Dayenu! It would have been enough!

Numbers 23:9b-10
“I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs!”

Numbers 23:21-24
No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!' The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till it devours its prey and drinks the blood of its victims.”

Numbers 24:5:
“How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel! Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them. Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness -who dares to rouse them? May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”

“You raise me up so that I can stand on mountains, You raise me up to more than I can be” sings in the background.

The people of God, freed from the bondage of Egypt, were on course to a great destiny -to enter into the Promised Land and have an abundant life. The Lord told Moses in Exodus 33:1-3, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey.”

The distinguishing characteristic of the people of Israel from all others is that God went with them, just as He promised Moses in Exodus 33:14-16, “The LORD replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.' Then Moses said to him, 'If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'"

All along the way, the people of God complained, grumbled, quarreled, were ungrateful, and even argued over positions of authority. They were a stiff necked people (Exodus 32:9). As one article notes, “Their necks are called 'stiff' because they won't bend to God's will.” Yet, God was continually faithful to lead them and call them His own possession.

The Message Bible commentary on Numbers notes, “The people who find themselves called and commanded by God find themselves in the company of men and women who sin a lot – quarrel, bicker, grumble, rebel, fornicate, steal -you name it, we do it. We need help in getting along with each other. Wise discipline is required in becoming a people of God.”

Yet, in the midst of the complaining and grumbling, God continually led this people toward their destiny. He was forming and shaping them into the community of God. The Message Bible Commentary notes, “The book of Numbers plunges us into the mess of growing up. The pages in this section of the biblical story give us a realistic feel for what is involved in being included in the people of God, which is to say, a human community that honors God, lives out love and justice in daily affairs, learns how to deal with sin in oneself and others, and follows God's commands into a future of blessing.”

“Almighty Father, We are Your children. You have been faithful to Your own, Lord, for Your glory we have been chosen, we lay down all we have here at your throne” sings.

"We lift our hearts.
We live our lives to You;
We offer all we are,
We offer all we have,
We offer all our lives,
For the glory of You."

We don't need to get everything right. God is big enough to work His purposes into our lives despite our failures, shortcomings, grumblings and sin. As Mike Bickle often notes, the only thing we need to stay in the game is a yes in our hearts towards God and his purposes. He is more than capable of fulfilling His purposes and bringing about His promises in our lives.

One of the greatest hindrances to the people of God coming into their full destiny was rebellion that was based upon fear (rather than faith) and self-sufficiency. As a result, the Israelites wandered the wilderness for an entire generation before entering the Promised Land.

The Israelites sent spies to check out the land that was promised to them. When the men came back from spying it out hey said, “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!” (Numbers 13:27). However, they looked at their own sufficiency in taking the land and became afraid. They told the people, “We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are... The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size” (Numbers 13:31-32).

Only two of the men spying out the land looked upon the goodness of God and saw the land according to God's promise to them -Joshua and Caleb. When the people became afraid and said, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt” Joshua an Caleb tore their clothes (Numbers 14:4,6). They told the people “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:7-9).

Instead of trusting in the goodness of God and in faith entering into His promises, the people turned on Moses, Arron, Caleb and Joshua and threatened to stone them to death (Numbers 14:10). As a result, rather than entering into the promises of God, they wandered the wilderness for forty years. It was not until the next generation that the people of God entered the promise land He had for them. Only Joshua and Caleb lived to enter into the land.

When the people were told by Moses that they were not going to enter the land they had a great deal of remorse and said, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!' and Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord's command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you.” (Numbers 14:40-42). In their presumption they still went up and were defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites (Numbers 14:45).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary notes, “They had distrusted God's strength; they now presume upon their own without his.” In the first case, the people shrank back from the promises of God in fear and in the second case, they tried to obtain the promises in their own strength. In either case, they were not trusting in God and saying 'yes' to Him in their hearts.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 says, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh [natural capabilities] for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.” 1

And Psalm 1 says, “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (v. 7-8) 2

David was someone who trusted the Lord, putting his confidence in Him. David was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). His name means Beloved in Hebrew (Strongs #1732). As one article notes, Beloved is the term used for God's bride (Song 6:3) (3) and as such, is a type or shadow of God's future Bride, the body of Christ.

David was someone who walked through tremendous obstacles and opposition on his way to the 'promised land', the destiny God had for him as king of Israel. Mike Bickle writes that when God gives us a promise, we usually experience a time of darkness (silence of God and opposition of man) before He brings it to pass. 4

How David made it through this time of darkness was to commit his spirit to God. Mike Bickle writes, “Committing our spirits to Him means asking the Father to take care of those things that matter most to our hearts. It's recognizing that we can't make God's promises come to pass in your own strength.”5

He notes that in our times of difficulty and trouble, we must commit our deepest passions and promises to God. He writes, “God is calling us to this place of dependence. He is beckoning us to depend on Him with every hope of breakthrough, every need for provision, every dream of success. We must surrender our deepest desires to God's keeping. We are utterly unable to bring our prophetic promises to pass. Only He can change the times and seasons and bring the breakthrough we long for.”6

