Transcendence 3

Sixteen: The Death of Moses

Moses wanted to encourage Joshua, the Israelites' new leader, so he spoke to him in front of the all the people.  He said, "Do not be afraid, be strong and do good. The Lord goes before you. You should read the law to the Israelites every seven years. In this way the children will hear it and learn. Remind them to fear the Lord."

After his speech Moses was told by the Lord that his day of death was near. Moses knew it was time to commission Joshua as the official new leader of Israel. So at the tent of meeting Joshua and Moses presented themselves to God.

God told Moses, "You are going to rest with your fathers." And then He warned him sadly, "These people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. On that day I will become angry and forsake them. I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them. At this they will claim all these disasters came because I have left them, but it will be because of their wickedness!" 

In desperation to avoid the disaster God predicts, God told Moses to teach the people a song, the words of which will teach them and remind them of what He has done for them. A song about the curses to come if they disobey. A song they should sing to remember the covenant they made, about rejecting God and about the repercussions to follow. Moses wrote down the song and taught it to the Israelites, who were to sing it aloud and memorize it. The song's words and meaning: 

  Hear my words, let them fall like an abundant rain; I will praise God he is the rock, perfect,        upright and just; They have done wrong, corrupt and warped, against the creator; Remember He gave inheritance, divided it up. He shields, protects, and guards the apple of His eyes. Like an eagle that hovers over His young, He cares. He led them, fed them, nourished them with honey He gave them meat, bread, wine. flocks and herds but they sacrificed to idols, and deserted Him. God was angry. They will not have understanding, they will be destroyed. They will endure famine, fangs of wild beasts, venom of vipers, they will be childless from the sword. Teror will reign in their homes. Young will perish. They are a senseless nation. If only they could see what their end would be. Their grapes will be filled with poison and bitterness. The lord will judge his people. There is no God besides He! He puts to death and gives life. He has wounded and healed. He will avenge He will take vengeance on his enemies. Make atonement for his land and people.

After Moses told them the words to the song he told them to take those words and memorise them. Obey carefully. Command your children to obey, teach them. These are not just idle words, they are your life.

God spoke to Joshua and told him what Moses had already said. He should be strong and courageous as he leads the Israelites into the promised land. He reminded Joshua He would be with him.

Once Moses finished writing the words of law from beginning to end in a book, he gave the command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord to take the book of Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord, where it should remain to remind them that they are a stiffnecked people, rebellious and stubborn. Moses told them he expected them to be even more rebellious after he dies. He told them they would probably become utterly corrupt and evil. He had no faith that they could obey. ( The best predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior. Moses knew how they had acted at certain times in the past without all the temptations of the new land. God had already told him they would disobey. He wanted to prevent it, his heart's desire was to beg them not to disobey, but he wouldn't be there. All he could do was repeat the warnings over and over. 

The Lord then told Moses to go up on Mount Nebo and view the promised land, Canaan. There on the mountain is where he would die. The Lord reminded him he was to die there because him and his brother Aaron broke faith in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. It was there that Moses did not uphold the holiness among the Israelites. Therefore he was to only see Canaan from a distance and not actually enter it. (What a sad and heartbreaking walk that must have been for Moses.)

Before he went up the mountain Moses took some time with each individual tribe. He bequeathed to them something more valuable than money, stronger than power, deeper than knowledge. He gave them a true blessing. Tribe by tribe, Moses spoke of God's personal care and salvation for the people Israel. He asked a blessing from God for each of them. "Let Reuben live and have many descendants. Help Judah against his enemies, bless the skills of Levi and the work of his hands, strike his foes until they no longer rise against him. Let Benjamin be a shield for many who love the Lord, and those who the Lord loves. Bless Joseph with the best and finest, fruitfulness and favor. Let him be like a wild ox and gore the nations. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and of Manasseh. Let Zebulun and Issachar feast on the abundance of the seas and the treasures hidden in the sand. Enlarge Gad's domain. The leader's portion of land belongs to him. Dan is a lions cub, springing out of Bashan. Naphtali is abounding in the favor of the Lord. Let Asher's sons be favored and let him bathe in oil and strength be given to him." He told the people, "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides upon the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. The Lord is your strength and shield, your helper and sword."

After blessing each tribe Moses climbed Mount Nebo, from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land - the entire place which was the promised land of Canaan. The Lord said to him, "This is the land I promised an oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I have allowed you to see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."

Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor. To this day no one knows exactly where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.

The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. It was a very sad time for them. He had been their leader for most of their lives. They continued to remember Moses until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

Since then , no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did many miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt - to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. No one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Now Joshua, son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him, their new leader, and did what the Lord had commanded him through Moses.

(Has a someone given you advice, maybe even repeated it over and over and still you didn't apply it to your life? Maybe it felt as if the advice was meant for someone else. All of us tend to listen to advice and agree, and think yes people should do that! We hear the words, maybe even believe it, but don't necessarily apply it to our own everyday lives. Pray to live in obedience.)