The Wilderness: November 2013
Table of Contents
The Wilderness
Our journey through the wilderness is the weaning of us from trusting in ourselves, in order that we may trust only in God. The deliverance to Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh brings them into the wilderness and not at once into Canaan. Being in the wilderness implies all sorts of trials. It may seem strange that they who had just been singing the song of triumph and deliverance (Ex. 15) should be allowed to be three days in the wilderness without water, and then, when they came to water, should find it so bitter that they could not drink it. But God permits these trials in order that we may see our own need and prove His faithfulness. From the Red Sea to Sinai, Israel proved the same grace which belongs to us now. Let us remember that though there is plenty of trial in the wilderness, it is the place of the ministration of grace. The Lord brought Israel into the wilderness in order to have them quite alone with Himself, that He might teach them what He was and what they were. It is strange how our hearts cling, not only to the thought of our own righteousness, but also to the practical denial of our not having any strength in ourselves. Many have peace in Jesus who do not see entirely that they have no strength, either for service or for conflict. Well, they learn it in the wilderness.
Adapted from J. N. Darby
The Wilderness
Although all true believers are saved from the judgment of God, like Israel was delivered from Pharaoh’s power and brought safely through the Red Sea, yet it is only as we are really following Christ that we practically find that we are pilgrims and strangers in this world. Let us then seriously ask ourselves two questions. First, am I in any sense a stranger in this world for Christ? Second, am I passing through it as a pilgrim or living in it as a citizen? We must have a home and enjoyment for our spirits somewhere, and the only way not to seek this now on earth is by truly having it as a present reality for our souls with Christ in heaven. The only way to be a stranger in the wilderness is to be even now at home in Canaan, in spirit, though as to our bodies we are still pressing on to our rest.
Communion with Christ in heaven alone gives the desire to follow Him on earth, while resurrection life in Him supplies the only power; hence, Paul prays that he “may know Him” and “the power of His resurrection” before he asks to know “the fellowship of His sufferings.”
Resources in God
The first thing that characterizes the wilderness is that all my resources are in God; my food comes from heaven, my water is given by God, my guide is the cloudy pillar; every detail of my life is ordered by God. All around is nothing but desert sand. These then are the two great lessons to be engraved on our souls as strangers here: There is nothing of this world that can help my spiritual life, and all my resources are in God. We will now briefly glance at seven things connected with the wilderness journey.
The Song of Deliverance
The first thing we notice is the song; at the start all is smooth, pleasant and joyful. What can be more delightful to the weary slave of Egypt than to stand on the wilderness shore of the Red Sea, and after seeing the destruction of all the power that held him captive, to raise his joyful heart to God in a song of praise? The first song in Scripture is the song of a delivered soul. He then turns around with his back to Egypt and his face to that glorious heavenly country which already by faith he counts his home, and he starts off in all the happy freshness of a newborn soul. Surely we all know what it is thus to begin our pilgrimage.
Bitter Water
The second thing that we observe is that Marah is reached, a place of bitter water — water which can only be sweetened by a certain tree. Did we not think we should find all smooth and pleasant when we first set out to follow Christ, and did we not very soon come across something very bitter and unpleasant and discover that, practically, to be crucified to this world, to be dead to it, is not a very pleasant thing? It was only when we cast in the wood of Christ’s cross and of His sorrows for us that the waters became sweet, and, according to 1 Peter 4, we rejoiced, inasmuch as so early in our journey we had been made partakers of Christ’s sufferings. Oh! the power of the cross of Christ! No Christian can live very long in this world without meeting Marah some way or other, but it is the Marahs which draw us near to Christ’s heart. It is the want of water here which makes us go for all our refreshment to the Rock, which is Christ.
Refreshment
The third thing in Exodus 15 is the spiritual refreshment Christ provides for true souls who have known what Marah means in the wilderness. In Elim we find an oasis in a desert. And what oasis does Christ provide for His pilgrims in this world? Truly that of Christian fellowship and communion; these are our Elims. What a happy, blessed time we have when a few of us who are really seeking to follow Christ can get together and draw fresh strength from the wells of the water of life. Many a one has called these happy Elims “foretastes of heaven,” as they have enjoyed the “sweet bonds that unite all the children of peace.”
