Quantrill
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Much application can be made by the New Testament believer to the believers in Israel in the Old Testament. You can see Israel as a type of the believer today, and her experiences will mimic that which we as individual Christians go through. Thus these experiences are prophetic in nature. Only God could so direct the movements of a nation to later speak to the future Christian. History truly is His story.
(1 Cor. 10:1-6) "Moreover, brethren , I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted."
Here is Israel having come out of Egypt, a saved nation, under the blood at Passover. She is water baptized in the sea. In the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and the first 10 chapters of Numbers, preparations are made by God for Israel's journey to the promised land. The Law, the Tabernacle, the Priesthood, the order of march are all given. They are headed toward Kadesh barnea where they will continue on their journeying in the promised land. The promised land is not a figure of Heaven. The promised land is full of enemies. There will be constant war in the promised land. The promised land is a picture of the believer here obtaining through spiritual warfare that which is his promised by God. It is not obtained through 'peace'. It is obtained through spiritual war. So, they journey in that direction.
But at Kadesh-barnea they faltered. They failed to believe God would take care of them in the land with so many giants. They fell into unbelief. Therefore God would not let them enter. They would no more journey with God in the direction God was taking them. Instead now their movements are described as wandering. (Num. 14:33-34) And they would wander 40 years as God killed off the old generation. The like figure is of the believer, who through unbelief and sin, fails to enter all that God has for him. It is the believer coming under sway of his 'old man' instead of journeying with God as the 'new man' that he is. And in this wandering of the 'old man' he is dying. As J. Sidlow Baxter said in his book, "Explore the Book", "It took only forty hours to get Israel out of Egypt; but it took forty years to get Egypt out of Israel." The believer is still a believer, but he is wandering now instead of journeying. Yet, God is still with him.
So, 40 years later, God brings back Israel to Kadesh-barnea. A new generation. The new man. The old generation is dead. The old man. And thus Israel once again 'journey's' with God. We see this begin in (Num. 33:1). "These are the journeys of the children of Israel...." And Moses begins listing their journey's. He starts in Egypt and goes to the time when Israel first got to Kadesh-barnea. But then Moses leaves out the time period of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness and jumps 40 years ahead to when Aaron died. (33:38) He is only concerned with their journeying with Him.
It is just as God said through Balaam the prophet. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them." (Num. 23:21) And this was during Israel's time as she wandered. God does not give us these truths to encourage us to wander and everything is all right because He is still with us. He gives us these truths to encourage us to come back to Kadesh and begin journeying with Him again. Consider the old man dead, and begin again a walk in the Spirit. And, those days of wandering do happen, but God can treat us as though they never happened.
Quantrill
(1 Cor. 10:1-6) "Moreover, brethren , I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted."
Here is Israel having come out of Egypt, a saved nation, under the blood at Passover. She is water baptized in the sea. In the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and the first 10 chapters of Numbers, preparations are made by God for Israel's journey to the promised land. The Law, the Tabernacle, the Priesthood, the order of march are all given. They are headed toward Kadesh barnea where they will continue on their journeying in the promised land. The promised land is not a figure of Heaven. The promised land is full of enemies. There will be constant war in the promised land. The promised land is a picture of the believer here obtaining through spiritual warfare that which is his promised by God. It is not obtained through 'peace'. It is obtained through spiritual war. So, they journey in that direction.
But at Kadesh-barnea they faltered. They failed to believe God would take care of them in the land with so many giants. They fell into unbelief. Therefore God would not let them enter. They would no more journey with God in the direction God was taking them. Instead now their movements are described as wandering. (Num. 14:33-34) And they would wander 40 years as God killed off the old generation. The like figure is of the believer, who through unbelief and sin, fails to enter all that God has for him. It is the believer coming under sway of his 'old man' instead of journeying with God as the 'new man' that he is. And in this wandering of the 'old man' he is dying. As J. Sidlow Baxter said in his book, "Explore the Book", "It took only forty hours to get Israel out of Egypt; but it took forty years to get Egypt out of Israel." The believer is still a believer, but he is wandering now instead of journeying. Yet, God is still with him.
So, 40 years later, God brings back Israel to Kadesh-barnea. A new generation. The new man. The old generation is dead. The old man. And thus Israel once again 'journey's' with God. We see this begin in (Num. 33:1). "These are the journeys of the children of Israel...." And Moses begins listing their journey's. He starts in Egypt and goes to the time when Israel first got to Kadesh-barnea. But then Moses leaves out the time period of Israel's wanderings in the wilderness and jumps 40 years ahead to when Aaron died. (33:38) He is only concerned with their journeying with Him.
It is just as God said through Balaam the prophet. "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them." (Num. 23:21) And this was during Israel's time as she wandered. God does not give us these truths to encourage us to wander and everything is all right because He is still with us. He gives us these truths to encourage us to come back to Kadesh and begin journeying with Him again. Consider the old man dead, and begin again a walk in the Spirit. And, those days of wandering do happen, but God can treat us as though they never happened.
Quantrill
