Stage by Stage
”These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they
went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses
and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command
of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting
places" —Numbers 33:1-3.
And
then there follows a long list of place–names tracing Israel's pilgrimage from Egypt to the
Transjordan. Note the emphasis of the text: "Moses wrote down their
starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord."
Why
these records? No adventurer can retrace the journey on a map or on foot, for
most of the locations are lost to history. Yet clearly God intended these places to be recorded and remembered forever.
Could
it be that the list exists as a framework upon which Israelites could retrace
the journey in their thoughts and recall God's goodness at each location?
“I remember Rephidim. We were
dying of thirst, but God directed Moses to take his staff and strike a slab of
flint—and
to my amazement water gushed out of that hard, impervious stone! 'He turned the
rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water' (Psalm 114:8). I’ll never forget that day!” (cf., Numbers 33:14)
Try
it: Think through the starting p[laces and stages of your existence and remember the ways in which God showed you his unfailing
covenant love. Count your blessings; name them one by one. And it will surpsise
you what the Lord has done!
David
Roper
7/22/15