The key, according to Mike Bickle is to continually commit our deepest dreams and desires to God. As David said in Psalm 31:15, “My times are in Your hand.” David committed his dreams to God and also the timing for them. 7 As Mike Bickle writes, “First he committed his spirit; then he committed the timing of those dreams. He learned to rest in God's sovereignty.”8

As Mike Bickle goes on to note, this act of committing our spirits is one that is active and not a passive indifference like we really don't care. It involves faith and spiritual warfare. 9 He notes that David died to himself, not acting in revenge when he experienced mistreatment, disappointment, pain and injustice. Instead, he continually trusted the Lord and blessed those who opposed him or got in his way. 10

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that... you are not your own? For you were bought at a price... in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” 11 Mike Bickle writes, “Beloved, when you show kindness to your enemies, it declares you belong to another. Your resources belong to God, your reputation belongs to Him, and your time belongs to Him. When your enemies bring pressure on you, malign your reputation, or steal your resources or your time, the Lord invites you to make a transfer of ownership and put your complete self into His hands.” 12

Saul and Absalom acted like bookends on David's life according to Mike Bickle. 13 Both sought to cause David harm and keep him from the full promises of God. However, neither succeeded. David David entered into the promises of God, not by his might, self effort, wit or capabilities. David trusted the Lord and committed his destiny into God's hands and God brought forth the promises in due time.

In committing his self to God, David was free to walk in obedience. He did not view Saul or Absalom as the enemy or an obstacle to the destiny God had promised him. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

David had compassion on Saul and Absalom for their weaknesses and failures. Instead of being angry or demanding his rights, he looked how best to be faithful to God with whatever happened. He was free to be generous to others with his life.

In 2 Samuel 15:25, when David was leaving his throne as Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel and conspired to take his place as king, David said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.”

Mike Bickle writes, “Beloved, when you know that God has given you a specific assignment, though it be great or small, you have peace and confidence. You have found the place of freedom. Your life is about God Himself, not being king over any kingdom or business or ministry or group of people. You will gladly give those ups to pursue the heart of God wherever it may lead.” 14

Song 6:10 says about the Beloved (God's Bride), "Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?"

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary notes about this verse:


“Christ goes forth subduing his enemies, while his followers gain victories over the world, the flesh, and the devil. He shows the tenderness of a Redeemer, the delight he takes in his redeemed people, and the workings of his own grace in them. True believers alone can possess the beauty of holiness. And when their real character is known, it will be commended. Both the church and believers, at their first conversion, look forth as the morning, their light being small, but increasing. As to their sanctification, they are fair as the moon, deriving all their light, grace, and holiness from Christ; and as to justification, clear as the sun, clothed with Christ, the Sun of righteousness, and fighting the good fight of faith, under the banners of Christ, against all spiritual enemies.”
The greatest part is the journey with God along the way. We can trust that He is continually for us and will get us to our destination as we look to Him rather than man and our own self effort. He provides all we need.

As I looked at the topics in the table of contents of a book I have read from regularly called “Come Away My Beloved,” I was reminded of how He provides for me every day. The topics in the book list: Challenge, Song (Psalm), Encouragement, Fellowship, Humility, Strength, Promise, Comfort, Yieldness, Forgiveness, Courage, Rest, Guidance, Vigilance, Trust, Service, Peace of Mind, Healing, Discipline, Revival, and Praise. 15 All this and more He has provided on a daily basis. Even in the midst of my greatest trials, my cup overflows with His love towards me.

Even the Israelites who wandered the desert for forty years because of their lack of faith were generously provided for and eventually brought into their destiny. Moses reminds the people of this in Deuteronomy 8:2-7,
“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to tech you that people do not live on bread alone but on every word that comes form the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land...”
“You're my Shepherd... I have all that I need for life and godliness... You open up Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing... I shall not want or be in need, you satisfy me” sings in the background.

Lord, I feel at a loss for words right now. The greatest joy I have is walking with You every day. Thank you that you give me so much. You have already given me more than I could ever ask or imagine. Dayenu! It would have been enough! I feel You are speaking to me to not to be disappointed about the door not opening on the change I felt You spoke to me about making. But also not to let go of it. I am so excited because my heart is still very much in it. I wait for Your timing and for You to make the way.

Thank You that you satisfy all that we need and more. Most of all, thank you for your promise to dwell in our midst. You are the greatest treasure we could ask, imagine, or hope for in our lives.







1.Willard, Dallas and Johnson, Jan. Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice. NavPress, Colorado Springs, Co. 2006
2.Willard, Dallas and Johnson, Jan. Renovation of the Heart in Daily Practice. NavPress, Colorado Springs, Co. 2006
3.“The Key of David.” Available at: http://www.backtoyahweh.com/key-of-david.html Last Accessed: 4/27/10
4-14. Bickle, Mike. After God's Own Heart: Becoming a David Generation. Charisma House, Lake Mary, Florida. 2004.
15. Roberts, Francis J. Come Away My Beloved. King's Farspan, Inc. Ojai, California. 1970.

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