The Image and the Reality

The Image and the Reality

When Israel was led out of Egypt, they were liberated from slavery. In the wilderness, Egypt’s yoke was not to be an obstacle to their worship service anymore. There they were free and could serve God to their heart’s content. There they were introduced to intimate communion with God. Now they were to learn to believe and obey Him and discover the rest and joy in it. God set them apart for Himself. He assumed the leadership; He decided when they should work, when they should rest, when they should continue their journey, what they should eat, etc.

God wanted to decide and order everything for them. Why? It was to humble them and test them, to know what was in their heart, whether they would keep His commandments or not. Deut. 8:2.

Taking a closer look, we notice that they were not given an easy test. Manna was a monotonous diet. It was difficult for all those whose god was their belly, and besides, this lasted a long time. They were not permitted to gather more than one day’s supply. That, too, went against their greed.

We know that Israel became dissatisfied with that monotonous diet, and consequently they murmured. God gave them meat, but at the same time His wrath was aroused against the people, and He killed many. Num. 11:10-33. God was zealous for His people; it wasn’t by chance or in order to trouble them that He led them through the wilderness. It was the only way in which He could prepare them for conquering the land; it was the only possible way for them to attain the good promises the Lord had given them. He was completing an image of the work of salvation that would afterwards be revealed in Jesus Christ, and which has now been revealed to us. It is blessed to meditate on this image.

During the entire forty years that God led them in the wilderness, they saw the Lord’s mighty hand lead them unharmed through every difficulty. When they had completed their wretched wandering and by faith were to enter into something better, there were only two men who believed in the Lord and completely trusted in Him. These entered the land and received what God had promised to all of them. All the others relied on their understanding, doubting God. For this same reason they did not receive what God had promised them and had to die in the wilderness. Num. 14.

The exodus from Egypt was a picture of liberation from sin. The soul leaves his life in God’s hand and in His will. “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” Rom. 6:18.

Israel’s wandering in the wilderness is an image of the Lord’s work with the soul so that he will to surrender to Him completely. This is when the soul, against his natural desire and human reasoning, does the Lord’s will because God has said it. He hasn’t come to the point where he loves God’s law, but he knows it and does it because it is right. He is like brittle clay which the potter’s treatment makes pliable and easy to work with. As long as the clay is hard and brittle, the potter cannot—even if he is ever so capable—make a vessel out of it. The clay must be softened first so that it is pliable in the potter’s hand. This is why God could not lead the people straight into the land; He first had to humble them and test them in the wilderness in order to see if they wanted to keep His word or not. If they were unwilling to be humbled, and unwilling to keep His word, God could not, no matter how much He wanted to, lead them into the land. God did not send them out into the wilderness again because He was angry; because of their unbelief and hardness they had shut out God who, in His great love, wanted to lead them into the glorious land. It is the same today. Many of God’s people suffer shipwreck when it concerns their heavenly calling. They avoid God’s commandments and Jesus’ word about striving to enter through the strait gate. They do not take part in this preliminary work, and therefore they cannot partake of what has been promised to us: divine nature.

Entering the land is a picture of being conformed to Christ in His death and in His life. It is the goal that God has with us. In this land, we love God’s laws and will, with all of our heart. Here we consistently yearn and long for more victory and more fellowship with God and all the saints. Here it is vital to make an end of all the Canaanites, which are the indwelling lusts. We must not let a single one of them live, for they will become a plague and trouble later in life if they are tolerated. In all situations it is vital to remain humble and not become haughty.

May the Lord have His way with all of us who have received the doctrine and the knowledge that leads straight ahead.