Our Torah portion is from the opening chapters of “B’midbar” meaning, “In the desert” that is always one shabbat before Shavuot when the Law was given at Sinai. Why would God give the Israelites the Torah in the desert? This is a question that fascinated the Jewish sages who give different explanations; that it illustrates how God’s Word alone can fill our empty lives and provide life to the barrenness within us. It’s in the desert place of desperation where God’s hiddenness is usually most fully revealed in the person of Yeshua, the ‘water of life’ who transforms the desert places to one of rich abundance. And we discover that abundance is preceded by desert preparation as with the psalmist who cried out from the depths of his being: “O God, you are my God, the One in whom I trust. I seek You with every fibre of my being. In this dry and weary land with no water in sight, my soul is dry and longs for You.” (Ps.63)
There are times when we feel that God is far off. Yet the truth is, even during the worst of times He stays closer than we dare imagine. And through it all we learn that He is our all sufficiency who alone can fill empty lives: “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is my strength and portion forever.” (Ps.73)
God is teaching us to depend fully upon Him in every circumstance, but it’s not easy. Sometimes we find ourselves stripped of every support system the world can offer, all in order that we might discover His all-sufficiency! God sought to teach the Israelites this lesson, yet their lives became characterised by endless cycles of ‘ups and downs.’ They became vulnerable when they became too comfortable with the abundance God had blessed them and it led to barrenness.
And so came the exile compared to a wilderness, a place of dryness and harshness, for a reason but only for a season and this is something we are reminded of during this period of the Omer counting.
So, we now better understand why God gave the Israelites the Torah in the desert rather than in a fruitful place and ask ourselves how we can avoid making the same mistakes as the Israelites? The answer is simple, the implementation is not: in every circumstance Scripture urges us to place God first in our lives. Then, it will not matter whether we are in a desert place or on the mountain top, for our well-being will be entirely dependent upon our relationship with Him not our circumstances.
God’s love is intensely personal that reaches out to us as individuals. We are unique, irreplaceable, and infinitely precious in His sight. Nothing will ever change that.
As we near completion of another cycle of Counting the Omer, God’s timing and control remain perfect even when the facts may contradict the reality. That’s one reason we read Ps.67 throughout the 50 days leading to Shavuot.
Psalm 67 echoes the priestly blessing (Num.6:24–26) and invites all nations to join in praise to the one True God.
THE VOICE
1 May God pour His grace and blessings into us
and turn His face to shine His light on us.
[pause] Literally, selah, a musical direction meaning “to lift up”
2 So all those on earth will learn to follow Your way
and see Your saving power come to redeem all nations.
3 May all people live to praise You, Our True God;
may all come to praise You.
4 May all nations celebrate together, singing joy-filled songs of praise to You
because You judge the people fairly
and give guidance to all the nations of the earth.
[pause]
5 May the people praise You with their whole hearts, O God;
may every man, woman, and child on the earth praise You.
6 The land has supplied a bountiful harvest,
and the True God, our God, has poured out His blessings to us all.
7 God is the source of our blessings;
may every corner of the earth respect and revere Him.
“Despise not the day of small things” (Zech 4:10)
“lo lavoz lyom shel dvarim ktanim“…when nothing spectacular seems to be happening in our lives and many of our hopes and dreams have been cut short and the daily common, mundane routines of everyday life become overwhelming – because that is when the Lord is often working the deepest things in us and this desert time is one of great importance and preparation. Despise not the day of small things but be prepared for that moment of perfect timing for the ‘suddenly’ God to break through in your life lest you be taken by surprise and fall short of His calling.