Food
The fourth thing we notice is the food for the wilderness. In the deliverance from Egypt Christ is fed upon as the roast lamb, our Substitute and Saviour; in Canaan we get Him as the old corn of the land, our glorified and exalted Lord. It is worthy of observance that we never find the Israelites loathing either of these two foods. It is the manna, Christ in His humiliation and rejection, that is considered “light bread.” It is this “bread from heaven” that is the test for each of our hearts today, as to whether we have been so truly won by His love as to esteem a path of rejection with Him better than all the “leeks and cucumbers” of Egypt. This precious bread was gathered freshly every morning before the sun was up; so those who now spend “an hour with Jesus” before the bustle of daily life has begun find that the sweetest and most strengthening food is then gathered and stored.
Water From the Rock
The fifth point that we may observe is the refreshing stream that pours out of the rock in accordance with the well-known passage in John 7:37. Surely if in the manna we have a picture of the humbled Christ as our food, here we have the indwelling Spirit that is with us throughout our wilderness journey, one of the blessed results of the death and glorification of Christ (vs. 39). The rock is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). The waters, doubtless, here as elsewhere, are typical of the Holy Spirit, who is the refreshment and source of power and blessing. He is here to testify of Christ but He can only testify to ready and listening ears. He is here to guide us into all truth, but only those who have willing feet and subject hearts. This water too, unlike that in Exodus 16, is not for our own refreshment alone, but is to run out from us, so that we ourselves, as filled with the Spirit, are to be as streams in the desert.
Warfare Against the Flesh
Sixth, we come to Amalek, a picture of the flesh energized by Satan, who is ever hanging about, ready to snap up any that are weak. We feel that it is quite impossible in the limits of a short paper to do more than just touch on this most important theme. It will be noticed that the victory in this case (Ex. 17) was obtained by two means: the intercession of Christ on high and the resistance in the power of the Spirit (Joshua) down here. Now both of these are necessary if we are to overcome our adversary. In Peter’s case, the intercession of Christ that his faith might not fail was fully answered, but on account of the want of his active resistance against the enemy, he failed. The resistance down here would be valueless were it not for the uplifted hands on high; at the same time, we are to resist the devil, and the Spirit in us lusts (or fights) against the flesh, that we may not do the things that we would. Christ will not fail in His part, blessed be His name, but how often do we fail in practically resisting the assaults of the enemy.
Cleansing From Defilement
The last, or seventh, thing we have to notice is the provision made in case of defilement in the wilderness journey. We refer to Numbers 19, which answers in type to 1 John 1:9. This cleansing is by water, not by blood, but it is water which contains and brings home to our hearts the memorials of the death of Christ (the ashes of the heifer), teaching us that restoration to communion after getting astray is not by a fresh application of the blood of Christ, but a bringing home to our hearts by the Word of God (the water — see John 13) the power of the death of Christ, which we, in our self-will, had forgotten. It is thus that Christ Himself, in His perfect love, washes our feet when defiled with the wilderness journey.
Thus we find that Christ is with us in every step. We meet Him first in Egypt, in the blood of the lamb; next in the delivering power of the Red Sea; next in the power of His cross; then in His gracious provision for our refreshment; next as the Manna and then as the Rock; then as our great Intercessor up on high; last, in His wondrous love in following us when we go astray and restoring our souls by the washing of water by the Word. The end of all this will be to meet Him on the cloud, when all the journey will be over forever, and we shall praise forevermore the grace that has carried us on eagles’ wings and at last brought us to Himself.
Adapted from A. T. Schofield
The Edge of the Wilderness
Exodus 13:20; 15:22
When God communicated to Moses His intention to deliver His people from the bondage of the Egyptians, He spoke of this deliverance in a twofold way. Not only would He “deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,” but He would also “bring them up out of that land” (Ex. 3:8). Thus, early on, Jehovah made it clear that He never intended to set His people free from the bondage of Pharaoh that they might remain in Egypt, but expressly to take them out of it.
