Deuteronomy 1:29-36: a reflection

29Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. 30The LORD your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31and in the wilderness where you have seen how that the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.” 32Yet in this thing you didn’t believe the LORD your God, 33who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day. 34The LORD heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying, 35“Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers, 36except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed the LORD.”

As Moses recalls the wilderness journey, he reminds the people of a tender truth about how God brought them along: the LORD carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way. The LORD your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, Moses says, and reminds them how in the wilderness the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place. Through the whole journey, God had not merely led them from a distance, but carried them, as a father carries his child, tenderly, close, bearing them along all the way. And yet, Moses grieves, in this thing they did not believe the LORD their God. This shows that God carries his people as a father carries his son; remember it and trust him. God carries you as a father carries his son, all the way. Remember how God has carried you, and trust him. God does not merely lead from a distance; he bears his people along. Do not fail to trust the God who has carried you like a child.

Notice the tender image Moses uses. He does not say merely that God led the people, or went ahead of them, though he did that too; he says that God carried them, as a man carries his son, in all the way that they went, until they came to that place. It is the image of a father carrying a child who cannot manage the journey alone: close, tender, bearing the child along the whole way. This is how God had brought his people through the wilderness, not from a cold distance, but carrying them like a father carries his son. And it holds a comfort for us as we look back on our own journey. When we look back over the way we have come, we may see, as Israel should have seen, that God did not merely lead us from a distance, but carried us, bearing us along through the hard stretches, through what we could not have managed on our own, as a father carries his child. And this remembering has a purpose: to move us to trust him for the way ahead. Moses grieves that despite being so carried, the people did not believe God. But we, remembering how God has carried us, can do better: we can trust the God who has borne us like a child thus far to carry us still. We do well to remember how God has carried us, as a father carries his son, and to let that memory move us to trust him for the way ahead. Remember how God has carried you, as a father carries his son. God has not merely led you from a distance, but borne you along. Let the memory of how God has carried you move you to trust him. Trust the God who has carried you like a child to carry you still.

That is worth resting in, for God carries his people as a father carries his son, all the way, and we do well to remember it and trust him, as Moses reminded the people how God had carried them through the wilderness. We can forget how God has borne us along, and fail, like Israel, to trust him; but Moses reminded them that God had carried them as a man carries his son, all the way. Remember, and trust. Look back and see how God has carried you, not merely led you from a distance but borne you along through what you could not manage; and let that memory move you to trust him for the way ahead. Remember how God has carried you, as a father carries his son, through the whole way you have come, and let that memory move you to trust him for the way ahead, as Moses, recalling the wilderness journey, reminded the people that the LORD had carried them as a man carries his son in all the way that they went until they came to that place, and yet grieved that in this thing they did not believe the LORD their God; for through the whole journey God had not merely led them from a distance but carried them, as a father carries his child, tenderly and close, bearing them along all the way, which is the image of a father carrying a child who cannot manage the journey alone, close, tender, bearing the child the whole way, and this is how God had brought his people through the wilderness, not from a cold distance but carrying them like a son, which holds a comfort for us as we look back on our own journey, since when we look back over the way we have come we may see, as Israel should have seen, that God did not merely lead us from a distance but carried us, bearing us through the hard stretches and through what we could not have managed on our own, and this remembering has a purpose, to move us to trust him for the way ahead, since Moses grieved that despite being so carried the people did not believe God, but we, remembering how God has carried us, can trust the God who has borne us like a child thus far to carry us still, so that we do well to remember how God has carried us and let that memory move us to trust him.

Lord, as Moses recalls the wilderness journey, he reminds the people of a tender truth about how you brought them along: you carried them, as a man carries his son, all the way. The LORD your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, Moses says, and reminds them how in the wilderness you carried them, as a man carries his son, in all the way that they went, until they came to this place. Through the whole journey, you had not merely led them from a distance, but carried them, as a father carries his child, tenderly, close, bearing them along all the way. And yet, Moses grieves, in this thing they did not believe you. Show me the tender image Moses uses. He does not say merely that you led the people, though you did that too; he says that you carried them, as a man carries his son, in all the way that they went. It is the image of a father carrying a child who cannot manage the journey alone: close, tender, bearing the child the whole way. This is how you had brought your people through the wilderness, not from a cold distance, but carrying them like a father carries his son. And it holds a comfort for me as I look back on my own journey. When I look back over the way I have come, I may see, as Israel should have seen, that you did not merely lead me from a distance, but carried me, bearing me along through the hard stretches, through what I could not have managed on my own. And this remembering has a purpose: to move me to trust you for the way ahead. Moses grieves that despite being so carried, the people did not believe you. But I, remembering how you have carried me, can do better: I can trust the God who has borne me like a child thus far to carry me still. Take that to my heart. Help me remember how you have carried me, Lord, as a father carries his son, through the whole way I have come, and let that memory move me to trust you for the way ahead, believing that you who have carried me will carry me still.