Ezekiel 20:13
“But Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They didn’t follow my statutes. They despised my laws for living well and obediently in the ways I had set out. And they totally desecrated my holy Sabbaths.”
“But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days.”
My rose-colored glasses have always thought of the exodus from Egypt and travel through the desert as exciting. Israel was on its way! They were off on God’s adventure with a charismatic and faithful leader. God planned great things for them. They were special. But they were just like us, barely holding it together, unsure of their purpose and identity, confused by new rules and jockeying for position in a new society. They weren’t making good choices and tried to fix it with ideas from their point of reference, Egypt. Going back was slavery. Who knows what going forward meant. Yet God loved them as they were, unlovable. He taught them a different worldview with himself at the center, shaping them with infinite patience into something brand new. Their lives began to settle into place and they trusted God for their future. Three thousand years later the Hebrew people are still with us, preserving their rich and distinct identity as the apple of God’s eye.
Lord, you did amazing things for Israel. I need some of that amazement in my life. Forgive me when my focus slips off you onto other things. Help me follow your path, hanging onto you hand, and get fixed by the ministry of your lovely, gentle Spirit to my heart.