In our last post we were talking about how Moses had climbed to the top of Mt. Nebo to view the Promised Land and (according to popular opinion) die there; only he didn't die there. Instead he made one last trek down into the valley.
We talked about the pathos of going out with a fizzle instead of a bang!
Some of you - like me- may have thought that God should have given Moses a second chance, but He didn't.
Now let's rejoin our story...
As the 120 year old worked his way back down the mountain and into the area of Beth-Peor, perhaps Moses said, "Hey, I know this place - I've been here before!".
And indeed he had.
Deuteronomy 3 describes the last visit he had made to that little burg. There, fresh on the heels of a couple of major military victories over some countries just outside the Promised Land, Moses had gone back to God one last time and asked Him to change His mind. One more time he asked to be granted entrance into what had been his life-consuming dream.
God gave us an excellent example of restraint. He stuck to His guns and did not change His mind. Not only did He tell Moses "no", but He also made it clear that the subject was closed. Sometimes I say "no" to my kids and then later, when I am in a better mood or when I feel that "parent-guilt" I will change it to a "yes" - but not God. This is something we need to remember about Him: He is loving and kind, but He is also JUST and He does what He says He will do - even when it is not what we want Him to do.
This all happened at the spot to which Moses was now returning.
Why did God say "no"? Was He just being stubborn? Maybe He said "no" because He could see further out than Moses. Perhaps it was because His plan called for Moses' dream to end before fulfillment.
Part of the closing duties Moses had to perform was to appoint a successor. God, through Moses, had been grooming a young man by the name of Joshua to take Moses' place.
Now the Bible is divided into two parts, Old Testament and New; there is a theme in the Old Testament of pointing to a coming Messiah and Christians believe that the New Testament is the story of when Messiah came and what He did.
But God, Who is quite clever, also saw fit to leave us with illustrations in the Old Testament that would show us what He had in mind for the New Testament. We call these illustrations "types" .
And they are a sort of story within a story.
This transition of Moses to Joshua is just such a "type" or illustration, and it has an application for us. You see it reveals to us the very plan that God had in mind to redeem His people and allow them (you and I) to become a part of His family. These are the elements of this "type":
Think of the Promised Land as representing Heaven or an eternal reward.
Then consider the Law: that was the Ten Commandments along with all the hundreds of Jewish laws regarding animal sacrifices and such. To the Hebrews this appeared to be the only way to find God and to please Him. They tried to obey all the rules, they tried to fulfill every requirement but they just weren't able.
Next, think of Moses, he personified the law, God gave the law to the people through Moses.
Moses represented the law.
But Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
Moses was not able to take the people into the Promised Land. The Law, all that struggling to try and keep the rules, could not get the people in to the promised reward.
It fell short.Then add Joshua, the final element, his name means "deliverer" or "saviour" ; his name is the same as Jesus.
Joshua brought them into the Promised Land. In the same way that Jesus delivers people into the heavenly kingdom today. The Law or Moses couldn't do it.
That is the Plan of Salvation. And God had it all planned out way back then.
If God had relented and let Moses step into the Promised Land, that wonderful word picture would have been trashed.
There was a reason, unseen by Moses... misunderstood by many ... but God had a reason.
And today, it's nice to see some people ride a wave of enthusiasm and faith right down to their last breath. But when it is necessary for others to deteriorate and slowly droop down into the valley, we have to trust that Sovereign God sees further out.
He knows.
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