Even after they repent, God's people may face some consequences for their sin. A father must take responsibility for a child born out of an adulterous affair, without pushing the woman to have an abortion, even though he has returned to his wife. A person involved in fraud must serve a prison sentence or go through great hardship in paying back what he owes. A pastor who abused his position may be disciplined by being kept away from public ministry for a period.

Similarly, the Israelites had to face the consequences of their rebellion. Deuteronomy 2 starts on a sad note. Instead of going north to the promised land, the Israelites travelled in a southern direction back towards the Red Sea as God ″directed″. Moses says that ″for a long time″-that is, 38 years (v. 14)-they wandered in the wilderness (v. 1).

But throughout the period of discipline, God never abandoned His people. Instead, God ″blessed″ the Israelites, ″watched over [their] journey″ and was ″with [them],″ so that they ″have not lacked anything″ (v. 7). It was deep in the wilderness where the Israelites experienced God's faithfulness. They also learnt of the breadth of His power. At several points, God told the Israelites to refrain from harassing or provoking other nations to war (vv. 5, 9, 19), and at other times, He empowered them to defeat giants like those the Israelites had been afraid of (vv. 10-12, 20-23). This would have shown them that God was sovereign not only over their destiny but also over all the nations. Certainly, he was worthy of their trust and obedience.

God's sovereignty over the nations should keep us from panicking when we see events in the world that suggest that things have spiralled completely out of control. God is working out His purposes in history. Our task is to ensure that we move along His path.

And as with the Israelites, the wilderness does not have to be a place we dread or fear. English preacher Charles Spurgeon said that the earlier part of David's life was full of music and dancing, whereas the latter part after his adultery had far more mourning and lamentation. Yet the priceless Psalm 51, about repentance, came after David's sin. It was there, deep in his anguish, where he encountered God restoring to him the joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12). In the wilderness of God's discipline, we come to newfound knowledge of God's presence and joy, and find the strength to face up to the pain of sin's consequences.