Exodus 13:17-22 – Get Out of This Wilderness – Bible study

Exodus 13:17-22 Get Out of This Wilderness Notice that God took the Israelites out of Egypt "through the way of the wilderness." If you look at a map of Egypt and Israel, you will see that the two nations were almost neighbors, the only people being between them was the Palestinians. Israel could have traveled from Egypt into Israel in a few weeks, but God took them out of Egypt south into the Sinai Peninsula instead of north into the Promised Land. The Sinai has some of the driest, most undesirable, unsustainable land in the world. Why did God take them that way? The Bible tells us that they werent ready for the Promised Land yet. There was going to be fighting both there and apparently with the Philistines and Israel just was not readyso God took them through the wilderness. Would you note what Paul said of our Old Testament. 1Cor 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Paul was saying that the things which occurred in the Old Testament can serve as a lesson to us. Those Old Testament stories are more than just historic facts; they are fodder for us. How can that be? How can we be fed from those old stories? By seeing a bigger pictures, by seeing how many of those stories have application to us. For example, throughout the Old Testament, Egypt is a picture of the world. It is a place of bondage, a place of pleasure but a pleasure which has a great costand that cost was torment. God rescued His people out of that land of bondage. Not only so, but in that application, Pharaoh would picture Satan. He was the tormentor, the cruel task master. He was the one who had to be defeated before the people could be free. So God rescued His people, took them out of the land of bondage. But where was that deliverance wroth? At the Red Sea. Notice \#Ex 13:17\, "when Pharaoh had let the people go." When did the terror of Pharaoh end? At the Red Sea. That was the place of Gods deliverance from Pharaoh. It was the door out of Egypt and into deliverance; hence, the Red Sea is a picture of salvation. Joh 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. And where was God taking His people? He was taking them to Canaan. Many Christians associate Canaan with heaven (and I understand that); however, the Hebrews had to fight in Canaan. They had enemies in Canaan. They sinned in Canaan. They even got expelled from Canaan. Friend, Canaan is not a picture of heaven. It is a picture of conquest, a picture of the victorious Christian life. We have here the whole story of Christian life taught through the stories of the Old Testament. We were once in bondage, a victim for Satan to torment, but God delivered us and wants us to have a victorious Christian life. With that understanding, why did God take these people through the wilderness? \#Ex 13:17\ Because they were not ready for war yet. They were not ready to make the tough decisions. They were not yet fit for the battle, so God took them through the wilderness. What is the wilderness? The wilderness is that place between our salvation and our place of victory. Every baby Christian must go there for at least a short period of time, just like the Hebrews had to go through the wilderness to get from Egypt of the Promised Land. The wilderness is the place of being saved but spiritually immature. It is the place where you are in Gods care, but not yet in the battle. It is the place of training, of grooming, of preparation, a place of relative safety. For a few moments this morning, lets consider the wilderness. I. The wilderness is to be a temporary place. A. God took the Hebrews through the wilderness but it was not to be their home. 1. Their home was the Promised Land, Canaan, the place of victory. 2. Yet, for a brief time, they were to go into the wilderness. B. So it is with the Christian life. The wilderness is where Christians go for a brief time after their salvation. 1. The Bible writers make reference to this temporary sojourn. a. Peter referred to it as our stage of infancy. 1Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1) We understand the infant stage of babies. (2) At that time, they simply arent ready for any responsibilities. (a) We do not ask our infants to pick up their toys, to make up their beds, or to turn off a light. i. They simply cannot. ii. They have neither the understanding nor the ability. iii. However, we do not allow them to stay in this stage forever. They grow up. (b) Even as a toddler, we start training them to assume responsibility. i. Pick it up. ii. Go the potty? iii. Dont touch that! iv. What are we doing? We are taking them out of the infant stage. v. We are taking them out of the wilderness. (3) That is what we do for the Christian. (a) Pray. Can you talk to God? (b) Read your Bible. (c) Worship. (d) Tell others about Jesus. (e) Give your testimony. (f) Tithe (g) Serve b. Paul uses the same reference but gives to the stage a name, carnal. 1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. :2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 2. Carnal is not a bad term if applied to a new born, but it becomes a bad term if we do not soon grow out of it. a. The whole point is that no one is to stay in the wilderness for too long. b. Think back to the children of Israel, they stayed in the wilderness for 40 years, but that was not what God wanted. (1) What God wanted was to take them straight through the wilderness. (2) In fact, God did not give the Hebrews a choice! (a) He brought them to the Promised Land and told them to go take it, but the people rebelled! (b) God did not ASK them if they wanted to go in. He TOLD them to go in. It was THEIR rebellious decision to stay. (3) So it is with the Christian, God has not asked you if you wanted to go into the land of battle. After a short period of time, God expects you to go to battle. (4) If you stay in the wilderness, it will be by your own doing and it will be rebellion to God. (5) That is when carnality ceases to be a stage in your life and becomes a sin! C. Christian, you must get out of the wilderness! 1. The wilderness is not your home. It is a place for temporary training. 2. But your home and place of your rest is over in Canaan. 3. Yes, there are some giants in the land and you will have to fight them, but you have the promise of victory from God. Press on! The land is yours. II. The wilderness is for us to know God. A. The Jews did not know who God was. 1. They had been in Egypt for over 400 years! 