Sovereignty: The Cure For Oppression.

Why do we stay in the wilderness?

From what I can see the Israelites wandered for 40 years for two main reasons: Rebellion and Fear.

They constantly rebelled against God. And they were too fearful to go in and possess the land because "the inhabitants were giants."  Rebellion and Fear, plain and simple. These twin roadblocks form what I think is a sort of oppression mentality. That is they are the result of 400 years of oppression and slavery.

As newly liberated slaves the Hebrews were probably feeling the effects of freedom for the first time. For all their threats of returning to Egypt in times of desperation the simple reality was they would not so easily resume a yoke of any kind; be it slavery to their former masters or obedience to the God who delivered them. Slavery and oppression had primed them for rebellion.

The other side of this coin of oppression is Fear. 400 years of being ground into the dust can really mess with your self esteem. They had no confidence in themselves. Fear consumed them. They cowered at the border. Forgetting the firey whirlwind that burned on right beside them they named themselves grasshoppers rather than the Children of God. 

For their rebellion God held them back. For their fear they held themselves back.

 

So I have to ask myself; is God holding me back? Or am I holding myself back. I cannot truthfully acquit myself on either account. Rebellion against God is exalting my will over the will of God. Fear of man is exalting the power of man over the power of God. Will and Power. If I deny one or both, I deny myself the promise.

So what is the key to overcoming these two roadblocks to the Promised Land? Well I'm sure there are many but the one I'm looking at has a double edged blade. The first edge is obedience. Only by choosing to be obedient can I subjugate my will to God's. Only by moving forward into battle against an earthly foe can I demonstrate my complete confidence in the supreme power of God. 

Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today,
that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to
possess, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to
give your fathers, to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
- Deuteronomy 11 v 8-9

But it is the other blade that sharpens obedience and makes it both victorious in the advance to possess God's promises and deadly to the tempting forces of sin and rebellion. That blade is the Sovereignty of the Almighty God. That blade requires no sharpening. It is upon its infinite perfection that the Fear of The Lord rests. And this above all things I now seek with all my heart. To be dissected with surgical precision by this silver scalpel is to be made well by The One Who Makes All Things New. But what is it and how shall it be known to my weak human faculties and my easily distracted attention?

The simple fact is this: I will obey the authority that I fear. It is ironic that I must ultimately use Fear (of God) do battle against fear (of man). Ironic and yet somehow fitting. Because only the obedient fear of One so Great can make you fearless against everyone else.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

- Romans 8 v 31

For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a Great King over all the earth.

- Psalm 47 v 2

We can grasp little of the mind of God if we are not willing to obey Him when we  don't feel like it, or when we are fearful of our enemies. Of course people will equate the reverential fear of God with the cowering fear inspired by cruel despots. But these are two different paradigms. God is supremely good and kind and all that He does is right. No human authorities can make such a claim even if they genuinely aspire to it. And yet the threat of punishment, repercussions and even destruction rests as heavily in the hand of God as it does in the hands of the sadistic ruler. More so because God also possesses eternity which can be coupled with any threat and the only ally you can appeal to for help against it is God himself. And so that is what I must do. Appeal to Sovereign Mercy and to the One upon whose name that Mercy rests like a crown of thorns: Jesus.

And so I set before myself the cure for my Oppression Mentality; Divine Sovereignty. Astounding terrible Power, so great it brings me to my knees in reverent fear and silence, so mighty that no enemy could eclipse Him, so tender that my quivering soul grows calm at the sound of His name.

Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.
- Psalm 2 v 11