The first five books of the Bible, are extremely focused upon Israel’s campaign to take possession of the Land of Canaan.

The Land is promised as an inheritance to the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but various circumstances threaten this promise throughout the book of Genesis, such as famine, floods, and infertility.

In the book of Exodus, this inheritance is threatened by Pharaoh and his enslavement of the Hebrews.

From slavery to wilderness freedom

After escaping Pharaoh and his army, the Israelites find themselves alone in the wilderness.

Israel is now free to march forward into Canaan and claim the divine promise made to the Patriarchs.

Even the threat of famine and drought is removed by the Lord’s miraculous provision of water and food from heaven.

All that remains is for Israel to remain focused upon their mission to take hold of the Land promised to their forefathers.

The Meribah moment

But alas, the people of Israel become distracted from their ultimate mission.

Psalm 95 cites the incident at Meribah, in which the Israelites grumble against Moses on account of the lack of drinking water available to them in the desert.

Instead of remaining united and working towards the promises made to the Patriarchs, the Israelites band together to attack Moses.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”

Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”
—Psalm 95:7b–11

From unity to blame

The people intend to stone Moses, whom they blame for their discomfort in the wilderness.

These Israelites are unable to tolerate a brief period of discomfort in the wilderness because they have lost sight of their ultimate goal: the land of Canaan.

On account of the people losing focus and trying to make Moses their scapegoat, God said they had gone astray in their hearts and did not understand his ways.

For this reason, the Lord declares, “They shall not enter my rest.”

The Israelites end up wandering aimlessly through the wilderness for 40 years, until the older generation eventually dies out.

Staying focused

Like the Israelites in the wilderness, we too can get easily distracted from our ultimate goals.

Long-term goals—such as buying a house or a car, studying for a degree or learning a new skill, shedding unwanted kilos or gaining muscle—can give our lives purpose and direction.

In pursuit of these goals, we must repeatedly reject the temptation to embrace instant gratification and actively work towards our ultimate objective.

Choosing purpose over distraction

Otherwise, we will cave in to various whims and cravings, and may become like the Israelites, as we wander aimlessly through life, never achieving our hopes and dreams.

Instead, we must choose our goals wisely and remain focused on them, as they give meaning and purpose to our short-term effort and discomfort.

• Dr Simon Skidmore is a Brisbane-based biblical scholar and educator. He is the creator of The Mimetic Exegete podcast, which applies mimetic theory to biblical texts, offering unique insights and practical applications. His recent book, Capital Punishment in the Pentateuch, explores ritual killing through René Girard’s mimetic theory.