And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
I know I’ll be making a play on words, so I want to make it very clear that’s what I’m doing.
The wilderness of Sin is “the tract of wilderness between Elim and Sinai.”[1] It was a physical place, likely related to a city in Egypt by the same name. It is not, in fact, related to the word we associate with "sin."[2] That said, I’ve never read this passage without thinking of how fitting it is. The people had just murmured against Moses and Aaron for food. God had provided manna from heaven, but the people disobeyed—or at least challenged—every commandment God gave concerning the manna. They had indeed “missed the mark.”
God commanded them to leave that place called Sin.
Interestingly, the next place they went was Rephidim, which means “a place of rest, to spread out a blanket.” Yet, they missed the mark there too, murmuring about having no water.
There’s a powerful life illustration in this. We do not attain sinless perfection in this life. When we successfully mortify one sin (by God’s grace), we find there is another one waiting to battle. The Christian life is about mortifying the deeds of the flesh, one sin at a time.
Notice that, even after their bout with sin, God graciously supplied water and gave them victory over the Amalekites. This is not to suggest we should take God’s grace for granted, but it does encourage us that grace is always available.
The only truly unsuccessful Christian is the one who lays down his hands and refuses to battle against the sin nature.
#WildernessOfSin #MissingTheMark #GodsGraceInTheDesert #BattleAgainstSin #SpiritualJourney
Trust God in the Wilderness of Life: One sin at a time
[1] Strong’s Concordance
[2] To miss the mark, an offense against God.
- Are you battling sin and feeling like you've missed the mark?
- Commit to seeking His guidance in that specific area and trust Him to provide.
👉 Join our community in studying God’s Word and strengthening your faith.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
For this and, more than 6400 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.
For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.
My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org
Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/
Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more
Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give.
No comments:
Post a Comment