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365 Days with Philpot

July 9

Gods leiding met Israël in de woestijn

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2 min. read

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
Deuteronomy 32:11, 12

To show that the work of grace is the Lord’s alone, it is also said in His Word, “So the LORD alone did lead him” (Deuteronomy 32:12). He would share the glory with none. And there was no strange god with him. He suffered no abominable god to come in between, for He is a jealous God. “The LORD alone” (He would brook no intruder; Jesus will bear no rival) “did lead him.”

Israel did not lead himself, nor was the people led by any man. But the Lord alone led him about in His providence and grace, instructed him, kept him as the apple of His eye, and was to him all that the eagle is to her young. Free will had no say in the matter; human strength did not step in; human righteousness was not allowed to mediate. They were all as still as a stone while Israel passed over. God did all the work, that God might have all the glory. He began, He carried on, He finished, for “so the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.”

O how blessedly the Lord takes the whole matter into His own hands! And how safely He leads His people! How secure they are! If He keeps them as the apple of His eye, can anything really harm them? If He leads them, can they go wrong? If He instructs them, can they remain ignorant?

What a blessing it is, even in this desert, this waste howling wilderness, to be led, kept, instructed, stirred up, taken and borne on eagles’ wings. Do not look at the desert; you will never find anything there but desolation. But examine whether in the desert there is not communion with God and instruction for your soul. If you find your life described here, then your name is written in the book of life.

Reading: Isaiah 40:18-31

To the reader…

Perhaps you sometimes see nothing in your own life but desert, a waste howling wilderness in which you do not know the way. Then do not look only at the sand around you; there you will find nothing but desolation. I point you to something else: “the LORD alone did lead him.” Not free will, not human strength, not your own righteousness; they were all as still as a stone. God did all the work, that He might have all the glory.

Is that not a comfort to a soul that finds no strength left in itself? If He keeps His people as the apple of His eye, what can really harm them? If He leads, how can it go wrong? Examine, then, whether in this desert there has not been communion with Him and instruction for your soul. If you find your life described there, you may know that He Who began will also carry on and finish.

With warm regards,
The compilers of jcphilpot.nl