The first stage in their journeys from Egypt brought the people to Succoth (Ex. 12:37); the second to “Etham, in the edge of the wilderness” (Ex. 13:20) — a necessary stage, for the wilderness must be entered at some point. But there were two dangers peculiar to this camping ground. First, it was so near to Egypt that it was a very easy matter to return to that land. Second, there was nothing to hinder their oppressors from following after, to recapture the freshly liberated people.
Deliverance From Egypt
To secure the two special objects before Jehovah — separation from the land and deliverance from the hand of the Egyptian — yet another stage was necessary; namely, reaching Marah, where for first time the Israelites were properly “in the wilderness,” separated as well as delivered.
But between Etham and Marah, what took place?
First, the power of Jehovah was marvelously shown in the judgment of the Egyptians.
Second, the deliverance of the people was accomplished.
Third, an impassable barrier effected their permanent separation from the land of the Egyptians.
After the final judgment of the oppressor and their own national deliverance, they sang that marvelous, triumphant song of redemption in Exodus 15. They celebrated the power and excellence of Jehovah, while they anticipated triumphs yet to come. “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine inheritance.” So they sang. But how soon from those very lips came the sad reversal of their passing convictions!
By the Red Sea deliverance, Israel was consequently fairly launched into the wilderness. Their return into Egypt, by the pathway of waters through which Jehovah had brought them, was a physical impossibility. The waters which rolled over their oppressors equally rolled between them and the land out of which they had been brought. The identical event that accomplished their liberation also accomplished their separation from the land of Egypt.
The Fleshpots of Egypt
On this point, it is noteworthy that the song of redemption is silent. Nor is the reason difficult to discover. As a people, they would have been satisfied, when set free from bondage, to remain in the land “by the fleshpots” and “eat bread to the full” (see Exodus 16:3). Egypt, while truly the scene of their bondage and misery, was also the scene of the gratification of their fleshly inclinations and desires. But between them and Egypt — the place of gratifying these desires — there now rolled the waters of separation.
It is clear that the experience of being on the “edge of the wilderness” did not and could not include these three wonderful dealings of Jehovah with their enemies and with themselves. There was consequently a vast characteristic difference between their experiences at “the edge of the wilderness” and “in the wilderness.”
“These things were our examples” (1 Cor. 10:6); that is, the things that happened to the Israelites were not only for the Israelites. There is therefore instruction of a practical and profitable nature in these special incidents which happened to Israel. May the gracious Lord give us hearts to appreciate and grace to profit by the lessons therein contained.
It is clear from the type that our God has no intention of leaving His redeemed ones, after they have been sheltered under the blood of Christ from His own righteous judgment, any longer in this world (Egypt). This is a point of extreme importance. Being only on “the edge of the wilderness,” the world is too easily accessed. There is no apparent barrier lying between the believer and the place where his flesh may be gratified.
Judgment, Deliverance
and Separation
The three aspects of the Red Sea already alluded to — judgment, deliverance and separation — are clearly represented in the death of Christ. The scripture in the New Testament for the first two of these is Hebrews 2:14-15: “That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” The scripture for the last is found in Galatians 1:4: “Who [Christ] gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.” For these reasons, among others, the Red Sea aspect of Christ’s death is often spoken of.
The blessed Saviour has thus completely fulfilled the type and, by His death, brought about judgment for the enemy and deliverance and separation for the believer. But separation, since it conflicts with natural inclinations and desires in the direction of the world, is not so readily entered into as the two former aspects of Christ’s death. Nevertheless, it is of immense importance to understand spiritually that the death which accomplishes our liberation also accomplishes our separation. This can only be divinely learned by diligently following the guidance of God, as Israel followed the guidance of the pillar of fire and cloud in the wilderness.
The Marah Experience
When, under divine guidance, the Marah stage has been reached in the soul’s history, the death of Christ practically forms, for the believer, a real barrier between him and the world — hence the important difference between “the edge of the wilderness” and “the wilderness” in its full sense.
When the former stage only has been spiritually reached, links with the world are either not yet broken or are easily taken up by the believer, and that because he has not yet seen his separation from it through the death of Christ. It is sorrowful indeed to reflect upon the years during which the soul has still lingered at “the edge of the wilderness,” contrary to God’s express purpose and desire, instead of diligently following the distinct guidance of God, by means of which the soul is led on step by step.
