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Hear the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/3khlJBF
1 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—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 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. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. 9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 who did all those signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34:1-12 NRSV)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! As we pray today, I ask prayers for Mr. Larry Ehrig, who underwent surgery today; may his recovery be as pain free and as comfortable as possible. Prayers also for his wife, Norma. Also, the paternal grandparents of our grandson, LIam, Rick and Gracie Vasquez, of San Marcos, and Gracie's mom, all have Covid-19. The great-grandma had to be hospitalized on Tuesday. Pray for their recovery and wellbeing. Pray for all who are suffering from this dreaded illness; pray for one another and pray for yourselves.
In our passage we come to the end of the journey for Pastor Moses. Moses is allowed by God to see the promised land, but as God had told him that he would see the land promised to his patriarchs, but would not be allowed to "cross over into it." If we jump back to Deuteronomy 32;51-52, we read there that God had not allowed Moses in because of Moses' transgression at Maribah Kadesh, where God had instructed Moses to speak to the rock and instead Moses struck the rock; an act God saw as being disrespectful, and the punishment would be that Moses would only get to the see the land and not step foot on it. And, after seeing the land, Moses died. No mo' Mo.
As was the custom, the Israelites mourned for thirty days. When my maternal grandfather died, we observed a formal period of mourning the likes I was not accustomed. My mother and my grandmother wore black dresses for the entire 30 days, and Dad decreed with Mom's loud seconds, that we were not to watch television for 30 days, and we were not to hear another note of music in our home. We missed our dear grandfather, but the pain of this observation seemed to hurt us more. We followed that period of mourning for maybe a week, then the period of mourning was lifted as were the dark clouds of our sadness. The Jewish influence on our family was very evident in that demonstration; one can only imagine the mourning over God's prophet, whose obituary that begins with verse 10, merited. "Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt -- to Pharaoh and to all his officials and the whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel."
This passage also shares with us that Joshua, son of Nun, is the one anointed by God to follow Moses as leader of God's people, and before his death, Moses transferred the leadership with the anointing of Joshua's head and the presence of God's indwelling Holy Spirit for the work that needed to be continued and completed. We close the chapter on Moses by noting the greatness found in this flawed human, taking inspiration that God desires our faithfulness over flawlessness, and our commitment to follow through to complete that which He has assigned to us. Is anyone perfect? No. Just our Lord, Jesus; but did that stop Jesus from calling others to serve Him? No. Jesus continues to call from among all who would respond, those who would commit their lives to serving and glorifying Him, in all the ways that He deserves.
PRAYER: Loving God, we thank You for your willingness to look into our hearts and despite our flaws, You still continue to call us and use us. We have a million and one excuses for not saying yes, but still You invite us and deploy us into Your faithful service. May we seek to be faithful and fruitful, and we may seek to continue to serve You in ways that win others to You. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help someone see the promises of God in places that perhaps we are not quite there yet!
Receive my blessings of peace and joy,
Pastor Eradio CORRECTION: My thanks to my fellow world traveler and colleague in ministry, The Rev. Wade Floyd of Bay City, TX, who spotted an error in the years I shared about Paul. The extra zero on the 7 was not needed; Paul was removed from Jesus by about seven, not seventy years. Please make that correction in your hearts and minds! Wade and his lovely wife, were with Nellie and me in our tour of the Holy Land, seventy years ago, and since then Wade has been a gracious reader of ConCafe and friend to us.
