Deuteronomy 1&2

Get ready for a history lesson. Moses is preparing the  Jews to enter the Promised Land by reminding them where they’ve been, and what God had done every day for the children of Israel since they left Egypt forty years before.

Moses is speaking to people who had never been slaves in Egypt. Their parents had been. But their parents were dead now. Moses’ audience had not crossed the Red Sea, had not been there when Moses received God’s Commandments, or tapped a rock and got water. They hadn’t experienced the plagues that finally forced Pharaoh to let the Jews leave their captives. So Moses wanted to give them a history lesson to be sure they understood the role God played in their journey, the role God wanted to continue to play with this new generation of Jews now ready to enter the Promised Land.

Moses tells them that, during the forty years since the Jews left Egypt, God carried them, “just as a man carries his son.” (1:31) I love that analogy.

I love watching daddies pick up their children, lift them high over their heads, and place them on their shoulders. You probably rode on your own father’s shoulders. Maybe you’ve carried your own child in such a manner.

I recently saw a video of my then 16 year old nephew, picking up his four year old little brother, lifting him over his head with ease, and placing the boy on his shoulders. The teenager picked up the boy as if the youngster was as light as a feather.

But the other thing I love about this video is the look of joy on the face of my youngest nephew, the four year old child sitting high on his brother’s shoulders. I’m sure his world looked a bit different from that vantage point. It sure seemed to be a happy place.

And that’s what Moses wanted the children of Israel to realize. First, God is able to carry them all the way. And two, when we allow ourselves to be carried by our Heavenly Father, life looks pretty great from there. We have reason to smile!

So Father, carry me. Lift me high and let me rest on your shoulders. Take me where You want me to go, but never let me forget where I’ve been and what you have saved me from. I want, not only to walk with you today, but I want to let you do the heavy lifting of my burdens, my insecurities, my fears and failures. Thank You for wanting to.