We Are Just Like
the Israelites

The ladies' Bible study group in which I participate every week recently studied Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. What struck me about the overall study was how similiar we were to the Israelites.

The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. We were enslaved to our sin in the Egypt of this world.

They followed God's lead as they left Egypt. We left the Egypt of our sin behind when we followed Jesus.

The Lord showed His mighty power through the outpouring of plagues in Egypt to deliver His people. He has showed Himself to us through the wondrous act of sending His Son Jesus to die for our sins on the cross and rise from the dead.

The Israelites applied the blood of the Passover lamb to the doorposts of their dwellings to keep the death angel from destroying them. Through faith in Jesus Christ, the blood of the Passover Lamb was applied to our hearts when the Lord caused us to be born again, saving us from eternal destruction.

They passed through the Red Sea and entered the wilderness. We have passed through the Red Sea of baptism and then into the wilderness.

In the wilderness, the Israelites learned about who their God actually was through the laws He gave to them at Mount Sinai and through obedience to them. If they did not obey there were serious consequences. Likewise we learn about how to live this Christian life by reading and obeying God's Word.

In the desert, the Israelites complained about the lack of water at Massah ("test") and Meribah ("quarrel") in Exodus 17:7. They tested God by not believing that He could provide for their needs -- the sin of unbelief. How many times do we doubt God and not have faith that He can take care of what we need? We do not want to be like the Israelites and harden our hearts through unbelief and not enter into His rest (Hebrews 3:12-19).

There is much we can learn from these first books of the Bible. The Israelites were fallible human beings as we are, but we can learn from them and not follow their pattern of unbelief, missing entrance into the Promised Land of heaven.

Lord, help us to always believe in You and not doubt.