Journeys Toward the Inheritance

Israel’s stages in the wilderness were written down, the borders of the land were marked, the courts of God were desired, and the apostles were told to wait, pray, and bear witness. These are not separate lessons. They teach one road: the people of God do not wander without aim. The Lord records their steps, appoints their inheritance, and commands how they are to live while awaiting it. As Origen asks, “You have heard that Moses wrote this down by the word of the Lord. Why did the Lord want him to write it down?” The journeys were written for our profit, that we might learn to count our own stages and not despise the discipline of the way.

The psalm does not praise comfort, but nearness to God. “Blessed is the man whose help is in You, O Lord, Your ascents (are) in his heart.” The ascent is inward first, yet it is proved outwardly: by steadfast prayer, by clean speech, by mercy, by patience under delay. The apostles desired the kingdom’s appearing, but the Lord turned them from curiosity to obedience. They were not to seize times and seasons, but to receive the Holy Spirit, remain together, and become witnesses.

So too with us. Many wish to know what God will do next, while neglecting what He has already commanded. But the church is made ready not by speculation, but by faithfulness. We have been brought out of Egypt; we have not yet entered the full inheritance. Therefore let us keep the pilgrim rule: remember the Lord’s past mercies, endure the present desert, long for the dwelling of God, and do the work set before us until the risen Christ brings us in.