2. Whatever the patriarchs knew about God was lost during their stay in Egypt. B. A couple of miscellaneous facts about knowing God. 1. No one who was born and raised in the world is going to have an accurate picture of God. a. We are finite. He is infinite. b. We are sinners. He is holy. c. We are the created. He is the Creator. d. We are fleshly and physical. He is spirit. e. We live 70 or 80 years and think we know everything by the time we are 25. He is eternal and really does know everything. f. There are no similarities between us at all. 2. The truth is, God is not easy to comprehend by any human being. Job 11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? Proverbs 30:3 I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Matthew 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. a. These verses are not saying that one CANT comprehend God. b. But they are saying that it is not easy! c. It should become the lifes goal of every believer to seek out and understand God. d. So this detour into the wilders was Meet God 101. 3. So God began to teach the Jews about Himself in the wilderness. C. God taught them. 1. That He is the Planner. a. They had a problem with this one right out of the gate because lead them to the Red Sea. (1) The people knew that they were following God for He manifested Himself in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. (2) Since they were following God, they could not believe He had lead them into a problem but having mountains on both sides, a sea behind them, and an enemy army coming at them IS a problem. (3) But God had a plan – Go Forward! (4) God was showing them that no matter what the situation, He had a plan! b. Something similar happened to the disciples of Jesus. (1) Jesus had taught, sent the people away, and constrained the disciples to get on a boat. (2) The boat ran into a storm and they rowed to the fourth watch – 9 to 12 hours. (3) The disciples thought they would die but then Jesus comes walking on the water. (4) Jesus was showing them that He had a plan! c. God always has a plan! He is the Planner. Trust Him. 2. That He is the Provider. a. God took them into a land of need so that He could meet their need. (1) We are at Exodus 13. (2) Ex 16-Manna from heaven begins. Ex 16:4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. (a) There is no doubt that manna was a blessing from God. \#Psalm 78:25\ calls it angels food. (b) However, what gave to sustain the Hebrews for two years no doubt became a terrible monotony after over the next 40 years! (c) Whats for breakfast? lunch? dinner? birthday? tailgating? (d) To get the satisfying food, they needed to get out of the wilderness! (e) But God provided! (3) Ex 16-God gives them quail, both to show How power and His holiness. (4) Ex 17-Water from the rock in Rephidim. b. God was showing His people that there was no need that He could not provide for. (1) They had no knowledge of that kind of God. (2) Their gods had been of stone, wood, gold. They could not feed themselves let alone those who worshipped them. 3. That He is holy. a. This is in contrast to the one thing that those in Egypt would say about God. b. The one thing that they will say is that God is love. c. That is true, but even more than God is love, God is holy. (1) Isaiah did not hear the angels saying, "Love, love, love, is the Lord of hosts" but "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." \#Is 6:3\ (2) The book of Revelation, one of the Bibles most heavenly books, only records the word "love" twice-both times were a rebuke to the church. (3) But the word "Holy" is found 13x. (4) Old and New Testaments alike proclaim God without as Light, without shadow, having no darkness, glorious in holiness, righteous, and on the list goes. (5) People did not JUST GO into Gods presence. Even the most favored entered into Gods presence and fainted, falling out, because of Gods glory and holiness! (Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, John) d. Do not let the people of the world dictate your theology about God. Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (1) God is NOT the Santa Claus of heaven! (2) They have painted a picture of God who is not offended by any sin, who accepts all, who loves all no matter what. (3) I do not find that God in the Bible! (4) I find a God that does love but requires both confession and repentance of sin. (a) Confession means to agree with God about what sin is and then to declare that God was right. (b) Repentance means to turn from sin. III. The wilderness is for your preparation. A. Just like the Hebrews, Christians need some preparation before we go into the battle. 1. No one has ever said the Christian life was easy. 2. There are enemies in Canaan. 3. God does not desire to throw the immature to the wolves! B. Notice what God planned for the Hebrews in the wilderness. 1. By Exodus 17, there is war with Amalek. (a) The main reason for taking the Hebrews through the wilderness was so that they would not see battle, but battle found them anyway. (b) The truth is Amalek was not one of the enemies from Canaan. He was the grandson of Esau. He was family! (c) Before can learn how to fight the enemies outside the church, you have to learn how to fight the enemies INSIDE the church. (d) And so Christians have to learn to fight. (e) Do you not find it interesting that God teaches the same thing in the New Testament? Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (1) girdle of truth (2) breastplate of righteousness (3) feet shod with gospel of peace (4) shield of faith (5) helmet of salvation (6) praying always 2. It was the place where their instruction in the Word would begin. Ex 19:1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. a. The Hebrews were only three months into their journey when the came to Sinai. b. It was on Mt. Sinai that God gave the Hebrews His Law. c. The Ten Commandments are given in Exodus 20. d. There is no doubt that Christians need some time in the wilderness to study the Bible. e. Paul himself went out into the wilderness to study the Word of God. Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mothers womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia (A WILDERNESS) and returned again unto Damascus. f. Without doubt, God wants His children to be trained in the Word of God before assuming any demanding spiritual responsibilities. 1Ti 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. g. However, you must do the studying. 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. h. Then you must use what you have learned to help others. i. Time estimates: (1) One source says it would take about two weeks for a person to walk the trail the Hebrews followed from Egypt to Israel. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_days_from_Egypt_to_promised_land (2) One writer estimated that the time God intended the Hebrews to be in the wilderness was approximately two year. http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-exodus-route-travel- times-distances-days.htm j. If you have been sitting in this church partaking of two or three feedings a week, you will be ready to leave the wilderness within two years.