Moses: The Death of A Great Leader Creation to Kings | Episode 9
Moses is one of the most admirable of all biblical characters
for his achievements during his lifetime.
To lead over a million people across the desert,
constantly dealing with unbearable heat,
living out of moveable tents,
hygiene issues, water; the list goes on.
All the while doing this, he was trying to get them to understand
who God is, and what is sin, salvation, and grace.
In order to do this, Moses needed to have the utmost thoughtfulness,
compassion, patience, firmness, and wise judgment
in order to lead with integrity and authority.
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God always provided for his people the necessities of life.
Water flowed freely from the rock, whenever and wherever they needed it.
As they neared the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering,
God decided to test their faith
and the water stopped for a short time.
Their doubt came back,
and Moses was instructed to talk to the rock and the water would come out.
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After listening to the complaints of the people and their lack of faith,
for an instant Moses lost his temper
and hit the rock rather than speaking to it.
The water flowed out, the people were satisfied,
but God was not happy.
Moses had been instructed to talk to the rock, not strike it,
due to the symbolism involved.
As a consequence for disobeying God's command
and for losing his temper as a leader in front of the people,
Moses was told by God
that he would not be able to cross over into the land of Canaan.
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This must have been a terrible pronouncement to Moses.
His life had been completely geared towards
taking the Children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan,
something he was committed to doing despite the 40-year delay.
And now even though God tells him he will not enter the land himself,
he continues to faithfully lead the people.
And now as they come near to the borders of Canaan,
true to his word, God tells him that he must now climb Mount Nebo.
Leaving the people one last time,
he makes his way up Mount Nebo, here, in silence and alone.
From the top he could see across where the Dead Sea is today
all the way into the Promised Land.
On a clear day today you can see all the way to the hills that surround Jerusalem.
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Moses could see into the land he had led the people towards,
the land he had always dreamed of entering.
No doubt was he thought back on his life,
he contemplated his time in Egypt,
his time alone in the wilderness,
confronting Pharaoh,
leading the children of Israel out of Egypt,
crossing the Red Sea,
the golden calf,
the 40-year delay in the wilderness
where nearly everyone who left Egypt died in the wilderness.
Now on its very borders, he knows he will not be able to go over.
For one sin of disobeying God in a moment of anger,
he was denied entry to Canaan.
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God would lay Moses down to rest,
but his life would not be without reward.
Moses' final resting place was never found;
indeed, his body was never found.
Christians believe that God resurrected Moses and took him to heaven,
for on the Mount of Transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared
and came to encourage Jesus.
Though he did not see the earthly Canaan,
he did see the heavenly Canaan.
Moses teaches us that the words and commands of God
are specific and not to be taken lightly.
May we be careful that we take God's word seriously in our lives.