Ending or Beginning?
Deuteronomy 34: 1 – 8
Then 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 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
5 And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. 6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
For the people of Israel Moses must have seemed indestructible. He had always been there for them, pleading their case to Pharaoh, leading them out of slavery, guiding them through the desert, and finally bringing them to within sight of the Promised Land. It was said that even in his old age his eyesight was not dimmed nor his strength weakened.
He would surely continue to lead them until they took possession of the land promised to their forefathers all those generations ago.
But that was not to be the way of it, for there as he stood atop Pisgah he died. It must have devastated the Israelites, most of them had been born in the desert, and for those old enough to remember Egypt they could not remember a time when Moses was not their leader. As they mourned on the Moabite plain for thirty days they must also have questioned how they would proceed now without him to counsel and guide them.
God had made his plans and Moses no longer had a role to play. The task of leadership would now pass to Joshua and a younger generation.
We sometimes wonder at God’s plans and indeed his methods. Why does he do things that way and not the way we would?
Well basically because he is God. He knows the whole picture we know tiny details at most. At this time of uncertainty we may well wonder what God’s plans are but make no mistake God has plans and they will be fulfilled in his way. Let us instead of trying to work out the strengths and weaknesses of his plans, instead apply ourselves to helping him achieve those goals!
Prayer
Lord God our loving Father, we thank you that you have plans for us all, not always the plans we ourselves would want but always the right plan for us. Help us do not what we see as important, but that which needs to be done to achieve your will.
In your Mercy hear our prayer,
Amen