Deuteronomy 33-34; Psalm 90
Today Moses comes to the end of his (earthly) journey, and we bid him farewell. We know him as a prophet, the man of God, the law giver, the servant of the LORD. He is inseparable from the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Ten Commandments, the establishment of the Tabernacle, and the Wilderness wanderings. He is a grand, towering figure, not only for Israel, but for the entire world.
Yet he is not the star of the show. The LORD is. For who is Moses apart from the LORD? Had the LORD not called Moses at the Burning Bush, we would not now be talking about him. Had the LORD not delivered His people from Egypt and parted the Red Sea, we would know nothing of Moses.
Even so, it is good and proper to honor Moses. What an example of humble obedience we have in him! What an example of faithful, dedicated service! If only we would cooperate with the LORD a tenth as well as he!
Before he dies, Moses climbs Mount Nebo, from which the LORD shows him the Promised Land. Moses gets a good look, but he cannot enter. Leading the people forward into the Promised Land falls instead to Joshua. We start that part of the story tomorrow.
One more thing…
Now that we have finished the Pentateuch, while it is still fresh in our minds, I would encourage each of us to spend a little extra time reading through the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 1:1-13:25). No, it is not yet in our chronological reading schedule — it’s quite a way off yet — but I think you will find reading it now to be helpful and very worthwhile.