To tarry or not to tarry ... may be the
question; but the answer is really not all that complicated,
simply go when HE says go, and stay when HE says stay.
"... and I say unto one, go, and he
goeth; and to another, come, and he cometh; and to my servant,
do this, and he doeth it." Do we not extend
this least of courtesies to the earthly authorities within the
sphere of our mount? Are we mercenary in our allegiances,
and guilty of presuming on the grace of GOD, under the clear
traffic signal of HIS Word? Where has the LORD given the
green light to you, and yet you sit broke down in the
intersection, stacking things up in all directions?
"There are eleven days' journey from Horeb ... And it came to
pass in the fortieth year"
What should have taken a few days, eleven to be exact, to
accomplish for GOD, ended up taking a lifetime, literally ...
does this ring home? What makes up your mount? The mount is
your zone of comfort; it is where you live, and move, and have
your being in the practical realm. It is hyper familiar to
you, and where you have put down your roots. You can find
your way around the mount in the day and in the dark; you know
it like the back of your hand. As pilgrims and spiritual
sojourners however, 'Familiarity Breeds Contempt' ...
must be the board which hangs over our door. Many a
believer boasts of the duration of their stay in this place or
that; but the truth be known, the pool of their Bethesda has not
been troubled for years. Mount Sinai, for the Jew, perhaps
would have been best regarded as: Mount Transition; or
carry on for CHRIST! ... but they would not, and instead, dug
their spiritual heels in, and drug their spiritual feet until it
costs an entire generation their lives.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY GHOST:
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen." The transience we find among
GOD'S people, throughout both Testaments was by design.
"What advantage then hath
the Jew? ... Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them
were committed the oracles of GOD."
And be reminded, that were it not for the obedience of these
faithful pioneers, the caves in our mount would still be lined
with the hieroglyphics of hopelessness.
"Ye have compassed this mountain long enough ..."