Going Nowhere Fast

Going Nowhere Fast

Bible: Deuteronomy 4:1-10

Reading

Be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen (V.9).

I walked as fast as possible. Worked up quite a sweat, in fact. After about a mile, I broke into a jog and then ran as hard as could. Finally, after about half an hour, I stopped. My heart was pounding. My shirt was soaked. But I had gone nowhere. I had just done a few miles on the treadmill at the gym.

After I cooled off, I sat down with my Bible. I was following a reading plan and the passage for the day was from the book of Numbers. I read some of it slowly and some faster, but I felt at times that I wasn’t getting anywhere—like I was back on the treadmill. Censuses were taken. The long journey through the desert was recapped. The tribes were listed and relisted. Yawn.

The next day, I moved into Deuteronomy. More wanderings. More about the Israelites and their land. But when I got to chapter 4, I was told why all that recapping was important. Moses told the people not to “forget the things your eyes have seen … Teach them to your children” (DEUTERONOMY 4:9). The earlier reading was not about Israel going nowhere fast. It was about training, about a lesson in using God’s past care, goodness and answer as instruction for following Him in the future.

All of the Bible is given to us by God. So even when it may seem unimportant—keep reading. Sometimes we have to be patient to realise the lesson we are to take away.

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH EVERY WORD OF THE BIBLE; TAKE TIME TO LISTEN.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries