Head for the Promised Land

The story of Exodus is everyone’s story. It offers fantastic insights on our spiritual journey, such as:

1. HOW FAST
When the Israelites were groaning in slavery after 215 long years in Egypt, understandably, their biggest question was:

How fast can we get from point A (Egypt) to point B (the Promised Land)?

When people ask how fast, I tell them:

“Cross the Wilderness and get yourself to the Promised Land as fast as you can."

The Wilderness Experience

"We go back to our childhood and find what hurt. We go to our teenage years and dig up what we buried. We go to our failed relationships and our broken marriages to feel the pain. We take a very real, raw look at our parenting fails.” ~Chris Del Vesco

Here’s why—

2. SHOULD I TAKE THE STRAIGHT OR MEANDERING PATH
Scholars say, it would have taken the Israelites (a party composed of 600,000 men, women, children, and elderly folk + food, livestock and belongings) 11-12 days to get from point A (Egypt) to point B (the Promised Land) had they taken a straight path.

What happened? Why did it take them 40 years to enter the Promised Land?

3. THE LESSER KNOWN SIN & 40 YEARS

There is a lesser known yet very grave sin in the history of Israel. Here’s what happened:

After coming out of Egypt, the Israelites spent 350 days at Mount Sinai
Forty days after leaving Mt. Sinai, Moses sent 12 spies to assess Canaan, the Promised Land
The 12 spies returned after 40 days

No. of Days: Only 430 days from the time they left Egypt

Ten of the spies gave a skewed report and emphasized the difficulties of entering Canaan.

The traits of the 10 spies were doubt, self-depreciation, fear, critical spirit, rebellion, ingratitude, and unbelief

Two of the spies—Joshua and Caleb—did not go along with the 10; instead, they tried to convince the Israelites that Canaan can be taken victoriously
The Israelites believed the 10 spies

God instructed the Israelites, His Chosen People, to take the Promised Land. God promised victory. The Israelites turned the other way.

This unwillingness to take the Promised Land was considered a grave sin-separation by God.

As a consequence:

God decreed the Israelites would wander in the wilderness for 40 years

Numbers 14:34
For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.'

All of the spies, except Joshua and Caleb, were struck down with the plague and died. The attributes Joshua and Caleb upheld were faith, confidence, courage, action, and thankfulness

Why is it important to get ourselves to the Promised Land A-S-A-P?

The Promised Land is a point in our spiritual journey when we, as God’s Chosen, can begin our mission to bring Heaven on Earth.

Notes and Additional Resources

Egypt is a metaphor for being a slave to sin-hate-separation.
In the Wilderness, God seems far away, distant, absent, and unresponsive.
The Promised Land or the “land of milk and honey” is a metaphor for “all-good things” or God's blessings. It is also physiological; in a state of nirvana, the pineal secretes a milk-like fluid, the pituitary secretes a golden-yellow honey-like fluid.
The Promised Land, as a state of being, eventually becomes the birthing place of the Messiah or Christ Consciousness or Groom of Revelation.
The Promised Land is the staging ground for God's Revelation of New Heaven, New Earth.
Entering the Promised Land by David A. DePra - "If you examine what happened between the time Israel was delivered from Egypt, and the time they arrived for the first time at the Promised Land, you will see that God had been trying to establish a relationship with them. All the things He was doing during those months – both the experiences and the direct teaching – was really a preparation for their life as His people in the Promised Land."
Oneness Restoration can only begin inside the Promised Land; not in the Wilderness. The Wilderness is good for wound-nursing and scab picking (ouch!)
Lessons Learned from The Twelve Spies by Ken Weliever
The Seven Plagues of Revelation 16 adapted from Truth Matters