The Bitter Made Sweet
If truly at Marah, separation from the world according to the inclinations and desires of the natural mind is practically discovered to be “bitter,” yet the cross of Christ, of which the tree is a symbol, makes the bitter sweet. There is sweetness sensibly realized in that which separates, since it only separates from that which must hinder and mar the soul’s enjoyment of God and of His heavenly resources in the wilderness. It will readily be seen that food and water obtainable from Egypt could only have marred for Israel “the manna and the springing well” of Jehovah’s heavenly supplying.
We may well and profitably raise the question with ourselves, How is it with us? Are we at “the edge of the wilderness” or in “the wilderness”? We have only to ask ourselves, Have we any unnecessary or voluntary link with the world as to its interests, pleasures, principles or pathway? If so, however long we may have been on our pilgrimage, we are evidently still only at “the edge of the wilderness.” Camping at Marah is not yet ours in divine reality.
Adapted from Christian Truth
Marah and Elim
From Exodus 15 to the end of Exodus 18 is a distinct section of the book. To understand it properly, it must be remembered that as yet Israel was not under law, but under grace. The careful reader will find in this statement the key of many of the events recorded. For example, the murmurings recorded in chapters 15, 16 and 17 are borne by the Lord with long-suffering and tenderness, and their needs are ministered to out of the fullness of His unwearied love. But after Sinai, murmurings of the same character are the occasion of judgment, for the people had been, at their own request, put under law. Being therefore under the reign of righteousness, transgressions and rebellion are instantly dealt with according to the requirements of the law, whereas before Sinai, being under the reign of grace, they are borne with.
The wilderness journey of Israel had now to be entered upon. The strains of their song had scarcely died away before they commenced their pilgrim journey.
“So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters” (Ex. 15:22-27).
Three Days
This, then, was their first experience: “They went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.” The expression “three days” in Scripture is frequently associated with death, and so here the three days mean the distance of death. They had, in figure, passed through death, and now they must learn it practically. If God in His grace gives us a perfect standing before Him, if He associates us with Christ in His death and resurrection, the object of all His ways with us is to bring us into practical conformity with our new position. The children of Israel must thus be taught that, as a consequence of deliverance from Egypt, the world had become desert to them and that this must be entered into by the acceptance of death. This is the fundamental necessity for every believer. There can be no progress, no real break with the past, until death is accepted, until he reckons himself dead to sin (Rom. 6), dead to the law (Rom. 7), and dead to the world (Gal. 6) — hence the character of God’s dealings with souls. He will teach them experimentally — as in the case of Israel before us — and thus enable them to apprehend the true character of the path on which they have entered. And what was the first experience of Israel? They found no water. Like the psalmist, they were in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is (Psa. 63). Every spring on earth is dried up for those who have been redeemed from Egypt. There is not a single source of life — nothing that can minister in any way to the life we have received in Christ. But how blessed it is for the soul to apprehend this truth! Starting on our pilgrimage, elated with the joy of salvation, how often are we surprised to find that the sources at which we had drunk before — and drunk with delight — have now run dry. We ought to expect this, but never is the lesson learned until we have gone the three days’ journey in the wilderness. It is indeed a startling experience to discover that earth’s resources are exhausted, but it is an indispensable requisite if we would know the blessedness of the truth that “all our springs are in Thee.”
The Bitter and Sweet
They passed onward and came to Marah. Here there was water, but they could not drink of those waters, for they were bitter. This is the further application of the same principle. First, there was no water to drink; second, when it is found, it is so bitter that it could not be drunk. This is the application to the soul of the power of that death by which they have been delivered. The flesh shrinks from it and would refuse it altogether. Truly it is Marah — bitterness — and accordingly it troubled the people and they murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? What a contrast! A few days ago, as with one heart, they sang, with exultant joy, the praises of their Redeemer; now the song is silent, and discordant murmurs take its place. So is it with the believer — now filled with praise, and shortly after, the flesh complains and murmurs because of the trials of the wilderness. But Moses intercedes for them, and the Lord showed him a tree, which, when cast into the waters, made them sweet. This is a beautiful figure of the cross of Christ, which utterly changes the character of the bitter waters. “Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness.” Or, as Paul cries, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14). Bring the cross into the bitterness of Marah waters, and at once they become sweet to the taste — are welcomed as the means of deliverance and blessing.
