IN THE THIRD MONTH, WHEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE GONE FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, THE SAME DAY CAME THEY INTO THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI. THEY WERE DEPARTED FROM REPHIDIM, AND THEY WERE COME TO THE DESERT OF SINAI, AND HAD PITCHED IN THE WILDERNESS, AND ISRAEL CAMPED BEFORE THE MOUNT. AND MOSES WENT UP UNTO GOD, AND THE LORD CALLED UNTO HIM OUT OF THE MOUNTAIN SAYING, THUS SHALL YOU SAY UNTO THE HOUSE OF JACOB, AND TELL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL; YOU HAVE SEEN WHAT I DID UNTO THE EGYPTIANS, AND HOW I BORE YOU UP ON EAGLE’S WINGS, AND BROUGHT YOU UNTO MYSELF. NOW THEREFORE IF YOU WILL OBEY MY VOICE INDEED, AND KEEP MY COVENANT, THEN YOU SHALL BE A PECULIAR TREASURE UNTO ME ABOVE ALL PEOPLE: FOR ALL THE EARTH IS MINE. AND YOU SHALL BE UNTO ME A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS, AND AN HOLY NATION. THESE ARE THE WORDS WHICH YOU SHALL SPEAK UNTO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. Exodus, Chapter 19, Verses 1-6.
God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt to lead them to the Land of Promise. Since their departure from Egypt, they had done nothing but PROVOKE God through their murmuring, complaining and unbelief. There were many more obstacles which lay before them in the Wilderness, and they needed to learn to trust in God to help them overcome their WILDERNESS experiences.
The Wilderness was a Prophetic Picture, a type and shadow of the hearts of most of the Children of Israel. They were spiritually desolate and destitute. Their hearts were evil and desperately wicked. God led them THROUGH the Wilderness to prepare them for the battles which they would encounter in the Wilderness and the battles they would face when they entered into the Promised Land.
The Promised Land was a type and shadow, among other things, of the Promises of God. If we are going to receive the Promises of God, we must learn to trust in God and His promise of PROVISION in the time of our need. God knew it would take faith to endure the perils in the Wilderness and the battles they would face in the Promised Land.
God had called the Children of Israel to be Priests, a Holy Nation and a PECULIAR TREASURE for Him. God was leading them through the Wilderness to mold and make them into a people He could TRUST to obey His voice. God is looking for people He can TRUST. He is looking for people who will dare to believe Him and obey His voice when He speaks to them. To this point they had not fulfilled the calling of God.
The World is a type and shadow of the Wilderness. As Christians we live in this World, but we are not of this World. OUR LIFE IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST. Because we have Christ in our heart, our life is hidden in Christ. We face many tests and trials as we travel through the Wilderness (earth) as we stand upon and trust in the Promises of God.
The Promised Land was also a type and shadow of God’s REST (Sabbath). Many of the Children of Israel PROVOKED God in the Wilderness and did not enter into HIS REST because of their unbelief. When men lack faith, they will never find the REST and PEACE God has promised. They will WANDER aimlessly until their carcasses fall in the Wilderness of Sin. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
SINAI AND SIN
Sinai comes from the same root word as “sin.” We saw in Chapter 3 that “sin” refers to the deity called the Moon God. In Syriac the name “Sin” means to “shine.” In the Babylonian dialect sin is translated as “the moon.” The word “Sinai” means “thorny or thorn Bush.” The Wilderness of Sinai was a desolate place with very little water and was filled with thorns and thistles.
In the Wilderness of Sinai the Children of Israel would face one of the greatest tests in their sojourning in the Wilderness. Their rebellion at the encampment at Mount Sinai would provoke God far beyond any other up to that point. The peculiar call to Holiness and Priesthood would be revoked forever for most of them because of their rebellion at the foot of Mount Sinai. God prefers to justify rather than judge. However, unless the rebellious repent they will justifiably punished.
THE BURNING BUSH
NOW MOSES KEPT THE FLOCK OF JETHRO HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN: AND HE LED THE FLOCK TO THE BACKSIDE OF THE DESERT, AND CAME TO THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD; EVEN UNTO HOREB. AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE BUSH: AND HE LOOKED, AND BEHOLD, THE BUSH BURNED WITH FIRE; AND THE BUSH WAS NOT CONSUMED. Exodus, Chapter 3, Verses 1-3.
Before Moses led the Children of Israel out of Egypt an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in what is called a Burning Bush at Mount Horeb. The first encounter Moses had with God was on Mount Horeb. Horeb means “glowing heat.” Many Bible Scholars believe Mount Horeb and Mount Sinai are the same mountains because the title “Mountain of God” is used for both of them in Scripture. Whatever the truth is concerning the two mountains, they are certainly part of the Sinai Mountain Range in the Sinai Peninsula. They are prophetic examples of how God’s Voice can be heard on the Mountain of God revealing the mysteries of God to mankind.
The BURNING BUSH was not really burning or the bush would have been consumed by the Fire. It was the Fire of God burning on the bush. A voice from the bush spoke to Moses and told him to take his shoes off because he was standing on Holy Ground.
As on Mount Horeb, the experience Moses would have on Mount Sinai would also be an experience with the Fire of God. Sinai means “thorny or thorn bush.” According to Hebrew Scholars, the bush which burned on Mount Horeb was a thorny bush. Mount Horeb, Mount Sinai and the thorns on the burning bush represented the hearts of men void of the knowledge and understanding of God. They also represent a heart (soul) languishing in Darkness, void of the Light and Life of God. The voice speaking from the burning bush was a type and shadow of God speaking through the thorns and thistles. It was a cry and call to Holiness to men lost in the Wilderness of Sin.
