Bible Discussion Thread

A question : How long did it take for the children of Isreal to go from Egypt to the promised land?

I would hazard the thought that most if not all will say 40 years .I too once thought so.

It only took them a little over two years .Three months of which was spent at mount Sinai.

But we the church has inclined to believe it took 40 years emphasising the wandering in the wilderness rather than the truth .

We have made Jordan death and the promised land heaven . Even some of the great old hymns do so . While Jordan is a type of death it is not that death and heaven is not the promised land for there are no giants to overcome or land to be conquered .

We have made the wandering in the wilderness as te Christian norm. Despite miracles every day twice on Saturday . Despite shoes and cloths never wearing out . The fire by night to lead and keep them warm . The cloud by day to lead and to shade them. Despite water flowing from a rock etc etc . They were still all but two maybe three outside of the will of God .

Did not Paul warn the church not to be like them " who entered not in because of unbelief"? Unbelief is not just not believing God it is actually also believing another message .

Did not the same Paul warn and was concerned that the church be not deceived as Eve was? Who also believed the truth changed into a lie?

We have been robbed!

Getting out of Egypt was but being born again . By the Word of God ,by the blood of a lamb and by the power of God .

The wilderness was a proving ground ,boot camp if you will here they were to learn that " man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that Proceeds from the mouth of God" exodus .

It was not meant to last all our lives . For 40 years .

It only took the just over two years and God said to them " go in and posses the land for I have given it to you " Did not then God expect them to be ready and obey?

He was justified in his expectation for He had two witnesses ,Joshua and Caleb who were ready.

Love God with all our being(heart, mind & soul) & our neighbor as(anyone in need) our self. Being the greatest commands. If we believe in Jesus Christ (& all that applies)& do these 2 most important commandments we will not want to hurt others or sin & go to heaven.! Like your axample w/the puzzle.!

Thanks for the reply ,glad it was some help .

Have you ever considered what a brother or sister is ?

Is it not some one of the same household and of the same father.

Or that a neighbour is someone of another household and another father?

" Do good to all men but especially to the household of faith "

For was not the Lord Himself who was the " Good Samaritan"?

For we're we not as it were His neighbours?

Who being the despised Samaritan by the Jews who had " no dealings with Samaritans "turned out to be the best friend that the injured Jew had ?

GB

The 5 wise and the 5 foolish virgins .

The church of which I am a part has made this teaching of the Lord as nothing to do with the church . But in the main says the 5 foolish virgins are the unsaved and the 5 wise the saved .While it can be used in a very limited sense perhaps as a message to the unsaved ,it is primarily directed at the church .

For a virgin by the very nature of things is a God given state .

Paul also speaking of " presenting the church as a chaste bride "

To the unsaved and under the law as in Romans he speaks of those married .

The 10 virgins then refers to the church .

It can be noted that in all aspects save one they are the same .

10 virgins.

All have their lamps lit . The unsaved have no lamps lit for they walk in darkness.

All are waiting for the groom . The world has no interest in the return of the Lord .

All fall asleep . Did not the Lord warn the disciples to watch and pray ? For while the spirit is willing the flesh is weak and apt to overrule . They slept and were unable to face the challenge ahead . The Lord stayed awake and prayed ensuring His flesh would not prevail ( and he die).

All heard the cry " the bride groom comes!". The world will not see Him come nor have ears to hear the cry " come up hither".

All woke up and trimmed their lamps .

The division between the wise and foolish was that the wise had their vessels full of oil and the foolish were unprepared and their vessels empty .

While they were away presumably to get some oil (?) the groom came and the 5 wise entered into the " MARRIAGE".

The 5 foolish heard " I do not know you" they were barred from the marriage .

The wicked on the day of judgement will hear " I never knew you" and are barred from the kingdom .

Two quite different things .

Not only do we need to be BORN again we also need to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit . It's not an option.

Have you considered how many pairs of eyes you have? So to speak.

Thank you Gerald, I do enjoy reading your various posts. But just on the matter of, "How long did it take for the children of Isreal to go from Egypt to the promised land? I would hazard the thought that most if not all will say 40 years .I too once thought so", how do you understand Numbers 14:26-34, particularly verses 33 & 34. Is the mention of forty years only figurative?

The generation who came out of Egypt did indeed wander in the wilderness for 40 years and all but two out of two million plus perished in the wilderness .

Paul warns the church and every believer not to be like them " who entered not in because of unbelief".

It is worth noting that they did no work of God till they crossed Jordan .

The servant of Elijah did no work of God till he crossed Jordon .nor did the Lord himself till he crossed Jordon in baptism.

We rob ourselves or allow the devil to rob us when we believe the flesh rather than the Word of God .

For the ten spies saw the same things as the two faithful spies . But had forgotten what God had already done ,who it was who was with them and what he had promised for the future . They did not walk by faith ( in God) but by sight and a carnal mind and said we cannot go in .

The two faithful spies ,Joshua and Caleb saw the same things but in the true light of Gods presence power and provision and said we can .

Unbelief is not just not believing God it is believing another and wrong message.

So it was also with Eve.

Thanks for that clarification Gerald. I was concerned & confused that the forty years of desert wanderings turned out to only be two years and I couldn't find anything to support that figure. Indeed, some will enter into God's rest, but many today, including most of the children of Israel at that time, failed to do so, because of their unbelief ( Hebrews 3:7-4:6).

The two years odd can be calculated from the account of them leaving Egypt . 3 months of which was spent at mount Sinai .

My point is that the church has made the promised land heaven and Jordon death .

And that we have made the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years the Christian norm .

Getting out of Egypt was but being born again . And the crossing of the wilderness ,boot camp .

Where civilians are changed into soldiers so to speak.

Is it not written that the bride of Christ is to " come out of the wilderness terrible as an army with banners leaning upon her beloved"?

The bride must get herself ready boot camp is over .

If the bible does not specify then it is not for us to speculate & It shouldn'tatter anywho. They did what they did and God delt with them accordingly. We need to learn from this however so when God speaks to you I pray it takes less then 5 seconds to obey.

The Bible is in many ways like a jigsaw puzzle . Not everything is laid out as you might think .

No matter what the size of the puzzle be it 500 or 5000 the wisest course is to get the side pieces and corners first . On two grounds . No matter how big the puzzle and I've seen one the size of a rug . The most easily identifiable and quickest to put together are the side pieces and corners . Once they are in place you know there is nothing outside of the framework and all go in place within it . They are the milk of the Word ,

How you proceed after that depends on your diligence and patience .

I wouod suggest however it is usual for the earth bits are done first and the sky in the main done last .

Taking the analogy further ,perhaps because we know more of earth in the beginning than we do of heaven?

I have found the Biblevto be the most thought provoking book in the world and has more answers than any man has questions .( real questions that is)

It is not speculation then nor is it an idle question.

For clearly the first time they reached the river Jordon having left Egypt did not take 40 years !

That only occurred when they were barred from entering because of their unbelief .

How long it took the first time can therefore be calculated when you put all the pieces together .

My point was and is that the church of which I am thank God a part has made the wandering in the wilderness the Christian norm and heaven the promised land .