Exodus and The Kingdom of God (8)

Three Benefits of the Wilderness (1)

​‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex 19:4-6)
 
We’ve been talking about the kingdom of God from the book of Exodus. Last Sunday, we focused on the Israelites’ life in the wilderness.
 
On Mount Sinai, God told Moses to build a tabernacle where He would dwell among the Israelites. And, “The tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.” (Ex 40:17)
 
It was about 10 months after the Israelites came to Mount Sinai since Exodus 19:1 says, “On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt they came to the Desert of Sinai.” (Ex 19:1)
 
So, we know from these verses that it took two months for the Israelites to get to Mount Sinai. And it took ten months for them to be prepared to be God’s people through His word, His covenant and promise, and His presence in the tabernacle.
 
When the tabernacle was finished, the cloud settled over it. Whenever it lifted from above the tabernacle, the Israelites would set out and follow God’s presence. After that God guided them to Kadesh Barnea, located at the southern border of the land of Canaan.
 
It took less than a year for them to get there from Mount Sinai because Deuteronomy 2:14 says that they wandered 38 more years in the wilderness because they had refused to go into the promised land at Kadesh Barnea.
 
Because of their rebellion, God told the first generation of the Exodus that they wouldn’t be able to enter the promised land, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.
 
And, just as God said, the first generation died in the wilderness during the 38 years. God used those years in the wilderness as a time of punishment for the first generation of the Exodus for their rebellion, but for the second generation, God used it to train and equip them.
 
We talked about how God guided and trained the Israelites in the wilderness using three characteristics of the wilderness.
 
The wilderness was a place of uncertainty. But the Israelites learned how to rely on God in the midst of uncertainty. And God made a way in the wilderness where there seemed to be no way, and He became their certainty.
 
The wilderness was a place of scarcity. The Israelites' 40 years in the desert were anything but abundant. But God provided them with all that they needed to survive in the wilderness. He fed them manna every day and gave them water from rocks. Their clothes didn’t wear out and their feet didn’t swell during the forty years, which was strong evidence that God was with them and took care of them. In their scarcity, they could experience God’s abundance.
 
There was no place to stay or settle in the wilderness. The life of the Israelites in the desert was anything but stable. They were constantly putting up and taking down their tents as they wandered through the desert. No one knew how long they would stay or where they would go. But they experienced God’s presence directly wherever they were. They didn’t have a place to settle in the wilderness, but God became their home.
 
The wilderness was a place where everything was lacking, but they got the most precious thing of all: they were able to know who God is. So the wilderness was a place of blessing where they could directly experience God’s guidance, provision, and His presence.
 
Deuteronomy 2:7 says, “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” (Dt 2:7)
 
That's why we don't need to be afraid when we feel like we're in the desert, not knowing what to do, where to go, or where to stay. God becomes our certainty in the fog of uncertainty. He becomes our provider and our abundance in our scarcity. And He is with us and becomes our home wherever we are.
 
When we have God in our lives, we lack nothing because our heavenly Father has everything in the world. This is a very important mindset we must have in order to live as the people of the kingdom of God wherever we are, whatever we do, and whatever situation we’re in.
 
Three Benefits of the Wilderness
So, the wilderness was a place where many things were lacking.  But that's the reason it was the perfect place for God to train the Israelites because the uncertainty, scarcity, and unclear future in the wilderness made them become more dependent on God, seek Him, and experience who He is.
 
In other words, while the Israelites were going through difficult situations in the wilderness, they were able to know who God is and find their true identity in Him. That's the blessing or benefit of the wilderness. Last Sunday, we focused on what was lacking in the wilderness. Today I want us to think about the benefits of living in the wilderness.
 
1) True Identity
First, the wilderness was a place where the Israelites found their true identity in God.
 
In the midst of a severe famine, Jacob led all his family to Egypt, where Joseph was the governor. They settled in the land of Goshen and began to live there. But as 400 years passed, they were enslaved by the Egyptians.
 
The Israelites may have heard stories about their God from their parents: how God called their ancestor Abraham and how they came to Egypt. But they only heard the stories orally because there were no written books at that time. In the midst of suffering and oppression, they cried out to the God their ancestors had believed in, but they probably didn't know much about Him.
 
