Sometimes the Journey Goes Through the Wilderness

And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh–barnea. Deuteronomy 1:19 KJV

Its an eleven day journey from Mount Horeb to Kadesh-barnea. Yet it was a segment of the journey that was so indelible in the Moses recall. Mount Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai. At least it is in the region of the Sinai desert. One scholar describes it as the : ” mountain where the Hebrew people entered into a covenant with God after escaping from bondage in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:2; 1 Kings 8:9; 2 Chronicles 5:10). Mount Horeb is also the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments and the laws, rules, and instructions for the people before continuing on their journey through the desert toward the Promised Land (Exodus 33:6; Malachi 4:4)”. If you just read that, it sounds as if it was a simple trek. That was one of Israel’s toughest journey home. Sometimes life goes through the wilderness. Has anyone been there? Have you had an experience that what could have taken a short time begins to meander through the mud? Or as we observed in another vignette, it goes through the valley of Baca. Moses’ recall is significant. When they finally reached Kadesh-barnea, at the very brink of promise, the people vacillated, and God swore they won’t enter the promise land. There are moments of faith, when we must trust the Lord for help. Moses reminded them. Have you had moments like this? Trust God. He won’t leave you there in the wilderness. You are crossing over into promise. Moses may not be there, but God will still be God.