Israel: A Place of Rest

God brought the Israelites to the wilderness not just to bring them out of Egypt, but to get Egypt out of them. For 430 years they were enslaved in Egypt, entangled in their culture and traditions to the point of finding comfort in the familiar day-to-day as a slave. SO comfortable, so complacent in not knowing and obeying the Lord their God that they begged Moses to let them return to slavery in Egypt after the Passover and Exodus rather than walking in freedom en route to the Promised Land of God.

For a lot of my Forge siblings and myself, this year has been one of practicing new disciplines, fasting and solitude among them. By fasting from food and withdrawing from the "world" (technology, ties to a specific schedule or plan, the hustle and bustle of running errands, and to-do lists) to spend time with the Lord I have learned to dwell deeply in God's steadfast love (Psalm 63:1-8). I have learned to recognize the ways He cares for me in His timing and providence. I have heard Him, my Shepherd, call me by name (John 10:14-16). And I have understood more fully that I CANNOT obey the Lord in my own strength. This is what God was trying to get the Israelites to understand by taking the time to "pull the Egypt out of them": that He CAN provide and that He CARES to do so.

The Wilderness of Zin where the people of Israel wandered was the site I was most looking forward to visiting. And God did not disappoint on His teaching. You see, REST has been God's theme for me this year: resting in Him, ceasing striving, experiencing freedom in knowing Christ has already claimed victory. So I came to Israel hoping God would teach me what rest means because Moses said about Israel, "the Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land," (Joshua 1:13b).

And it sounds counterintuitive, but the wilderness is the definition of rest. Often the Hebrew word describing it is "yeshimon," or unsurvivable desert. But God says "Therefore, behold I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her" (Hosea 2:14). Where we see desolation, God sees green pastures to where He leads His sheep; where we see exile, God sees opportunity for communion with us; where we see wilderness, God sees REST. And "we walk by faith, not by sight," (2 Corinthians 5:7) so please pray with me that all of our eyes would be opened to understand God's perspective on the desert that we may find rest in Him.

Soli deo Gloria,
Kimberly Webber