Analogy of the Exodus
An important depiction of the human tendency to prefer the familiar may be seen in the biblical account of the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt. Throughout the books of Exodus and Numbers we read of repeated confrontations between Moses and those he was leading into freedom. Again and again, because the promised land did not become immediately and easily accessible to them, the people begged Moses to forget about the promised land and lead them back to Egypt. There they had all the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic they wanted.
The ancient Hebrews’ willingness to trade their freedom and a homeland flowing with milk, honey, fruit, grain, and mineral riches for hard bondage and a few vegetables and fish seems utterly unfathomable. From their perspective, however, the promised land remained unfathomable, mere words. Having never seen it for themselves and having no personal experience of freedom and prosperity, they lacked a vision and hope for what God had promised them. Though they acknowledged that the freedom and the promised land must be better than slavery in Egypt, they had difficulty recognizing that the difference was great enough to be worth a few months or years of hardship and suffering in the wilderness. Just as importantly, they failed to appreciate that without adequate preparation and training, which their hardship and suffering would provide, their ability to retain the blessings of the promised land would be short-lived.
We may be tempted to judge these people harshly, but we shouldn’t be so arrogant as to fall for that, for we are so much like them. Our own experience and considerable psychological research reports that in nearly all circumstances, both children and adults will choose something good that is familiar over something better but unfamiliar.
The children of Israel, similar to our own children and ourselves, could not seem to understand that their resistance to God’s training program, as difficult as it may have been, only brought them far more difficulty. Their wilderness experience was scheduled to last fourteen and a half months. But their rebellion cost them forty extra years of desert wandering.
Nearly one-fifth of the Bible is devoted to the exodus story. One reason I see for God’s giving it so much space is that it reflects the ongoing journey of the entire human race. It truly identifies the constraints of human nature. As the Hebrews set out from Egypt, a land of onions, garlic, and slavery, the human race set out from Eden, a paradise where humans were slaves to the threat of rebellion and sin. Though Adam and Eve were at first free from sin, they were also free-will beings with the capacity to receive and express love, which meant they or their descendants could choose to rebel against God’s authority and reject His goodness. As many Hebrews died in unbelief and rebellion in the wilderness, so too, much of humanity will die without believing or embracing the eternal destiny God has not only promised but has desired for them. Those Hebrews who did follow God into the land were blessed with seeing the glory of God and receiving the bounty of that place. So, too, those who follow Christ into the new creation will be blessed with seeing His glory face-to-face and with receiving the bountiful rewards of that unimaginable place.
God had the option to lead the Hebrews from Egypt to Canaan along the north coastal road. By that route the journey would have lasted only five to ten days. No one would have suffered. Much less evil would have been expressed and experienced. But, if God had chosen this option, the Hebrews would have been inadequately prepared to handle the many challenges, both physical and spiritual, of conquering and maintaining the new territory. To avoid new forms of evil and suffering, they could have returned to the familiar hardships of Egypt. But the strength they gained from their new trials and troubles prepared them to seize and keep the land of their dreams.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
You must be logged in to post a comment.