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Deuteronomy – The Wilderness of What Might Have Been
After Israel refused to accept God’s gift of Canaan because they were afraid of giants, they wandered for 38 more years. Because of fear they were unwilling to fight for what was theirs. Did you ever notice where God made them wander? Where could have been called, “The Wilderness of What Might Have Been.”
Their punishment brought them through Seir but God warned these recalcitrant rebels who wouldn’t fight for Canaan, “Don’t fight with them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even an inch of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession (Deut.2.5). In other words, Israel traveled through a promised land that was not theirs that God had given to another.
Then Israel traveled through Moab, but God said again warned these wanderers, “Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot (Deut.2.9). Again, they walked through a promised land that was not theirs that God had given to another.
Wandering still, they come to the land of the Ammonites, and again God forbids saying, “don’t show any hostility to them or fight with them, for I will not give you any of the Ammonites’ land as a possession; I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot (Deut.2.19). Yet again they traveled through a promised land that was not theirs that God had given to another.
Oh, and by the way, these lands had once been inhabited by giants, that the people defeated with God’s strength. (Deut.2.10-12,20).
Israel is like a child being grounded from playing, or eating any sweets, candy or ice cream because of their bad behavior, forced to attend their sibling’s birthday party and able only to watch everyone else enjoy the festivities. God, adding insult to injury, properly mocks the Israelites for their fear by having them wander through lands promised to others that had once been ruled by giants. Every where they went, they saw their failure; they saw what might have been.
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