It was on the third new moon that the Israelites entered the wilderness in Sinai. They had been provided with water and bread and meat. They are following a magnificent cloud that leads them by day and night.
This is a time in history. Time is passing. We read the stories one after another, but these stories are from real life. They had to wake up day after day and gather the bread and day after day had to follow the Lord in the cloud. This is a historical record, and it’s a precise historical record. It was on the third new moon since they had left Egypt.
God created the stars and the heavenly bodies for signs. They are markers. Our calendar today was made by human minds and egos. But God made milestone markers for us.
Can you look back and see the milestone markers? Can you see, in retrospect, the before and after moments?
If you have been following Jesus, they should be there. Stop and look back. Think about what happened, what turned your path. See God’s hand in those moments.
See where you turned away. Not all mile markers are our best moments. What happened? Can you pinpoint the moment?
I was watching Hamilton with one of my teenage boys. Hamilton falls into a wrong relationship with a woman. It didn’t start when he said yes to her. It started when he flirted with another woman. Allowing those thoughts for someone other than his wife, even if they were never to be acted on, was the start; that was the turning point. Without another marker, another fork in the road moment sending him in another direction, what happened was kind of inevitable. He had headed down that road.
In our story, the Israelites have a mile-marker moment. They have made it to Mount Sinai. Their lives are about to change. Change comes with a choice.
May your choice always be to run to God and not away. May your choice always be to trust His word over what you are feeling and seeing and hearing. May your choice always be selfless instead of selfish. May your choice always be love over fear. May your choice always be to trust and obey.