Obedience
Here is a most important principle — a principle always applicable to the walk of the believer. It is found throughout the Scriptures and in every dispensation, namely, that the enjoyment of blessing is dependent upon obedience; that is, the enjoyment of the blessing of believers (for the children of Israel were now redeemed) is dependent upon their walk. They were to be guarded from the diseases of Egypt, if they would diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord their God and would do that which was right in His sight. In the same way our blessed Lord says, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23). This principle cannot be too much insisted upon. There are many believers who have known the joy of salvation, but who are yet without the conscious enjoyment of a single blessing. The reason is that they are careless of their walk. They do not read the Word or “give ear to His commandments,” and they are consequently walking as seems right in their own eyes. What wonder is it, therefore, that they are cold and indifferent, that they are not in the conscious enjoyment of the love of God — of fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ? It is to the obedient ones that God comes, and delights to come, in the sweetest manifestations of His unchanging love; it is to those who have a conscience about every precept of the Word and are seeking, in the power of the Spirit, to be found in obedience in every particular, to those whose delight it is to be doing the will of their Lord and whose one aim it is to be at all times acceptable to Him, that He can draw near and bless according to His own mind and heart. Nothing can compensate for the lack of an obedient walk. All our blessing — as to its apprehension and enjoyment — is made dependent upon it. It is moreover the means of growth and the condition of communion.
Refreshment and Rest
It is on this account that it is immediately added, “They came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.” That is, they at once found refreshment, rest and shade — the wells and the palm trees being, as one has said, “types of those living springs and of that shelter which had been provided, through instruments chosen of God, for the consolation of His people.” How welcome the rest to the already weary pilgrims! And how tender of the Lord to provide such grateful refreshment for His people in the wilderness! As the Shepherd of Israel, He thus led them, as it were, into green pastures and made them to lie down by the still waters, to comfort and strengthen their hearts.
Adapted from E. Dennett
A Wilderness Secret
There are two things needed to make good our journey through the wilderness: first, an object, a divine object, and second, the assurance of the love of God as the foundation of all our hopes.
From the time of our knowing redemption to the obtaining of our rest, there is a path we have to tread. When the Lord visited Israel, the redemption of the good land was promised, but not a word was said of the wilderness, for the wilderness was not part of redemption, properly speaking. God would show them what was in their hearts, and thus what was in His heart, but this was not properly the fruit of redemption’s work.
In Romans 5 we have “peace with God,” “access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,” and we “rejoice in hope of the glory of God”: In all this not a word is said of the wilderness. But when he says, “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also,” there we have the wilderness. This is not properly a part of redemption, but rather the exercising of us for the discovery of what we are, though it is in the presence of the God who has redeemed us. The danger is in not holding the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. There is no doubt of the faithfulness of God to lead us on to the end; still, as regards detail, there is danger along the journey. When the joy of deliverance is first known, confidence in God is unbounded. But then we have to learn the unbelief and waywardness of our hearts. We may own it, but we have to learn it. And if the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, these exercises will not in the least touch the sense of our relationship with Him.
The Secret of Going on Rightly
The secret of going on rightly along our way is holding the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end, for we have a difficulty when the conscience is active under the sense of failure in laying hold of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, so as to apply it at all times to our need. It is not that the Lord would have our consciences unexercised, but the danger is that the eye which is conscientiously turned inward is apt to be turned off from Jesus and grace.
In Romans 7, when Paul found out the difference between getting better and being saved and despaired of the former, then he was willing to be saved as he was — ungodly and without strength. Then God comes in, and there is “no condemnation” (Rom. 8). Now he is brought as a believer, as saved, into the wilderness. Once there, we are apt to be either careless, saying, It is all grace, or anxious, asking, Is it all by grace? We may be honestly searching our hearts, but if we are not doing it with God, we shall do it imperfectly. But if we are sure that God is for us, we shall not spare ourselves.
