Singing in the Middle of Nowhere
In Numbers 22 Israel suffered a minor setback in spiritual life and vitality when they grumbled about the manna that God had been giving them for forty years. They quickly saw the deliverance of God from their curse in the serpent Moses mounted to the pole and held up for them to see. The repented, realizing their guilt and looking to God's solution.
Numbers 21:7 (ESV) And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
You could say, they had a born-again moment here. Because this new generation had not seen much in the way of God's judgment upon their own evil. What they saw in that bronze serpent, and the healing that eventually followed changed how they approached the wilderness. They moved from grumbling to singing.
Numbers 21:16–18 (ESV) And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— 18 the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah,
If you read the passages before and after these verses, it is clear, Israel is in the middle of nowhere. They are just wandering sort of aimlessly. How interesting that instead of grumbling they turn to singing.
You have to learn to sing in the wilderness. If life is slow for you as a Christian it's still far better than not being a Christian at all! The wilderness season may be your currently reality, but the good news is that God's people never just go to the wilderness, they journey THROUGH the wilderness. They walk with a purpose through times that seem pointless.
That's reason to sing.
Second, notice how they describe the well, "the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs." God brought them to a noble well. He didn't bring them water from an average place. I think about how we should expect that from our Father who loves us. He will provide the best for His chosen.
God doesn't simply provide for you, He supplies an abundance for you even when you aren't where you want to be. Think of your life now. Are you walking in obedience? Are you turning from your sins and looking to God's solution in Christ? Then you can expect God to lead you forward in good places, in noble sources. He's got the best of intentions for you when life seems stalled out.
Numbers 21:7 (ESV) And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
Numbers 21:16–18 (ESV) And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— 18 the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah,
If you read the passages before and after these verses, it is clear, Israel is in the middle of nowhere. They are just wandering sort of aimlessly. How interesting that instead of grumbling they turn to singing.
You have to learn to sing in the wilderness. If life is slow for you as a Christian it's still far better than not being a Christian at all! The wilderness season may be your currently reality, but the good news is that God's people never just go to the wilderness, they journey THROUGH the wilderness. They walk with a purpose through times that seem pointless.
That's reason to sing.
Second, notice how they describe the well, "the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs." God brought them to a noble well. He didn't bring them water from an average place. I think about how we should expect that from our Father who loves us. He will provide the best for His chosen.
God doesn't simply provide for you, He supplies an abundance for you even when you aren't where you want to be. Think of your life now. Are you walking in obedience? Are you turning from your sins and looking to God's solution in Christ? Then you can expect God to lead you forward in good places, in noble sources. He's got the best of intentions for you when life seems stalled out.
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