Moses talk

Last night I got me a Word regarding Moses.

Moses' Death Foretold
48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

The Death of Moses
34:1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8 And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

So here is the word. I have always thought about Moses being shown the promised land and yet not permitted to go in as some sort of punishment. After all, God gives the reasons for His not allowing Moses to go into the promised land in vs 50 and 51. Breaking faith with God publicly, and not treating God as holy publicly. Ouch.

God loved Moses. He liked Moses. God talked with Moses face to face. God did "friend" talk with Moses. God knew the whole story before it even unfolded. It always seemed inconsistent to me that at the very end of his life, after all the drama, after the great adventure with God, God would bring him right to the edge and then say NO. Why? I understand that Moses did not deserve to go into the promised land. But isn't it the beauty of God in grace to give us what we do not deserve and could never earn?

Last night, it occurred to me for the first time that Moses DID go into the promised land that day. Like, THE promised land. Heaven. That day, Moses did not get access to the earthly land of promise, instead, he got something far, far, far better. Mark and I talked about it and I asked him if he had ever thought of Moses going to heaven that day and he said no. He thought like me, and always thought of it as a punishment. Poor Moses. He went all that way and didn't get to go into the promised land. God has such a high standard. It's kind of unfair. Those grumbling Isralites were far worse than Moses and they got to go in. Sad.

NO! Not sad. Death is gain! To be with God is far better. Moses got the real deal. Not to mention a private burial and funeral with God himself. Oh, how our minds are so bent on earthly things. This earthly reality is so not it, ya'll. We may not enter our earthly promised lands, but we are promised, because of God, a far better country that we WILL ENTER. Praise His Name!

So that is my word. I'm curious what everyone else has always thought about Moses?