All of Grace
After all, though we may be exercised and brought under responsibility, it is Christ that is carrying on the work all through; it is grace from beginning to end. It is not merely priesthood, for Christ is “Son over His own house.” He has an individual interest in it. The good Shepherd sought His own sheep. Christ is carrying on, not only God’s house and affairs, but His own house. He takes the immediate care of what is His own, and He is doing it all as God. Thus we have all the nearness of being His own house, and yet it is God who is over it. He never fails in taking care of His house.
In the failure of Moses, we see that He did not get up to this principle of grace. But man can never be brought through the wilderness but by grace. The rod is the authority of Christ, but it is authority which has life-giving power. We need grace, special grace, which will not pass over a single fault. It would not be grace to do so, for it hinders our enjoyment. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father” (1 John 2:1). He will not pass it over, but work in our hearts to show us the root of our sin, that it may not hinder our fellowship. He carries us to the end, through faith. Moses did not sanctify God. How? He did not manifest God. But God did sanctify Himself in spite of the unbelief of Moses, by giving all the water needed.
When we see redemption, we see God to be for us. But then we see failures, and then we think anything but God for us. But why? Has God changed? No, but we have. Then comes exercise to bring this out and to deepen the soul in the knowledge and enjoyment of the unchanging love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Adapted from J. N. Darby
What Is the Wilderness?
People say, “What is the wilderness?” It is what the world, in which a man is, becomes to him as soon as he is in Christ here. He has the same house and the same business. But yesterday he was in the world; today he is in the wilderness. Yesterday, as he went about his business, he comforted himself with the thought that he could depend on the political condition of the state, that he was in a safe country, and that his business could go on without risk. The next day he has done with all this; he has now no resource but in God; he has nothing but God. He is very glad the political atmosphere is calm, but he does not depend upon it.
From Food for the Flock
Grace for the Way
God does not underrate our difficulties, and He does not overrate our strength; He does not take us to be what we are not. But as we face the gravity of what it is to be down here, we find the provision that God has made for us to go through it. I cannot do without drawing upon all this grace. There is no superfluous provision made. The question is, Are we willing to put ourselves in God’s hands and ask Him to have His own way with us? We are not called to anything that God does not give us grace to walk in.
J. B.
The Waters of Marah
The bitter waters of Marah must be tasted when the salt waters of the Red Sea have delivered us from Egypt forever. Put the wood of the tree, the cross of Christ, into the bitter waters, and all will be sweet. “Crucified” is terrible work; crucified with Christ, joy and deliverance. Reproach is cruel; the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
This Light Bread
It was when Israel was perhaps only two years away from entering into Canaan that we read, “The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way” (Num. 21:4). In spite of all that they had learned of themselves in the wilderness and, more importantly, all that they had learned of God and His grace, they once again complained. So it is liable to be with ourselves, who, on the very eve of the Lord’s coming, may well become discouraged “because of the way.” For us, the pathway of faith is not easy, any more than it was for Israel in the desert, but the same God has promised to bring us into His rest.
The complaint of Israel was that there was neither any bread nor any water, but then the real cause of the discouragement comes out: “Our soul loatheth this light bread” (Num. 21:5). Ever since the beginning of their wilderness journey, the manna had never failed, but after nearly forty years they began to tire of it. There was no lack of sustenance in it, but it required effort to obtain it, and despite their ingenuity in preparing it in various ways (Num. 11:8), they were weary of it. For us, we know that the manna speaks of Christ in manhood — our food for the wilderness pathway, for the Lord Jesus could say of Himself, “He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me” (John 6:57). But the manna speaks of Christ in rejection and humiliation, and this our flesh does not like. In spite of the fullness that is in Him, we too can become weary of Christ and want something more. The result is murmuring and complaining, and even to the point where we say that we have nothing to eat. What a sad point it is when we as believers are reduced to this!
The Fiery Serpents
The Lord could not allow this to go on with Israel, and He sent fiery serpents among the people, so that many of them died. So also with us, the Lord may send difficult circumstances into our lives, or illness or some other calamity, to recall us to Himself. The physical death of the Israelite corresponds to moral death with us, where we find ourselves in serious difficulties and without human resource. But as with Israel, so with us — the discipline has the desired effect, for there is confession of their sin — we admit that “we have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee” (Num. 21:7). Notice the correct order here; first, the recognition of sin against the Lord, and then against His servant. This is necessary for us too, if there is to be full restoration. First of all, we must realize, as David did, that “against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight” (Psa. 51:4). Doubtless we may have sinned against others, as Israel sinned against Moses, but the seriousness of the sin before the Lord must be brought home to our souls. Our discontent in feeding upon Christ is the primary source of the trouble, although the resulting bad state of soul will always show itself in more than one area of our lives.
