He Brings Us Out to Bring Us In

“Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers” (Deuteronomy 6:23).

Moses had been “called out” to lead Israel to the Promise Land and called by God to the mountain to receive commandments that would guide them and keep them in this land. Moses knew that he would soon be leaving them, and they would embark on the final leg of their journey under new leadership.

Moses reminded them of the miraculous ways that God had protected and provided for them on their journey. He called all Israel together and reviewed the statutes and judgments that they “might learn them and be careful to observe them” (Deuteronomy 5). He told them to be careful to do as the Lord had commanded them and “not turn aside to the right hand or the left” (verse 32).

Moses told them, “He brought us out…that He might bring us in.” They needed to remember what God had brought them out of so they could walk obediently when He brought them in. There were many times that the people had been ready to lynch Moses for bringing them out. They remembered the flesh pots, leeks and garlic and somehow forgot the wearisome tasks and cruel slave masters in Egypt. They forgot that God was bringing them in—home to the Land of Milk and Honey. Their lack of trust in God caused them to forget that what God did was “for our good always, that He might preserve us alive” (Deuteronomy 6:24).

God could just leave us where we are and let us suffer the consequences of our bad decisions and straying. But Jesus gave us a beautiful picture of how much He cares in the story of the good shepherd who left the flock and went to search for the one that was lost. It is never God’s fault that one is lost; it the waywardness of the lost one; but His love reaches out to rescue.

Sometimes God has to come and get us like the shepherd did the lost sheep. He hears the bleating of the heart’s cry even before the hooves make a single step out of the Wilderness of Lostness. God takes the initiative to rescue the lost through the wooing of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t the natural desire of the lost sheep to seek God; that is, not until the Holy Spirit draws it.

God has to “bring us out” to rescue us. He brings us out of the devices to save ourselves and allows us to see our futility in the effort. The pattern is the same: He brings us out to bring us in—to His grace.

Adam and Eve started the process. God could have left them in their fallen condition. He had provided everything they needed for fulfillment in the beautiful Garden. Satan convinced them to doubt God’s Word and set up their own standard for what was acceptable instead of obeying God. But the Grace of God would not leave them there. He brought them out of the Garden, but he brought them into the promise of the coming Redeemer. “Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden…” (Genesis 3:23). But He brought them into redemption: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15). This promise of Satan’s demise and the redemption of man are woven throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation like a scarlet, blood-stained thread bringing hope and renewal to each generation.

Noah lived in an evil time that vexed his soul, but he “found grace in the eyes of God.” God brought him out of the sin-polluted people he lived among and brought him into the ark that God had instructed him to build to save his family. After the flood, God brought him out of the ark and brought him into the renewed land to replenish the earth. God made a covenant with Noah to remind him that he had brought him into His graciousness.

The ark was a type of Christ who provides salvation from eternal destruction. It was God who called Noah, gave him the blueprint for the ark, told him when to enter and closed the door. It was God’s initiative, not Noah’s, that brought Noah into the preservation God had prepared.

God looked down in Ur and saw a man by the name of Abram that His grace had chosen to be the father of the nation He was going to create and through whose lineage the Messiah would be born. But God had to bring Abram out of Ur before He could bring him into the promise. Abram left Ur when God called him out, but he didn’t leave his family behind as he had been instructed. He took his father and his nephew with him. God was bringing Abram out of a pagan religion and he wanted him to cut all ties to it and just follow the true God. Abram’s father died in Haran and eventually Lot and he went separate ways. Then God finally had Abram where he wanted him all along—alone with Him in the land into which He had brought him. He made an everlasting covenant with Abram which included the promised Messiah for the whole world (Genesis 3:15), and changed Abram’s name to Abraham (father of many nations).

After the death of Moses, Joshua brought the Israelites out of the wilderness on the last leg of the journey and brought them into the promise land. “…and they took possession of it and dwelt in it” (Joshua 21:43). This part of the journey was not unlike the rest of the journey from Egypt in that God performed miracles in their midst to deliver them: He parted the Jordan River so they could be brought in on dry ground. He caused the walls of Jericho to fall down so they could be brought into the city and take it. He helped them defeat their enemies. He wanted them to always remember that it was He who had brought them in. “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass” (Joshua 21:45).

It may be that sometimes God allows us to reach an uncomfortable place in our lives so He can bring us out of that place into a better one. When we are comfortable, we don’t want things to change. We don’t want to be brought out; we want things to stay the same. Change is uncomfortable, even good change requires us to make adjustments. Growth always brings change. If we are unwilling to change, we will be unable to grow. The Holy Spirit will be continually working in us to bring about the changes we need, to grow and mature in the Lord.

God brought Jesus out of Heaven to come to this earth to die for our sins, redeem us; and Jesus was resurrected so that we could have the promise of a resurrection and dwell with Him eternally. He brought us out of our sinful state so He could bring us into the fullness of His Glory.

When we feel “stirrings” in our spirit, we need to draw close to God and listen carefully. It may be that He is about the bring us out of our present environment to bring us into something far greater and more fulfilling that will bring more blessings to us and more glory to Him than we could imagine. It doesn’t matter how badly we are locked into a situation, God can bring us out and into His will. He has all the keys!

“The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore” (Psalm 121:8).

What a wonderful promise! We need not fear to “go out” with God; He will be with us as He “brings us in.”

~~Delores~~

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