Although they had heard about God making a covenant with their ancestors and bringing them to the land where they now lived, they probably didn't have a relationship with God. So, when they were in Egypt, it was probably the reality of their present situation rather than God's promises to them that shaped their identity.
 
If someone had gone to the Israelites in Egypt and asked them who they were, they would have introduced themselves as slaves in Egypt rather than as God’s chosen people.
 
So, it was not easy for them to discover their new identity and live according to it. In fact, it was almost impossible while they were still in Egypt, because a person's identity is largely determined by where they live and what they do. In Egypt, they followed the laws, ways, and culture of the land. There, they were nothing but slaves. So it was natural for them to think of themselves as Egyptian slaves.
 
That’s the reason God had to deliver them out of Egypt and bring them to the wilderness. The first thing they learned in the wilderness was who they were.
 
Right after delivering the Israelites from Egypt, God led them to Mount Sinai. As we’ve talked about, it was the most important spot in the wilderness because it was where God gave them His law and made a covenant with them.
 
Just as a bridegroom looks forward to his wedding day, God had waited a long time for the moment when the Israelites came to the mountain. So, what did God say first to His people? This is what He said to the Israelites. We talked about this passage before, but let’s read it one more time.
 
“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:4-6)
 
This was what God really wanted to say to the Israelites. God wanted them to know who they were. They were no longer slaves to the Egyptians because God had rescued them and brought them to Himself. They had been treated like trivial possessions in Egypt and no one cared about their lives, but God said that they were now His treasured possession. God also called them to be a kingdom of priests and His holy nation among all nations. These are the new identities God gave them on Mount Sinai.
 
It is very important to know who we think we are and what our identity is because our identity impacts every aspect of our lives, including our value systems and our choices.
 
If we see ourselves as God's possession, treasured by God, we won’t be influenced by what the world tells us according to its value system. Rather, we will see ourselves as valuable because that’s how God sees us.
 
If we identify ourselves as God’s royal priesthood, we will live out our identity by considering how we can serve God and play a role in bringing those around us to Him as His priests. If we truly see ourselves as God’s holy people, we’ll do our best to live distinguished and sanctified lives by obeying His word. That was what God wanted the Israelites to learn about themselves in Him in the wilderness.
 
So, how do you identify yourself? Who do you think you really are? What factor has most shaped your identity? Is it God's word, where you live, what you do, your race, or the culture you're in? I want God's word to be the deepest foundation of the identity we have.
 
Where we live doesn't give us our true identity; our race doesn't give us our true identity; our job doesn't give us our true identity. Our identity must be determined by who God is and how God sees us.
 
I'm Korean, like most of us. I was born and raised in Korea. And Korean is my native language. But these are not the most important things that have shaped my identity.
 
Of course, I can't deny that they have played an important role in shaping my identity, but I see myself first and foremost as a child of God, a Christian and a disciple of Jesus.
 
If being Korean was the most important part of my identity, it would have been a very difficult decision for me to leave Korea and come here, and later go to whatever country God would call me to. It would also be difficult for me to have relationships with those who are not Korean, who don’t know Korean culture, and who don’t speak Korean. I would just hang out with people who are like me.
 
But I see myself as a Christian before I see myself as a Korean. My identity as a person of the Kingdom of God is much greater than my identity as a Korean.
 
So, it doesn't really matter to me where I live in the future. Because the most important part of my identity is as a person of God's kingdom, what is most important to me is not where I will live, but whether I will live there as God's child, participating in God's mission to build His kingdom. That's why I left Korea, even though I love living in Korea so much, and that's why I will continue to choose to live wherever God calls me in the future, even if it's not in Korea.
 
That's the identity I want all of us to have. I want us to have an identity as kingdom people so that no matter where we are, no matter what we do, and no matter what our jobs are, we can all be used to build God's kingdom on earth.
 
To give the Israelites their identity as God's people, He had them live in the wilderness. God wanted them to find their identity not in where they lived, but in who He was and how He saw them.
 
We have two identities. We have an earthly identity that comes from race, culture, language, occupation, and similar factors. But we also have a new, spiritual identity that comes from God. We’re the people of the kingdom of God.
 
We’re new creations in God. We’re a chosen people and God’s special possession. God called us out of darkness into His wonderful light so that we may declare His praises. That’s the identity I want us to find in God and live out in Christ Jesus.
 
