The Issue of Migration
Acts 7:38
38 He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to us (NIV).
Act 7:38 "This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us (NKJV)
Acts 7:38 This is he that was in the church in the wilderness… (KJV).
God delivered the people of Israel from Egypt in order to bring them to the Promised Land. Here was the mandate given by God to Moses:
Exodus 3:7-10
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey — the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt." NIV
The issue of Migration is another key feature that defined Israel, the church in the wilderness.
Here is how the word “migration” is defined:
To migrate: “to go from one region, country, or place of abode to settle in another, especially in a foreign country; To journey between different habitats at specific times of the year (e.g. birds, fishes etc.); to change one’s abode”, Collins Dictionary.
Exodus 15:13
13 "In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling. NIV
As Israel left Egypt, the Lord made it clear that they were to engage on this journey towards the Promised Land. The people were called to God’s holy dwelling. This was their destination; this was their prophetic destiny.
Numbers 9:15-23
15 On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 23 At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses. NIV
This scripture in Numbers tells us clearly that God was administrating the pilgrimage of Israel. Here are some of the principles we can extract from this scripture:
- The Migration was governed and led by the Lord and not by the choices and preferences of Moses (or leadership) and people.
- Migration was based on God’s command. The word says, “at the Lord’s command”, vs.18. So therefore refusal to journey constituted disobedience.
- The Migration had no set formula. Sometimes the people would camp for a night, two days, a month or sometimes a year. The principle here is that Migration must be discerned prophetically.
- Migration was facilitated through the Word of the Lord that came from Moses. That is, true authentic migration must be validated through scripture.
- Migration ensured people’s covering, safety and nourishment. If any of the people of Israel decided to be left behind, they really would be left in utter darkness, exposed to danger in the wilderness and without manna for their nourishment.
- Migration preserved fellowship. Again if any of the people decided to be left behind, they would be left without people to relate to.
- Migration was not based on people’s need for convenience but on the Lord’s sovereign choice to move. Sometimes the cloud would move at night (as the scripture says). Imagine the logistics behind that, in terms of families organising themselves to leave. Surely, this would not have been their preference but when the Lord left, they still had to move. We therefore cannot dictate upon the Lord in terms of when He moves and under what circumstances He moves. When the Lord moves, we have to move.
So Israel lived inside the reality of Migration. They were the church in the wilderness, and they are an example for us.
Migration is a Fundamental Spiritual Principle of Christ
Jeremiah 8:7
7 Even the stork in the sky
knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know
the requirements of the LORD. NIV
The word “requirements” here in Hebrew means: a verdict pronounced judicially; a formal decree. This word therefore speaks of the decrees of the Lord over human life. The idea here is that the seasons are changed by God’s speaking. This is the basic principle we get in Genesis 1.
Genesis 1:3-7
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. NIV
In Genesis 1, we see a consistent pattern of God declaring things, evaluating them and then concluding a season. So the word says, “…and there was evening and there was morning – the first day”. A “day” in this case represented a spiritual season.
Basically, the word “Migration” will be closely related to the word “Season”. Just as the change of seasons triggers a migration in the animal kingdom, so it is spiritually.
Consider the following scriptures:
Proverbs 6:6-8
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest. NIV
Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven: NIV
So God says the birds can discern the change of times and seasons and migrate accordingly and yet His people cannot discern new announcements coming from heaven, requiring a spiritual migration inside the church.
Migration basically means that there must be movement and spiritual relocation in appointed times as the Lord requires.
Consider this scripture:
Psalms 84:5-7
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.NIV
The word “pilgrimage” speaks of journeying. It is normally associated with religious migrations. Religions normally have annual pilgrimages that they engage on. A pilgrimage in Christ is a totally different reality; it is not a physical journey to a physical religious destination.
Migration in Christ is - a new spiritual perception and understanding that triggers a process of personal transformation unto new and better positions of life. Thus, a migration in Christ does not emphasise religious-ceremonial encounter but observable changes in one’s personal life. A Migration is not simply:
- An external change of doctrine
- An external change of the order of the church service
- An external church of a church community.
A true migration begins as a process of personal transformation that may then lead to external changes (Matt 23:25&26). A migration in Christ is therefore a daily process.
Consider the following scripture:
Hebrews 6:1
1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, NIV
Implied in Heb 6:1 is that migration is a movement from immature-inferior positions to mature positions in Christ.
Migration is a means by which we possess our prophetic inheritance in the Lord. Churches will normally have a sense of vision without having means and mechanism in place to facilitate people’s movement to the same prophetic destinies.
The word “Migration” connects to the following words:
- Change
- Movement
- Relocation
- Maturity
- Seasons
1 Chronicles 12:23&32
23 These are the numbers of the men armed for battle who came to David at Hebron to turn Saul's kingdom over to him, as the LORD had said…
32 men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do-200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command; NIV
As mentioned before, a migration is triggered by the speaking or decrees of the Lord. It is the duty of leadership to discern a change in the spirit and effect necessary changes within their personal lives and church communities to move from one spiritual location to another.
What then are the processes of Migration that a leader or a human needs to consider if a season of change is to be administered correctly?
1) There must be a clear discernment of the Lord’s speaking over the individual or church community.
2) There must be a clear discernment of the new spiritual location that the Lord is demanding that we move to, i.e. our Promised Land. Like Abraham, we have to lift our eyes and look from the place where we stand (Gen 13:14).
3) There must be a clear discernment of the nature of the current spiritual location that we are departing from, e.g. Jacob had to confess his name “Jacob” first before inheriting the new name, “Israel” (Gen 32:27-28).
4) There must be a working out of the required processes of change in order to get to the new location.
5) There must be a working out of the required resources that will help us manage the change effectively and correctly, i.e. people who can help us, books, teachings etc.
6) There must be an actual execution of the process of change according to the set plan and decisions or resolutions made.
What are the things that change or that get affected when we migrate?
- Firstly, the thing that causes a Migration is prophetic discernment of the new speaking of God in your life, family, church community or into the earth.
- This therefore brings change in our perception of God, His kingdom and Purpose.
- Our hearts and minds begin change, i.e. the way we think, our understanding, the nature of inner motivation, pursuit and desires etc.
- Change in perception brings a new doctrinal perspective, i.e. we begin to grow in the faith and in the knowledge of God (Col 1:10, Heb 7:12, Heb 6:1)
- The very nature of our lives starts changing (2 Cor 3:18).
- The nature of our relationships will also then change. This can happen in two ways: (a) our current relationships get radically altered or (b) we start looking for new relationships that will allow us to express our new inherited nature.
- The values that define our outer-world will also then change, i.e. our homes, marriages, families, workplace etc.
How can we define the new location that we are migrating towards?
1) The new spiritual location is a mature spiritual-doctrinal understanding of God.
2) The new spiritual location is your new-mature self, rediscovered in Christ (Eph 4:22-24, Col 3:9&10).
3) The new spiritual location is a new better world of relationships and community life.
Basically, new locations that we arrive at through Migration should represent new and better life in Christ and not simply new ways of doing church on Sunday. “New and better life in Christ” should include personal maturity, relational maturity, maturity in understanding etc. This is important to understand because there is a false migration that only improves our Sunday morning service, leaving people in their same old state.