The Remedy
The urgent request of the people was that the serpents might be taken away, but immediate confession of sin is not full restoration to the Lord. Moses wisely did not pray to this end, but rather simply “prayed for the people” (Num. 21:7). The answer from the Lord was not to take away the serpents, but rather to provide a remedy that directed their hearts and their gaze away from the fiery serpents to the serpent of brass on the pole. As we well know, this serpent of brass spoke of Christ lifted up on the cross and made sin for us. Brass (or copper) in Scripture always speaks of judgment, and there on the cross He bore the judgment for our sins, so that now “there is life in a look at the crucified One.” But brass also speaks of self-judgment, and it was this that was needed for full restoration. Not only did the sin of murmuring need to be confessed, but the state of soul that led to it. So with ourselves, not only do we need to confess the sin of discouragement and complaining, but we also need to be taken back to Calvary’s cross to see what Christ has suffered for us. This will produce the necessary self-judgment, not merely of the act of murmuring, but of the state of soul that ventured to call Christ, the food of our souls, “this light bread.” We might not say such words explicitly, but in our hearts, this may well be the root of the problem, as it was with Israel.
The blessed result for the bitten Israelite was that, in looking to the serpent on the pole, he lived. No human efforts would avail, but a simple look to the serpent of brass effected a complete cure. So it is with us. We may look at many different circumstances connected with our trials down here, but if we have despised Christ as our food and have neglected feeding on Him, the antidote is to behold that One as He suffered for us, and then to exercise the needed self-judgment of what has come between us and Him.
The reason for sending the fiery serpents was not because God hated the people; no, it was because He loved them and wanted, not merely their obedience, but also their hearts. So with us; He loves us and wants our affections, which will be drawn out most fully when we are taken back to the cross. Then, when we are restored, there will be renewed energy for the pathway and, as we find in the next chapter, ultimate victory over our enemies.
W. J. Prost
The Enjoyment of Heavenly Things
Redemption, complete salvation, purchased by the precious blood of Jesus, introduces the Christian into the pilgrimage in the wilderness. The Christian walking with God only passes through the world as a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; still, this pilgrimage is but the life down here, although it is the life of the redeemed. (The Epistle to the Romans answers to this.)
But there is the heavenly life, the warfare in the heavenly places, which goes on at the same time with the wilderness journey. When I say at the same time, I do not mean at the same instant, but during the same period of our natural life on the earth. It is one thing to pass through this world faithfully (or unfaithfully) in our daily circumstances, under the influence of a better hope; it is another thing to be waging a spiritual warfare for the enjoyment of the promises and heavenly privileges and to conquer the power of Satan on God’s behalf, as men already dead and risen, as being absolutely not of the world. Both these things are true of the Christian life. Now, it is as dead and risen again in Christ that we are in spiritual conflict; to make war in Canaan, we must have crossed the Jordan. To this Ephesians answers, only Ephesians has nothing to do with our death to sin. It is, as to this question, simply God’s act, taking us when dead in sin and placing us in Christ on high. Colossians is partially both. It is life here in resurrection, but it does not set us in heavenly places — only our affections are there. By heavenly life I mean living in spirit in heavenly places. Actually Christ was divinely there; we are united to Him by the Holy Spirit.
In both Philippians and Colossians the heavenly life is spoken of as a present thing, but there is entire separation, even down here, between the pilgrimage and this heavenly life itself, although the latter has a powerful influence on the character of our pilgrim life.
Adapted from J. N. Darby
The Hidden Manna
As we have seen elsewhere in this issue, the wilderness was not part of God’s purposes for Israel and is not mentioned either in the promises of God to Israel in Exodus 6 nor in the annals of faith in Hebrews 11. However, it was part of God’s ways with them, for in the wilderness they learned what they could not have learned in any other way. In going through various experiences for forty years, they learned their own hearts, and they learned God’s heart too. Even when they came into the land of Canaan, they were to “remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no” (Deut. 8:2).
