Deuteronomy 1:32-33 In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
So many people start off in marriage with such high hopes, such intense passion, such deep commitment, at least on the outside. At least they used to start marriage this way. It seems that expectations and commitment have begun to lag in our culture. People seem to be getting married more for the reception party than for a lifetime of love.
Hope, passion and commitment seem to have lost much of their power. People seem to settle for so much less than this in their relationships. And I think that this is a shame. Marriage can be one of the most fulfilling endeavors available to humans, so when people enter it with such low expectations, they get exactly what they expect.
Our text lands as the first part of Moses’ farewell speech. In fact, the whole book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell speech. He retells the story of their exodus and desert wandering with a bigger purpose than simply giving a timeline. He tells the story to show the LORD’s faithfulness.
The Israelites have seen the LORD deliver them from their captivity with a series of miraculous interventions. They have seen the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. They have seen His presence on the mountaintop and the results of His presence in the camp when there was rebellion.
You would think that was enough for them to know that the LORD was able to keep His end of the bargain. He had the power to bring about what He promised. Nothing could stand in His way.
But instead of trusting, they repeatedly doubt and turn away. And it is this history of turning away that Moses has to deal with in the people of God. We are quick to jump on this history of rebellion and say, “It would have been different if we were there! We would have obeyed.”
But we have their experience to read. We have their testimony to boost the case for obedience, and yet we fall as well. We haven’t seen the cloud and fire, but we read about it and about the their consequences. That should be enough for us to convince us to obey. Shouldn’t it!
The problem for them was that the Holy had become mundane. They had seen the LORD’s presence with them constantly that they too if for granted. And this is the problem for us as well.
You see, we are creatures created in the image of the God who does wondrous things in our lives. And some people seek out the wondrous things rather than seeking the LORD. They want the experience more than they want the One who brought the experience.
When we seek experience more than the Experience Giver, we are making a substitute god. The experience becomes the god whom we serve. But experiences were never meant to be a substitute for the real thing. We often call this substitute “religion.”
We must seek Him, and not seek a substitute. We know this is possible because of their experience. We can learn from their mistakes. We don’t have to repeat them. That would be wisdom.
Maybe we are wise enough not to repeat their mistakes, but foolish enough to create our own! That seems to fit our situation, doesn’t it. We have the creativity that the LORD instilled in us as His regents here on Earth, but we still lake the guidance system to use that creativity for His purposes. Come Holy Spirit!
The Arnold Journey 