The Father Carries the Son

Hello everyone.

I have recently started a new study of the book of Deuteronomy.  I hope to share with you some of the things I am learning along the way in this study.  In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people of all that had happened over the years since leaving Egypt, as he prepares them for the upcoming conquest of the Promised Land.

Today, I will be looking in Deut. 1:19-46.  Moses retells the story from Numbers 13 and 14, where Moses sends twelve spies to explore the Promised Land.  After their report, only Joshua and Caleb stand up and say, "we can take this land."  The other ten give a discouraging report that the people buy into, and rebel against God, refusing to go up and take the Promised Land that God had given them.  God punishes them for their lack of faith and their disobedience by making them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until that generation, save Joshua and Caleb, have died off.

Here is what I want to focus on.  After the negative report of the ten spies, Israel responded like this, "The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go?  Our brothers have made our hearts melt with fear.  They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky.'" Deut. 1:27-28)  The Israelites looked at the situation, rather than God, and concluded that God must hate them. In verses 29 -31, Moses stands up for God and remind the nation of all that He had done for them, saying, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.  The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes and in the wilderness.  There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

So, God is carrying them as a father carries his son, but they are saying to God, "You hate me." Maybe, your children have, at some difficult moment, perhaps when you are making them do something difficult, said that "You must hate me."  It has happened to me. If it has happened to you, then you understand that nothing could be further from the truth.  I don't hate my boys at all, I love them and want what is best for them.  As parents, we are always looking out for their best interests, but that is not always the easy road that they would like it to be. In the heat of the moment our children can forget everything good we have ever done for them and focus on this one difficult moment and conclude, "You hate me!"

We can be the same way, We may look at our particular circumstances and be tempted to think, "God hates me," or "God is punishing me." But just like we care about our children deeply, God cares about us.  The Israelites had forgotten very quickly all that God had done for them to bring them to the edge of the Promised Land.  We must make sure that we don't forget all that God has done for us to bring us to the point that we are now.  He has carried us this far, like a father carries a son, and He will continue to carry us into the Promised Land. What we view as punishment may be God's disciplining hand, but we can know for certain that God's loving concern is ever present and we have yet another opportunity for God to carry us through a difficult situation.

Tom