The Forgotten Bible Chapter That Tells the Story of Your Life
- I. M. Koen
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
I like to call them “fly-over chapters”. Maybe you have heard the expression referring to some American States. “Flyover states” describe the central regions of the United States that people typically fly over when traveling between the East and West Coasts, such as between New York and Los Angeles. These states are viewed as less significant culturally or economically by coastal elites.
In other words: boring.
Fly-over Bible chapters are the same. We start them, see there is a genealogy, and quickly lose interest, skipping to the next chapter. The action of the Bible is compelling. It’s sexy. Digging deep into the Word to find profound spiritual truths in genealogies is not.
I wonder how many Bible readers skip the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles to get to the death of King Saul in chapter 10. How many Christians blow through the genealogy of Jesus to get to the astonishing miracles?
When I was new at Bible study, I would sometimes ask, “Why is that even in there?” and skip it. Now I ask God, “Why is that even in there? Show me.” And He does.
Numbers 33 is the story of your life.
It starts this way:
“These are the camping sites in the journey of the People of Israel after they left Egypt, deployed militarily under the command of Moses and Aaron. Under God’s instruction, Moses kept a log of every time they moved, camp by camp:” Vs 1–2
And then the chapter goes on to list all forty-two places the Hebrews stopped in their 40-year pilgrimage. Why? It states that God instructed Moses to list them all. What does God have in mind by making sure we know about every stop in the journey of His chosen people? Nothing in the Bible is wasted. Nothing is meaningless. There must be something in Numbers 33 for us now, today.
If you Google the name of each place listed, most of them don’t even exist anymore. Some Bible scholars will speculate. But there are no archaeological ruins to pinpoint exact locations. Some of the names have changed. And many stops were in desolate, nomadic regions that leave little trace.
Of the forty-two locations mentioned, only five can be identified on a map. Ten to fifteen of them have a strong traditional or historical case for the location. With at least twenty, we have no idea. Ramses, Succoth, and Nebo can be visited today. Hashmonah and Tahath, not so much.
The Secret Must Be in the Math.
There were fourteen stops in the first year alone after leaving Egypt. And there were eight stops in the last year after Aaron’s death. They were heading to Canaan.
However, for most of their 38-year lives, they made twenty different stops. Each stop was different. Each one had challenges and joys. There were new neighbors, different views, and each could be considered a fresh start.
God always provided for them. There was daily manna and water. They were covered by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Their clothes didn’t wear out. They had everything they needed.
Living in twenty separate places in thirty-eight years meant there were no deep roots to lay down.
Although two years is a long time to stay at a place, it was still temporary. They weren’t to be established there. They were on a journey. The deep roots would come when they reached their promised land. Canaan was destined to be the place where they could have lasting rest. The other stops were a part of a narrative of their lives.
Did they ever sit around a campfire, reminiscing about their time at certain stops? Some places had ample wood. Others took arduous work to keep the family going. Did an aging Grampa recount the story about giving the Amalekites a serious beat-down at Rephidim to the young kids? How did they remember the golden calf? Or try to describe the day the earth swallowed Korah and family? Could they still hear the screams in their mind?
Maybe That’s What God Is Showing Us in This Fly-Over Chapter.
What if it is not a list of strange places? But the story of us. What if we are on a journey to a promised place of rest and peace? And with each stop in our lives, in each chapter, we have been led there for a reason. It was beautiful, but it was temporary.
God doesn’t want to read about our birth, skip to the day Jesus became real to us, and then skip again to the day we joined Him in heaven. No, those Elementary School years, the dating tears, that failed business, being Angelically saved in a car wreck, the bad, the good, the rebellion, the promotion, and the bankruptcy are all important to Him. Because they are all stops in our Exodus through this age.
Each experience is necessary. Every tear is important enough to be saved. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8
Will God Fly Over Our Story at the Judgment?
Imagine the scenario as recorded by John in Revelation:
“I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.” 20:12
Will God say: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, skip all that and cut to the good parts.” Nope! He knows the number of hairs on our head (Luke 12:7), and all our days were planned before we were born (Psalm 39:4).
Each chapter of our lives is methodically woven into a tapestry of joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, love and loneliness, freedom and bondage, lack and abundance, stress and peace…and ALL of them are important. They are a part of our story. They are a name in a list of a chapter called “Life”.
Next time you come across a scripture like Numbers 33:24, “They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah,” pause for a second. Don’t just fly over it. It’s important. They left a beautiful mountain to camp at a place called “Fear” before they headed to the next beautiful mountain. I would love to know more about that stop. Because we have all had seasons in a valley of fear before we headed to the safety of the next mountain.
Wherever you are camped today, it is temporary.
Stand firm. Rejoice always. Endure. Appreciate. Conquer. Love fiercely. Pray. Sing. Share. Believe. Help your fellow life campers. Because where you are, what you are doing, what you see, and who you are with is temporary. And when the cloud or pillar of fire moves, it’s time to go to your next assignment.
You have a long chapter left to be written. Enjoy the trip.
Thank you for reading to the end. You might also enjoy:
May God sing songs of love over you as you sleep. -Issachar
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