WTFMT 63 FROM HGM ON 9 APR 19

WILDERNESS TRUTHS FOR MODERN TIMES-63

TEXT: "So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath." (Numbers 13:21) "Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there." (Numbers 20:1)

 

I. INTRODUCTION -- IN CRISIS

 

A. There two sets of meanings which the word "Zin" has. The first set is "prick," "barb," "hook," "something that is quite unpleasant or quite painful."

B. The other set of meanings is quite different; it is "preserve," "keep," "protect." So in one meaning you are torn to pieces in the brier patch (a loved one dies or trouble) and in the other meaning you are kept by God and can rest in His protection.

C. As strange as it may seem, the very incidents occurring in the Wilderness of Zin work in parallel with these meanings of this Hebrew word "Zin."

D. The place in which the children of Israel lived while in the Wilderness of Zin, Kadesh, is a focal point, and plays prominently in the message of this wilderness. "Kadesh" also carries two different meanings, much wider apart than the two sets of meanings for "Zin." "Kadesh" means "holy" and its related words. "Kadesh" also means "prostitute" and its related words. The very ones God called to holiness, a dedication to Himself, becomes spiritual prostitutes, dedicated to other gods. Today in the US the religion of Baal is alive and well.

E. This place, the Wilderness of Zin with Kadesh as its capital, so to speak, is a place of crises. For the children of Israel it is a very critical place and time.

F. We all have points of crises in our lives, turning points -- perhaps. Whatever your Wilderness of Zin may be it is the place and time when your die is cast (your mold is made), and you will set yourself in a certain direction until you come to the end of the road maybe the end of your earthly life. The Wilderness of Zin is a very critical place.

G. It would make it a lot easier for us if we were able to recognize the Wilderness of Zin when we come to it, but there is no signs or markings to let us know where we are. There is no spiritual wilderness which is marked that when we come to it we immediately know where we are.

H. It seems that God at least should mark the Wilderness of Zin since it is such a critical place. It is the point where you either go forward in God or begin to regress away from God.

I. But the response necessary to carry us forward in God, is not a response which God wants to see only in the Wilderness of Zin. The decision to move in the will of God and to obey the commands of God is ours to make, not only in the Wilderness of Zin, but every day of our lives.

J. When God calls us on into progression and into a greatness in Him which we have not yet known, it is our prerogative to heed or not to heed the call. Thus, what happens to us in the Wilderness of Zin is not because of our decisions. The decision which you will make will be based upon what you know or what you do not know upon what you believe o don't believe, upon what you desire or don't desire.

K. Our decision may be based upon the facts that God is wise and has our interest at heart. Or these facts may escape us and a different decision is made. Each, the knowing and the not knowing, will have a great effect on the way we respond to God and make our choices.

 

II. PARTING THOUGHTS     

A. If we do not believe God loves us, we may choose differently than we would if we believed that God loves us. God may be calling us into a certain direction concerning His will. But a great desire for a different path in us may cause us to refuse His calling. A lack of a certain desire may make easy obedience to His calling. Or a strong desire in us to do His will may cause us to be obedient.

B. These three elements, desiring, knowing, and believing are not the only elements influencing our decisions. There are many elements playing their parts in our lives which help to bring us to certain decisions, and thus help to mold us.