7.9.26 – 42 Stops: Our Spiritual Journey

 This week's Torah portion, Matot, describes the 42 progressive stages of Israel's wilderness journey and the subsequent apportioning of the promised inheritance. This morning, I want to offer you a parallel reflection—one that encourages a deeper, more dependent walk with the Lord and stirs you toward faithfulness and fruitfulness. These are the determining factors of your inheritance in the age to come.

Every believer in Jesus/Yeshua has been called to holiness (1 Peter 1:15–16). It is God's call to each of us, and it is our responsibility to answer that call—to pick up the phone, so to speak—and follow His voice wherever He leads (John 10:28). The Apostle Paul echoes this foundational call in his instructions to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 9:24–10:12), drawing a parallel between our spiritual race and the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Let me highlight a few of these parallels for you:

Them (Israel)Us (Believers)
Slaves in EgyptSlaves to the world system
Delivered by the blood of the lambDelivered by the Lamb's blood
Set free from Egyptian bondageSet free from the world's bondage
Given a comforter (pillar of cloud and fire)Given the Holy Spirit as Comforter and Guide
Baptized into Moses and the seaBaptized into Yeshua and His death
Enemies destroyedEnemies defeated
Walk in newness of lifeWalk in newness of life
Faith tested (thirst, hunger, murmuring)Faith tested to mature us
Manna given dailyGod's Word given daily
Obedience testedObedience tested
Sabbath introducedSabbath introduced
Water from the Rock (Yeshua)Living water from Yeshua
Amalek defeated by the swordFlesh defeated by the Word
Came to Mount Sinai (marriage covenant)Come to Mount Zion (marriage covenant)
One year learning marriage rolesOne year of learning our roles
Head toward the Promised LandPress on toward the Land of inheritance
Cross the JordanDie to our past lives
CircumcisedCircumcision of the heart
Defeat the giantsDefeat the powers of Ephesians 6:10–12

Of course, this is only a snapshot of our journey, with its parallel to the 42 stops. But it is valuable to pause and take inventory of where you currently are. Throughout this journey of holiness—of separating from our past enslavement to this world—God is calling us to a place of covenantal agreement with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He invites us to learn His ways, practice them in His presence and toward one another, and ultimately, through living out the covenant terms, learn to dance with our Bridegroom in unison. As we do, we grow in trust and confidence—until we are ready to take hold of what He promised us from the very beginning: the Land.

Every step of our journey is accompanied by additional revelation meant to conform us to His image. Yahweh Elohim, the Lord our God, proved Himself greater than all the gods of Egypt through the ten plagues. He flexed His spiritual muscles, and the world came to recognize Him as the one true Supreme God (Exodus 3:15–18; 4:5; 10:2; 14:4). He delivered His people from bondage and set them apart as holy (Exodus 31:13). He provided for their daily physical needs in the wilderness—giving them angels' food, bread from heaven, and living water (Exodus 16–17). He gave Israel the finest healthcare program imaginable: none among them was sick, lame, blind, or weak. He won their hearts through His power and provision. And when the time came for them to confess their allegiance to the Holy One, their hearts were ready to say, "All that the Lord has spoken, we will do" (Exodus 19:8; 24:3, 7; Deuteronomy 5:27–28; Joshua 24:24).

At Mount Sinai, Israel—and all who joined them—experienced the first recorded Shavuot/Pentecost (Exodus 18–24). It was there that they declared, "We will be holy, even as You are holy."

Each of us is on this journey. You are either in Messiah or you are not. If you have spiritually applied the blood of the Lamb to the doorposts of your life, you are in Christ/Messiah. You have been given permission to leave your past behind. You have been given the Comforter to guide you into all truth. Yes, there will be tests along the way, but His presence reassures you of victory in His promises. Your journey must lead you through baptism, daily hunger and thirst for Him, and a trip to the chuppah—the wedding canopy.

Shalom,
Alan

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