“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
‘Turn and set your journey, and go to…See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land. (Deuteronomy 1:6-8)
‘Turn and set your journey, and go to…See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land. (Deuteronomy 1:6-8)
Turn.
The Israelites had made it to Mt. Sinai relatively quickly by the light of the Divine Cloud. Now, after almost ten months of daily routine, the directive came to Moses that they had stayed “long enough.” Sinai was the memorial place to which God and the Israelites would refer in coming generations. These laws that had been given in the sheltered Wilderness were to be lived out in the new life in Canaan. And now…
it was time to move ahead, and the first step was to TURN TOWARD the place and the work to which God was leading them.
They could not wistfully be remembering Egypt, nor wishing for the routine of Sinai to which they had learned to adjust. To turn was to get their mind and heart facing what God was doing ahead.
Set.
The root meaning of this word is “to pull out tent-pegs,” i.e. to break camp. This word is used over 100 times in the book of Numbers alone! The reality of moving forward was that they had to “uproot” …to physically pack their things and move their tents to the next stage of the journey. In fact, Numbers 33 records a whopping FORTY-TWO times that they pulled out their tent pegs. That’s a lot of transition! The pilgrimage lifestyle of God’s people reminded them of their father Abraham who had been “a wandering Aramean.” (Deut. 26:5) It was as if to say: “Don’t get too comfortable where you are, because we are looking for a city whose builder and architect is God.” (Heb. 11:10)
Go to...
Then God reminds the Israelites exactly WHERE they are going—region by region is mentioned. This had been promised to Abraham, and they needed to be reminded that there was a permanent place ahead that was theirs by inheritance.
Go in...
Finally, God reminds the Israelites WHAT the job ahead entailed. They were to go in and possess the land. Their unique role in history demonstrated to everyone that God keeps His promises over generations. They were part of the Big Picture God was accomplishing in the world.
When the Lord moves us to a new place or to a new work, it is part of His bigger picture. Our first steps are to turn our hearts towards what is ahead and “pull up the tent pegs” in order to move forward.
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