Deuteronomy Chapter 34
Moses was the only person who ever spoke with God face to face as a man speaks to his friend and he sees the form of the Lord (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:8). He was called Israel’s greatest prophet. Yet even this greatest prophet was not permitted to enter the Promised Land because he had disobeyed God (Numbers 20:12). God disciplined Moses severely but still called him His friend.
No matter how good we are or how much we have served the Lord, out of our weaknesses, we sometimes disobey the Lord. The result of our disobedience is that we will be disciplined. When we experience the pain of God’s discipline, we need to respond as Moses did. We should not turn away in anger and resentment. Instead, with humility we will repent before The Lord and humbly desire to do better.
Although Moses was not permitted to go into the Promised Land, he was allowed to look at it from afar. He died when he was 120 years old in an undisclosed location and no one knows where he was buried. Most likely because God did not want his gravesite to be enshrined and worshiped by the people.
Moses’ love, honor, obedience, and faithfulness for God had grown daily throughout his life. In the beginning, he did not want to be sent to Egypt because he was “not eloquent. Slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exodus 4:10), but Moses was successful and did many great things. The Bible said that Moses was the humblest man on the earth (Numbers 12:3). He knew that it was not any greatness in himself that made him successful. It was the greatness of God in whom he trusted.
The people of Israel mourned for Moses for 30 days. After the mourning days were ended, Joshua – one of twelve spies who obeyed the Lord and had faith in Him, succeeded Moses to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land.
Are you ready to preach the Gospel and lead the people into the Eternal Promised Land?
Let us be a good and faithful servant like Moses and Joshua. One day the Lord will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! I will let you enter into My Joy” (Matthew 25:21). Amen.
