"Then Moses climbed Mount Bebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land-from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negrev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him. "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, " I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
(Deuteronomy 34)
When reading this passage which is at the end of forty years of wandering by the Israelites in the desert who were led faithfully by Moses, I could not help but feel deeply distressed that God would not let Moses enter the promised land and instead ended his life. God explained to Moses his reason earlier in Deuteronomy. Moses had disobeyed God in striking a rock with a staff to produce water and then attributing it as his own power, not the Power of God.
So many times in my life including the present, I have acted against the will of God which is to act out of love and serve others in the name of God. Because of my innate selfishness, I believed that I was somehow responsible for the good, when in fact it is God working through my own sinfulness with the use of grace. Therefore, I can now only acknowledge my sinfulness and ask God to shine through me even with my imperfections while asking for forgiveness. This is a daily struggle as difficult in today's society as it was in the time of Moses.
Like Moses, I too have been shown the Promised Land. I pray that when I die, Jesus will wipe away my sinfulness so that I can live within the Glory of God - the Promised Land. I also pray that God showed mercy on Moses and that Moses is now in the Promised Land.
Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration, so we know that Moses is in Heaven. He took Moses to the eternal promised land. You also will be; "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Jn. 3:16
ReplyDeleteEph.2:1
ReplyDeleteAnd you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,...
Eph. 2:4-10
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ [by grace you have been saved], and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-hand that we should walk in them.