In The Word
Read: Deuteronomy 32:48-34:12
48 Now the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 49 “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession. 50 Then you are to die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 For you will see the land at a distance but you will not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.”
The Blessing by Moses
33 Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death. 2 He said,
“The Lord came from Sinai,
And dawned on them from Seir;
He shone from Mount Paran,
And He came from the midst of myriads of holy ones;
At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.
3 Indeed, He loves the people;
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
Everyone takes of Your words.
4 Moses issued to us the Law,
A possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 And He was king in Jeshurun,
When the heads of the people gathered,
The tribes of Israel together.
6 “May Reuben live and not die,
Nor may his people be few.”
7 And this was regarding Judah; so he said:
“Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring him to his people.
With his hands he contended for them,
And may You be a help against his adversaries.”
8 Of Levi he said,
“Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man,
Whom You tested at Massah,
With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;
9 Who said of his father and his mother,
‘I did not consider them’;
And he did not acknowledge his brothers,
Nor did he regard his own sons,
For they kept Your word,
And complied with Your covenant.
10 They will teach Your ordinances to Jacob,
And Your Law to Israel.
They shall put incense before You,
And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.
11 Lord, bless his strength,
And accept the work of his hands;
Smash the hips of those who rise up against him,
And those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”
12 Of Benjamin he said,
“May the beloved of the Lord live in security beside Him
Who shields him all the day long,
And he lives between His shoulders.”
13 Of Joseph he said,
“Blessed of the Lord be his land,
With the choice things of heaven, with the dew,
And from the deep waters lying beneath,
14 And with the choice yield of the sun,
And the choice produce of the months;
15 And with the best things of the ancient mountains,
With the choice things of the everlasting hills,
16 And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness,
And the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush.
Let it come to the head of Joseph,
And to the top of the head of the one who was prince among his brothers.
17 As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his,
And his horns are the horns of the wild ox;
With them he will gore the peoples
All at once, to the ends of the earth.
And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And those are the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 Of Zebulun he said,
“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
And, Issachar, in your tents.
19 They will call peoples to the mountain;
There they will offer righteous sacrifices;
For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,
And the hidden treasures of the sand.”
20 Of Gad he said,
“Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad;
He lies down as a lion,
And tears the arm, also the crown of the head.
21 Then he selected the choicest part for himself,
For there the ruler’s portion was reserved;
And he came with the leaders of the people;
He executed the justice of the Lord,
And His ordinances with Israel.”
22 Of Dan he said,
“Dan is a lion’s cub;
He leaps out from Bashan.”
23 Of Naphtali he said,
“Naphtali, satisfied with favor,
And full of the blessing of the Lord,
Take possession of the sea and the south.”
24 Of Asher he said,
“More blessed than sons is Asher;
May he be favored by his brothers,
And may he dip his foot in olive oil.
25 Your bars will be iron and bronze,
And as your days, so will your strength be.
26 “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,
Who rides the heavens to your help,
And the clouds in His majesty.
27 The eternal God is a hiding place,
And underneath are the everlasting arms;
And He drove out the enemy from you,
And said, ‘Destroy!’
28 So Israel lives in security,
The fountain of Jacob secluded,
In a land of grain and new wine;
His heavens also drip down dew.
29 Blessed are you, Israel;
Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord,
The shield of your help,
And He who is the sword of your majesty!
So your enemies will cringe before you,
And you will trample on their high places.”
The Death of Moses
34 Now 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 and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 and the Negev and the territory in the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, in accordance with 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 his burial place to this day.7 Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eyesight was not dim, nor had his vigor left him. 8 So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land— 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
At the end of Moses’ life, God directs him to go up on a mountain and look at the promised land. Then, because of an earlier act of disobedience, he would die on that mountain, and never step foot into the promised land. This is probably not what Moses was expecting to hear! Moses had been waiting for the day to enter into the promised land and had been laboring harder than anyone else to obtain it. However, his only reward was to see the land from a distance and die without experiencing it.
This was a decisive moment. Chapter 34 shows why there would never be another Moses, who knew the Lord face–to–face. Verse 1 says, “Now this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the sons of Israel before his death.” Remarkably, Moses did not hold resentment in his spirit toward God for his punishment. In fact, he was so kingdom–minded that he blessed the Lord and every tribe that would inherit the land. He celebrated the future successes of others and promoted them to go further than he could.
Can we say that we are so kingdom–minded that even if we are not allowed to see the successes that God has promised, that we will bless those who will? Can we say that we are so kingdom–minded that we cannot just bless them but celebrate their accomplishments, when they seem bigger than ours?
This is the test of who’s kingdom we are building. If we are truly building God’s kingdom, we understand that the only thing that matters is its advancement. Is that you? If not, make a choice today to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him.