Preparation for the Journey

I want to back up briefly to define “spiritual wilderness.” We picture a wilderness as a barren place that is devoid of life. But that is not the case. The wilderness in which the Israelites were about to enter was filled with life. It was an arid landscape, but it was a place where some plants and animals thrived.

‌In the case of Jesus, the wilderness was a place of spiritual battle. For those in Jesus’ time, demonic and angelic forces were present. The wilderness was a place to find God and Satan simultaneously. We see this as Jesus began his ministry as well as the journey of the Israelites to the promised land.

‌For us, the spiritual wilderness is one where we can find God present and see the spiritual chaos inflicted by the enemy. There are true glimpses of the kingdom of God as hearts are turned to him; people are healed from disease and delivered from demonic forces. This is why spiritual gifts are so important as we do ministry. We battle not against flesh and blood but against the principalities of this world. We engage in spiritual warfare when we go to Wal-Mart. It is the nature of the world. The wilderness is not devoid of life or God. It is a place where Satan roams and devours whom he may.

‌That is why as we begin this journey, we must be prepared for the realities that await us. This is a battle that we enter. It is not for the faint of heart. We meet people daily dealing with the crushing weight of demonic and spiritual oppression. We have a mindset in the West that if we cannot experience it with our senses, it doesn’t exist. But this is far from the truth. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” The unseen realm is just as real and affects our lives as the seen realm. We cannot take that for granted. We must get out of this Western philosophical mindset that only that which we see is real. You and I are being bombarded every day with demonic powers. If we take it seriously that we will truly journey in the wilderness, we must be prepared for what is out there and understand that there are unseen things that we must battle against.

‌Today, we will look at ways to prepare for the journey into the wilderness.

1. We must actively prepare for God’s call. (vs. 1-6)

Exodus 12:1–6 ESV

1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 3 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

Passover is a cultic ritual that has both historical and eternal truths. Since Moses returned to Egypt to demand the release of God’s people, Pharaoh has been actively fighting against Moses. He denies him repeatedly, even as the plagues against Egypt increase in intensity. Crops and livestock have been destroyed. The livelihood that was found through the Nile has been disrupted. Even though the magicians of Egypt could replicate some of the plagues through their demonic incantations, they could not display the power that God could. Yet, Pharaoh continued to refuse Moses’ demands.

‌When the final plague is about to be unleashed - the killing of the firstborn - Moses is given specific instructions by God to prevent the fate of the Egyptians from befalling the Israelites. The people are actively preparing to be ready when the plague comes. The actions taken in the beginning verses of chapter 12 focus the Israelites on not only the physical implications of the plague but also the spiritual ones. They are to search for the perfect one-year-old sheep or goat, emphasizing the perfection found in God. They are to share if their animal is too large for smaller families, emphasizing the communal nature of preparation and that we are not alone in the journey.

There is a famous quote that says, "If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail." This is especially true in sports. If you played sports in high school, you might have had a coach who told you to run but didn't pay attention to your effort levels. This meant it was up to you to work hard enough to prepare for the game. Some people on the team trained hard, while others hardly worked at all. The truth always became apparent during the games. The teammates who had worked hard could compete at a high level, while the ones who had slacked off in practice were exposed.

Passover is a celebration that commemorates God's intervention in human history to deliver his people. To prepare themselves for God's actions, the Israelites had to get themselves and their families ready for what God was about to do. They were preparing for the coming of the final plague, and it was in the preparation that they were getting ready for whatever was about to happen.

Similarly, our preparation for the spiritual wilderness must be no different. As Paul advised Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2, we should be ready in season and out of season. God was instructing the Israelites to look for the best among their herds, and this was part of their preparation. Being ready means that we are at our best spiritually, seeking after God through the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, scripture reading, and regularly partaking of the sacrament. Neglecting to do these things opens us up to the devil's wiles, and if we enter the wilderness without being rooted in Christ, we risk our spiritual health. Actively preparing for the spiritual wilderness keeps our hearts and minds focused on Christ and his calling for us. Otherwise, we can be exposed.

2. We must pay attention to the details. (vs. 7-13)

Proverbs 16:3 ESV

3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Many skip over passages that detail genealogy or rites and rituals because they seem dull. However, these details are crucial. For example, when the Israelites were preparing for Passover, they had to follow the directions given by God to stay safe from the coming plague. They had to place blood from the sacrifice on the doorposts and lintel, roast the animal whole over the fire, and eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs with the animal. They were to eat the entire animal; if anything was left, they had to burn it. They had to be ready to go to Egypt with their bags packed as they ate.

At first glance, all these details may seem unnecessary. However, they served a crucial purpose: to protect the Israelites from the judgment executed upon Egypt. They would have been struck like the rest of Egypt if they had not followed the details exactly. Thus, paying attention to the details saved their lives. Sometimes, we might be tempted to skim over passages in literature or scripture that detail genealogy or rituals. But it's important to remember that these details often exist for a reason. For example, when the Israelites prepared for Passover, they had to follow God's instructions precisely to stay safe from the coming plague. This included putting blood from the sacrifice on their doorposts and lintel, roasting the animal whole over the fire, and eating unleavened bread and bitter herbs with the animal. They were to eat the entire animal and burn any leftovers while being ready to leave Egypt at a moment's notice.

It might seem tedious to pay attention to all these details, but they had a crucial purpose: to protect the Israelites from the same judgment executed upon Egypt. By following God's specific instructions, the Israelites were able to save their lives.

Solomon says in Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” Our hearts

3. We must keep worship as the center of our preparation. (vs. 14)

John 4:23–24 ESV

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”