Loving Egypt

Why did God punish Israel by having them wander the desert for forty years? He could have destroyed those who failed to believe Him in one fell swoop. He could have used a plague as He did at other times; had the ground open and swallow them all up; or send snakes into the camp. Why did He condemn them to wander? Wasn't He punishing everyone for the sins of just a portion of the people? What could have been His purpose? I think that there were probably many reasons, some that we won't know until heaven. Probably, He wanted to teach the people that sin has consequences, not just for ourselves. I think that there was also the practical part of not killing off the older generation and leaving just young people, think Lord of the Flies. The one idea that strikes closest to home for me today is this: What if God allowed the people to wander the wilderness for all those years to make them hungry? What if He wanted to change their appetites? If the people had gone from Egypt to Canaan , would they have appreciated the goodness of the land, or would their hearts have longed for the home that they had left? I would guess that after nearly forty years of eating manna, that the fruit of the land that God provided for them when they entered Canaan tasted pretty good. It makes me think that when hard things happen in my life, maybe God is trying to starve out my love for my "Egypt." Maybe He is longing for me to long for Him rather than the dainties that this world has to offer. Maybe He is trying to wean my appetites from the base to the exalted. A meditation on Joshua Chapter six.

Through a conversations with some military wives whose husbands are soon to deploy and a book that I am reading, I've had a thought: Our lives are not infinite. I live as though my time, relationships, routines, and life are endless. I look ahead on the calendar or make plans for "ten years from now" and assume that everything that I love will still be where I expect it to be. I put off running today with the idea that I'll fit it in tomorrow. That assumes that I will be able to run tomorrow. I rationalize not sitting with my little one who is asking to read a story, saying, "We'll do that later." He may not want to read when I'm finally ready. I fail to communicate my love for my husband, because I'm tired. After all, I can tell him tomorrow. I fill my time with "have to dos" instead of with the things that I would do if I knew that my time were limited. When on earth, Jesus Christ knew that his ministry would only last three years. He knew that the end was near from the beginning. How did that knowledge shape His work? What if I lived with an urgency that saw past the daily grind to the fact that my moments are scare? Would I make different choices? Would I say, "Yes" more? Would I say, "No" more? I'm not sure how to wrest my days from the tyranny of the urgent and walk instead in the arena of the important. I would guess that it has much to do with seeing the smallness of my life. I would guess that that change in seeing is best achieved by spending much time looking at the vastness of the God who created me and who ordains my days. When I see Him rightly, I can't help but understand better my place in relation to His majesty. Rightly understanding the size of the Earth, is easier when the Earth is compared to the sun or other object in our solar system. When I look at my life in comparison to Him, I am better able to understand its finite nature. I can only echo Moses' words: "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."