Testing and Training

A couple of mornings ago, I came across an interesting passage from Judges 3:1-4 NIV:

[1] "These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan [2] (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): [3] the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. [4] They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses."

I had a similar understanding about the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness, that much of that time was spent by the Lord changing their character from slaves to warriors, and if you think about it, any man 20 and older when they left Egypt, passed away in the wilderness and never crossed into the promised land. The following is just one set of verses that speaks about this fact.

Deuteronomy 2:14-15 NIV:

"Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. [15] The Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp."

It seems to me that the Lord was changing their identity as a people, and that He wanted trained warriors who not only knew how to fight, but knew how to stay obedient to His commands. 

As I was reflecting on these verses I felt like the Lord opened my understanding a bit.  Thinking about our life as Christians, it seems we just move from one test to another, tests that require more of us, and a focus on our ability to obey what the Lord is saying!   Sometimes I lament the fact that this cycle seems that its never ending.  

I felt like the Lord showed me that this is similar to our experience in school.  We spend time learning and then we are tested on the material.  If we pass we move on to the next lesson, the next level.  However, unlike the Lord, If we don't pass, sometimes we are given the chance to review the material again and be retested, but more often than not we just get a poor grade and don't learn the material well.   However, with the Lord, in His mercy, He makes sure that we retest and retest until we fully understand what we need to understand. Ultimately the Lord is investing in our character, and our abilities and isn't going to take any short-cuts, or leave us lacking.  What I find lamentable, is actually the Lord investing in me and being merciful to me.  He does all this so that we will be trained and discipled in Him, and in doing so our character changes into His likeness. 

I am reminded of the following passages from the Letter to the Hebrews 12:7-11 NIV:

[7] Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? [8] If you are not disciplined---and everyone undergoes discipline---then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. [9] Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! [10] They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. [11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

This passage, if misunderstood, can be disheartening, the way it reads in the NIV.  I did a pretty thorough reflection on verse 7 in my blog that hopefully is helpful, as this verse reads much more negatively than it should.  When I read discipline here, I must think back to the making of the Lord's disciples.   Anyway, here is the link- https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2017/12/enduring-hardship-better-understanding.html

I am so grateful for this word, for if it seems we are experiencing a constant struggle amd testing, it is because the Lord  is training us up as sons and daughters, ones that He can trust and that can represent Him to this world.

Help me Lord!

Amen!