Do Not Look Back
Pastors Leslie & Adeline Chua
“Jesus said to him,
“No one who puts his hand to the plow
and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””
Humans are generally fickle-minded. Our loyalties and affections sway easily with our emotions.
The delivered Hebrew slaves in the Exodus story is a case in point. They were bound in cruel slavery with no means of escape until the LORD God delivered them.
They were ecstatic, but only momentarily. At the first encounter with trouble, they turned against Moses – “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (Exodus 14:11).
To be fair to the Israelites, they were then caught between the mighty Egyptian army and the Red Sea with no means of escape. It was an instinctive response to the fear of certain death.
However, this was not an isolated incident. Repeatedly, they complained and grumbled against Moses in their journey to the Promised Land. First, it was no food. Then, no meat. After that, no water. Forgetting about their hard labour in Egypt, these freed slaves reminisced about their past where they sat by meat pots and eating bread to the full (Exodus 16:3).
They were desperate. It is understandable. Without basic necessities, their existence was threatened.
____________________________________________
Essentially, the people of Israel had no faith in the LORD…
Their lack of faith made them fickle-minded.
At the slightest sign of trouble, they looked back fondly to Egypt, which is a type of the world.
____________________________________________
But herein lies the problem. It is the problem of faith. Didn’t they know how the LORD sent the Ten Plagues on the Egyptians to force Pharoah into releasing them? Didn’t they witness how Yahweh parted the Red Sea for them to cross over to the opposite shore safely?
You would think that these astounding miracles were more than enough to convince them of God’s capability and providence. Yahweh could not have possibly delivered them from slavery and certain death, and then let them die of hunger and thirst in the wilderness.
Essentially, the people of Israel had no faith in the LORD. Their recent experiences did nothing to build their trust in the God of their salvation.
Their lack of faith made them fickle-minded. At the slightest sign of trouble, they looked back fondly to Egypt, which is a type of the world. They had left Egypt, but Egypt had not left them.
Faith & The Christian Life
Faith is the essence of the Christian walk and discipleship. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. So, Christians must develop their faith.
____________________________________________
Faith is the essence of the Christian walk and discipleship.
____________________________________________
Faith is like the muscles in our body. It must be constantly exercised. The more it is stretched, the stronger our faith will be. You notice that the famous characters in the Bible are all men and women of great faith. That is because they had experienced much affliction for the sake of God. Everyone listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews chapter eleven had gone through the crucible of fire.
God Tests Our Faith
God helps us to develop our faith by putting us through tests. The trials and adversities of life test our faith. It serves two purposes. First, our response to these tests reveals the state of our faith. Second, these tests build and strengthen our faith.
The Israelites’ journey through the wilderness is a test of their faith.
____________________________________________
God helps us to develop our faith by putting us through tests.
The trials and adversities of life test our faith.
____________________________________________
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 - And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.
Unfortunately, most of them failed the test. As a result, they did not get to enter the Promised Land. Unbelief was their problem. The thought of fighting against the giants (Nephilim) and better-equipped armies caused them to waver in their faith in the LORD, and they chose to disobey God.
By the grace of God, they were liberated from slavery in Egypt. However, only Caleb and Joshua in that generation entered Canaan. They were called and chosen but found to be unfaithful.
Press On
Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is a picture of the Christian life.
By the mercy and grace of God, we have been delivered from slavery to sin. Hallelujah!
We are called and chosen. But let us remember to hold steadfastly to our faith. We will encounter troubles and afflictions. You can be sure of it. Sometimes, these adversities can be so overwhelming beyond our ability to bear.
But praise be to God! He has promised to be with us always. He will be our strength in our weakness. He will be our fortress of refuge in times of trouble. His grace will always be sufficient for us. We can walk through the darkest nights and valley of the shadow of death with confidence.
____________________________________________
May we be counted among the called, chosen, and faithful!
____________________________________________
Keep pressing on and do not look back.
As the apostle, Paul, said, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22 – HCSB).
Let me end this reflection with these words of Jesus – “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
May we be counted among the called, chosen, and faithful! (Revelation 17:14)