2) True Food
The second benefit the Israelites received in the wilderness was that they learned what real food is. Deuteronomy 8:3 says, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Dt 8:3)
 
As we talked about last Sunday, the wilderness was a place where everything was scarce. There was no food to eat and no water to drink. Yet the Israelites survived there for forty years. That in itself was powerful evidence that God was with them and looking after them.
 
They ate manna every day. They didn't do anything to get it. It was just given to them by God. And it was in accordance with God's promise to give them food. And God was faithful to that promise every morning.
 
So, what the Israelites experienced each time they ate the manna was the fulfillment of God's promise. From their experience, they learned that what really fed them and kept them alive was not the manna itself, but God's word and His promise to give it to them.
 
This is what we should also learn. The need to survive is perhaps the greatest human need. The main reason we do what we do is to survive. We work for food to eat and for a house to live in. Of course, these are essential things in our lives, but sometimes, when taken too far, they can keep us from following God's will.
 
If we live only for our needs, how can we sacrifice our time and finances to build God's kingdom? So we also need to learn that what really keeps us alive in the world is not the food we eat, not the house we live in, and not the clothes we wear, but God’s word and His promise. Only those who have this mindset can willingly use their time and money for the kingdom of God.
 
The people of the kingdom of God are not those who “Worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” (Mt 6:31) Rather, they “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Mt 6:33), trusting that their heavenly Father knows their needs and provides for them.
 
One day, when Jesus was in a Samaritan village, His disciples urged Jesus to eat something. Jesus told them,
 
“I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (Jn 4:32)
 
The disciples wondered if someone had brought Him food. But Jesus said to them,
 
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (Jn 4:34)
 
As a human being, Jesus also needed earthly food to live. But that wasn’t the food He sought. His food is to do the will of God because that’s what really provides His spirit with energy and strength. What was more important to Jesus was this spiritual food, not earthly food. So He sometimes skipped meals, but He never skipped eating His spiritual food.
 
Later, Jesus said, “Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” (Jn 6:27)
 
So, what food do you want to work for? Again, Christians are not those who work for earthly food that will only spoil, but for the true food that exists forever, which Jesus gives us. Christians are those who live not on bread, but on the word of God. And, as we seek this spiritual food, prioritizing God’s will and seeking His kingdom, God will also provide us with everything we need.
 
Today we talked about two benefits we can receive while we’re going through the wilderness. First, we can find our true identity in God through His word, His covenant, and His promise.
 
We may have to live like travelers in this world, but we don’t have to be afraid or ashamed because we know that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Php 3:20)
 
Second, we can know what true food is. Our true food is God’s word. Our true food is to do God’s will and finish the work He has entrusted us with. And our true food is Jesus Christ Himself, who gives us eternal life. Those who have this mindset will “no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Co 5:15)
 
I want us to find these benefits today. I want us to know who we really are by knowing who our God is and how He calls us, and I want us to know the true food we must work for as Christians so that we can truly live as people of the kingdom of God who don’t live for themselves, but for His kingdom, His glory, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Let’s pray.
 
[Prayer]
Dear Lord, thank You for giving us this opportunity to know who we really are in You and how we should prepare to live for Your kingdom on earth.
 
We want to find our true identity in You. We want our identity to be completely based on Your word of truth, not on our circumstances or anything else. So continue to remind us of who we are and what You’ve called us for so that we can live in the world as Your new creations and people of Your kingdom.
 
We also want to remember that what really keeps us alive is not earthly food but the food You give us. We want to rely more on Your word and Your promise. Open our eyes and let us see You working in our lives and providing us with what we need so that we won’t seek earthly things, but seek Your kingdom and righteousness first.
 
We want Your kingdom to be built and expanded through our lives. Shape us, prepare us, and train us to be Your people and use us as Your vessels through which Your will is done on earth.
 
We thank You for choosing us, saving us, calling us, and letting us participate in Your mission.
 
We pray in Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
 
[Reflection Questions]
1) What is your identity? What contributes to your identity?  How do you want to live out your identity as a Christian?
 
2) What do you think Jesus meant when He said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (Jn 4:34)? Why do you work? What do you work or want to work for the most? How does it relate to seeking God’s kingdom?