(2)

This journey around the Land of Edom was approximately one hundred miles and took the Israelites six days, traveling approximately sixteen miles per day. They now stood at the edge of the Promised Land. Despite the Edomites’ refusal to permit them passage, the Israelites were now right where they needed to be. The first lesson we might have overlooked is that the enemy may sometimes cause us to detour, but he can never prevent us from arriving at the place God intends us to be. Do not lose sight that God is sovereign even in the detours, and as we’ll see in a moment, God has blessings in store for us even along the way of the detours. Throughout our life journeys, we too will encounter detours placed in our path by the enemy. Remember Joseph’s admonition to his brothers that what they meant for evil, God intended for good.(3) God will lead us through the detour, and we will arrive at His intended destination.

In Moses’ account of the detour, he takes a moment to refer to “The Book of the Wars of the Lord.”(4) This is the book that God instructed Moses to keep after His defeat of the Amalekites.(5) It was a record of the victories that God accomplished on behalf of His people. The second lesson we might have overlooked is the reminder that we must keep a written record of the victories God accomplishes along the way. We must take time to celebrate the favor and the victories of God, preserving them in writing for our future recollection, as well as for the generations that follow. We must record, and in that manner preserve, an account of what He has done, where He has done it, and when He has done it. As we can see time and again in the account of the Israelites, they were quick to forget the goodness and the graciousness of God. But guess what – so are we! We must be faithful to record, review and recite the victories of God in days past; and allow those to provoke us to even greater faith in His Person, His promises and His purpose in the days ahead.

This account of the detour begins at a place called Oboth, which means “water skins.”(6) God provided them with water sufficient for the detour. But now six days later when they arrived in Beer their water bottles were empty; their water supply was exhausted. And do you know what the Israelites did not do? For the first time in almost forty years when their water supply was exhausted – they did not complain! The people had finally learned to look to the Lord God Jehovah to see how He was going to provide – at least for the moment!(7)

God gathered the people and instructed the seventy elders to place their staffs in the ground. He didn’t have Moses strike the rock, or even speak to it; as a matter of fact, He didn’t even work through Moses for this miracle; He worked through the seventy elders. And as they placed their staffs in the ground, water sprang forth, and there was more than enough for the people and their animals. The third lesson we might have overlooked is the reminder that God will rarely meet our needs in the same way He has done it in the past; but He will always meet our need. As God meets the need, it will be in ways that bring glory to Him; and it will often be in ways that are above and beyond anything that we could hope or ask. One pattern will always be consistent – the people prayed according to God’s will, He heard them, and He answered. And as He answered, the people responded with joy and thankfulness.

The detour ended with the people crossing from the wilderness into the valley of Moab. The fourth lesson we might have overlooked is the reminder that our Lord is our Shepherd, and He will lead us to the green pastures and the quiet waters. He knew what the people needed before they even asked, and as the Good Shepherd He was, and is, faithful to provide it. Hold onto that lesson – no matter where you are in your journey, even if you can only see desert wilderness in front of you, be confident; He will lead you to those green pastures and quiet waters.

i have no idea what detour you might currently be experiencing on your journey; but don’t overlook the lessons He would teach you through it. God does not waste a single moment of our journey. He teaches us through it all. And they are lessons we need to learn to prepare us for the rest of our journey with Him. Heed the lessons of the detour, and trust Him to use it for your good and His glory!

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This post is adapted from The Wandering Years, chapter 30, entitled “The Lessons of the Detour.” This second book in the Lessons Learned In The Wilderness series is available through Amazon in print or for your e-reader. Click HERE for more information on how you can obtain your copy of the book.

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(1) Numbers 21:10-20 (NLT)

The Israelites traveled next to Oboth and camped there. Then they went on to Iye-abarim, in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab. From there they traveled to the valley of Zered Brook and set up camp. Then they moved to the far side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness adjacent to the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites. For this reason “The Book of the Wars of the LORD” speaks of "the town of Waheb in the area of Suphah, and the ravines; and the Arnon River and its ravines, which extend as far as the settlement of Ar on the border of Moab." From there the Israelites traveled to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Assemble the people, and I will give them water." There the Israelites sang this song: "Spring up, O well! Yes, sing about it! Sing of this well, which princes dug, which great leaders hollowed out with their scepters and staffs." Then the Israelites left the wilderness and proceeded on through Mattanah, Nahaliel, and Bamoth. Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah Peak overlooks the wasteland.

(2) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

(3) Genesis 50:20

(4) Numbers 21:14

(5) Exodus 17:14

(6) Numbers 21:10

(7) Numbers 21:17

Photo by Alexey Taktarov on Unsplash