During all this time, the Lord provided manna for them to eat, and it is recorded that “the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited” (Ex. 16:35). For fully forty years they ate it, and although they tired of it, it sustained them until they came to Canaan and were able to eat of the fruit of that land. Later, the Lord commanded Moses, and Moses in turn commanded Aaron, to “take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations” (Ex. 16:33). Thus, even after the wilderness experience was over, the pot of manna was there to remind them of it.
All this has real spiritual significance for us. The manna spoke of Christ — Christ in His perfect manhood and the food for our wilderness journey. It is He who has walked this same lonely pathway through this world and has experienced from without all that we go through. He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). As such, He is perfectly fitted to be a merciful and faithful High Priest, and in feeding on Him, we are able to meet all the difficulties of the way.
The Trials
We might wonder why all the trials of the desert, so to speak, are necessary, but there are things of Christ that we cannot learn in heaven; we can learn them only down here. We cannot learn Him up there as the God of all comfort, for there will be no need of comfort there. We cannot learn Him up there as the One who can meet us in every need, who can sustain us in difficulties, who can give us patience when we need it, for there will be nothing to try us up there. It is in going through all these things down here that we learn Christ in a special way. Thus we, like Paul, are able to glory in tribulations, for the ultimate result is that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. In spite of adverse circumstances, we are able to enjoy His peace — the peace that He gave us (John 14:27). This is the peace in which He walked, in going through this world as the perfect dependent man. In Philippians, which is a wilderness book of the New Testament, we find that in having “the fellowship of His [Christ’s] sufferings,” we also come to know “the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).
The Reward
The trials in our lives, like the wilderness for Israel, will come to an end. Just as the day came when they crossed the Jordan and entered the land of Canaan, so the day will come when our Lord will call us home. Yet the lessons learned and the knowledge of Christ so gained will last for all eternity. Thus we have in Revelation 2:17 a reference once again to the manna — the “hidden manna.” Here it is a reward to the overcomer, for he will be given the privilege of eating of that hidden manna. To what does it refer? Just as there was a pot of manna reserved in the ark, even after the wilderness journey was over, so we will be able to eat of that hidden manna — Christ in manhood — even after our wilderness journey down here is over. What we have learned of Him in going through difficulties down here — His grace, His provision for us, His comfort, His patience — all will be ours to enjoy for all eternity. Just as Israel looked back on their wilderness journey and remembered all that the Lord had done for them, so we in coming glory will be able to look back at all our circumstances and see how the Lord ordered them all for us. More than this, we will be able to enjoy for all eternity all that we have learned of Him in going through those trials with Him — things that we could not otherwise learn, even up there in heaven.
The thought of this, while not causing us to seek for trials, should make us able to accept them from the Lord and give us grace to go to Him in them, realizing that they are the opportunity to learn Him in a way which would not otherwise be possible. For all eternity we will celebrate His grace, and the memory of our trials will only add to the praise!
W. J. Prost
Retrospection
He was better to me than all my hopes;
He was better than all my fears;
He made a bridge of my broken works,
And a rainbow of my tears;
The billows that guarded my sea-girt path
But carried my Lord on their crest;
When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march,
I can lean on His love for the rest.
He guided by paths that I could not see,
By ways that I have not known;
The crooked was straight and the rough made plain
As I followed the Lord alone;
I praise Him still for the pleasant palms,
And the water-springs by the way,
For the glowing pillar of flame by night,
And the sheltering cloud by day.
There is light for me on the trackless wild,
As the wonders of old I trace,
When the God of the whole earth went before
To search me a resting place;
Has He changed for me? No, He changes not;
He will bring me by some new way,
Through fire and flood past each crafty foe,
As safely as yesterday.
Never a watch on the dreariest halt
But some promise of love endears;
I read from the past that my future shall be
Far better than all my fears;
Like the golden pot of wilderness bread
Laid up with the blossoming rod,
All safe in the ark with the law of the Lord
Is the covenant care of my God.
A. Shipton