THORNS AND THISTLES
AND UNTO ADAM HE SAID, BECAUSE YOU HAVE HARKENED TO THE VOICE OF YOUR WIFE AND HAVE EATEN OF THE TREE OF WHICH I COMMANDED YOU, SAYING, YOU SHALL NOT EAT OF IT: CURSED IS THE GROUND (spirit) FOR YOUR SAKE, IN SORROW SHALL YOU EAT OF IT ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE: THORNS AND THISTLES SHALL IT BRING FORTH TO YOU; AND YOU SHALL EAT OF THE HERB OF THE FIELD. Genesis, Chapter 3, Verses 17-18.
The earth or ground is a type and shadow of the spirit, or the Heart of Man. Adam sinned and brought a curse upon himself through his disobedience to God’s Commandment. Thorns and thistles represent a heart (spirit) which produces sin and sorrow. Jesus said in Matthew, Chapter 13, Verse 22 that “thorns” choke the WORD OF GOD through the “cares (distractions) of this World and the deceitfulness of riches.”
Adam and Eve were sent forth out of the Garden of Eden because their sin disqualified them from again eating from the Tree of Life until an acceptable sacrifice for their sin could be made. Sin disqualifies us from eating from the Tree of Life until we repent and ask the Lord for forgiveness. The heart grows spiritual thorns and thistles which create a spiritual Wilderness in our souls. Only the Spirit of Christ and faith in Christ’s shed Blood can remove those thorns and thistles from our hearts.
The Lord gave me a dream several years ago about thorns and thistles. In the dream I was walking around in an Emergency Room in a Hospital. I saw many people lying in Hospital beds around the room. Some of the patients I knew very well. The people were all covered in thorns and thistles. The thorns and thistles seemed to be deeply embedded in their flesh. The people were all crying out in pain seeking relief from their misery. The thorns and thistles were wrapped around them so tightly they could not reach to pull them out. I saw Doctors and Nurses going around to each hospital bed taking hold of the thorns and thistles which engulfed their patients. Instead of trying to free the people from their thorns and thistles, they would push them farther into their skin. The people would cry out even more in pain.
Many Christian leaders are causing more hurt and pain in the lives of people than they are helping them. Instead of setting people free from their emotional pain and suffering, they are inflicting more pain and feelings of hopelessness.
I recognized a man who once worked for me lying on one of the hospital beds. After working for me he moved to another State. I ran into him one day and he told me a very disturbing story. He shared with me how Pastors and other so called Christians had hurt him over the years. His confidence in Christian people had been lost. Instead of loving and helping him in his time of need, people he trusted had used him then rejected him. To this day this man is not going to Church.
The Church is supposed to be a Hospital for saints and sinners alike. Instead of helping people however, many Churches have become sanctuaries for demons and devils. The leadership in many Churches has been occupied by enemy forces. They spew out their ungodly rhetoric and promote their self-seeking programs. Another man who worked for me told me he went to his Pastor for prayer and guidance and told him some things in confidence he did not wish anyone else to know. He was seeking help in some areas in his life and thought he could trust his Pastor to help him. The next Sunday morning the Pastor got up in front of the Church and told the Congregation everything the man had told him in confidence in his counseling session. Needless to say the man was very distraught and left the Church.
God’s people need to be more discerning and compassionate when they are dealing with the lives of others. Instead of inflicting more pain and sorrow in people’s lives, we should be binding up the broken hearted and setting free those who have been captured and enslaved by sin.
At the end of the dream, I would go around to each patient lying on the hospital beds, pray for them, and take hold of the thorns and thistles and pull them out. The people would cry out in great pain as the briars were being ripped from their skin. Then they would get a big smile on their faces, get up out of the bed, stand on their feet and thank me for pulling out the briars.
Bringing hurts and sorrows to the surface can be very painful when we are dealing with people’s emotions. However, once deep seated pain and emotional stress have been exposed and healed through the right process, people can go on with their life with joy and thanksgiving. Whom the Lord has set free is FREE INDEED.
Thorns and thistles grow in the heart that has not been established and grounded in the doctrines of Christ Jesus. The cleansing and healing Power of Christ removes all pain and sorrow in a destitute heart. We make converts, but fail to make disciples out of people by not teaching them HOW to be set free from all the pain and sorrow visited upon them in the past by their ungodly taskmasters. Men who live in sin are slaves to sin. Men who have been set free by the Power of God are FREE INDEED. When we are dealing with people’s spiritual and emotional well-being, we must strive to always apply the TRUTH of God in every situation.
Like the Children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sin, some people will always be murmuring and complaining. The thorns and thistles which permeate their hearts will always cause them needless pain and sorrow because their hearts are filled with DARKNESS. On the other hand, there are many people who are sincere about finding help and deliverance from their captivity. All they need is someone who can point them in the right direction by showing them the love of Christ and helping them in their time of need.
If we have been set free from sin, we should take into consideration the feelings and the desperate condition of others. We must always remember that we were also once captives of grievous taskmasters and could not free ourselves from the grip of Hell. We needed someone to help us obtain our own freedom.
God’s plan to make a Holy Nation and a Royal Priesthood out of a rebellious rabble in the Wilderness of Sin was not going well. Most of the people provoked Him through their murmuring and complaining. Their greatest test still lay ahead of them, and so far they were failing to TRUST and BELIEVE God would help them reach their PROMISED destination.