In Numbers 27 we found the Lord announcing Joshua as Moses' successor. Moses obeyed the Lord's instructions by having Joshua stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire congregation to be commissioned in the sight of everyone to succeed Moses. At that time Joshua took on more leadership responsibilities because the Lord had said to Moses, "Give him some of your authority." It was important for the congregation to begin viewing Joshua as their next leader so he began doing a lot of the things a leader does, even while Moses was still alive. This ensured a smooth transition of power. King David used a similar method to ensure his son Solomon succeeded him as king of Israel; from what would be David's deathbed he ordered that Solomon be anointed as king, announced as king, and seated on the throne. Solomon began taking over some of the leadership duties of the nation while his father was still alive. All these things solidified his claim to the throne to prevent anyone trying to usurp him.
In our text today Moses reminds the congregation that Joshua will be the man to take them across the Jordan. Moses will die without entering the promised land, just as the Lord said, but he is giving all his support to Joshua and they must do the same.
"Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 'I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.'" (Deuteronomy 31:1-2) If we didn't have some information from Chapter 34 regarding Moses' physical condition we'd conclude from Moses' words here that he was too infirm to continue leading the nation. But Deuteronomy 34:7 tells us, "Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone." He was not feeble. He still stood tall and steady. He still had a lot of energy. His eyesight was sharp. His hearing was normal. He was just as able as ever to stand and address the congregation with strength of body and strength of voice and strength of mind and strength of spirit. We don't want to picture him frail and thin, leaning over a cane, breathing heavily and speaking in a whispery voice. That was not the case.
The reason Moses is no longer able to lead the congregation is because the Lord told him, "You shall not cross the Jordan." The Lord is going to call Moses home before Israel enters the promised land. Moses' work on earth is almost finished. He has completed the job the Lord called him to do. He has been a political leader and a spiritual leader for over forty years and it is time for him to retire---not to the sidelines on earth but to heaven. At this stage in the history of Israel there needs to be a man capable of commanding the military forces on the frontlines of battle and Joshua is the right man for that job. As we discussed when we studied Numbers 27, if Moses had still been on the earth after Joshua took over the reigns of leadership, conflicts would probably have arisen. A division could have occurred with half the people preferring Moses and half the people preferring Joshua. The people have been used to consulting Moses for so long that they might have felt compelled to run Joshua's every command by Moses before obeying it. The leadership of the nation must be very clear cut. Moses did the job he was commissioned to do and he did it well. But a new kind of work needs to be done now and it needs to be done by a man with the personality of Joshua, not by a man with the personality of Moses.
I am sure it grieved the people deeply to know Moses wouldn't be going across the Jordan with them. To comfort their hearts he reminds them that the Lord will be going with them. In fact, He won't only be going with them; He'll be going ahead of them. "The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you." (Deuteronomy 31:3a) Isn't it comforting to know that when we come upon a difficult circumstance the Lord got there ahead of us? The Lord goes not only with us but before us, clearing a path for us, making a way forward even when it looks like there is no way forward. Sometimes He clears a wide path in front of us so that we can see ahead for miles and miles. Other times He only lights the way one footstep at a time. But we have the assurance that He is there and that, although we may only be able to see well enough to keep putting one foot ahead of the other, He's moving mountains or parting seas for us somewhere up ahead.
Taking over the promised land won't be easy. The Israelites will have to fight for it. But as we talked about earlier in the Old Testament, human beings tend to place a lot more value on the things that are hard won. The Israelites won't be fighting alone because the Lord will be fighting on their side. This is another thing that causes people to place more value on victories. When we know the Lord fought alongside us and armed us with strength and enabled us to win, the victory is even more precious. I'm fifty-one years old and when I look back over my life I place more value over the victories that were won by the Lord than I place on victories won by human abilities. We've all had some successes in life through our own strength. There have been times when we've pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps through sheer human determination. But what about the times when the problems were too big for us to solve in our own human ingenuity? We had to call on the Lord for a miracle, didn't we? We had to ask Him for big things. Those are the victories we look back on with a sense of awe and wonder. Those are the victories we comfort ourselves with when times get tough again. We remind ourselves that the Lord who moved mountains and parted seas for us in the past is able and willing to do such things for us again.
The Israelites will have to do some fighting but the Lord will be wielding His mighty sword along with them. The Lord who made a way for them through the Red Sea will make a way for them through every enemy army. Joshua, their new earthly leader, will go ahead of them as well. They can't see the Lord with their eyes and must trust that He is going ahead of them just as He promised. But they can see Joshua, the man whom the Lord appointed to lead them, and the sight of Joshua will help them to be bold and courageous. Moses promises the Lord will do this: "He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom He destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:3b-6)
It's not just the congregation of Israel who needs encouragement. Leaders need encouragement too, so Moses turns to Joshua in the sight of everyone and reminds him that the Lord will go ahead of him. Moses publicly reinforces Joshua's God-commissioned right to lead Israel into the promised land. In this way he confers a blessing upon Joshua---a blessing from himself and from the Lord. "Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, 'Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.'" (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)
Many times in the Bible we'll find the Lord urging a person or all Israel as a whole not to be afraid or discouraged. This is because the Lord knows it's a human weakness to fall into fear and discouragement. It's a human tendency to look at the size of the problem and feel overwhelmed by it. But God is bigger than any problem. God is more powerful than any enemy. With Him on our side, why should we be discouraged? As the Apostle Paul asked, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) The Apostle Paul faced a great many obstacles and enemies in his life---probably far more obstacles and enemies than you and I will ever face---but he was not afraid or discouraged because he continually comforted himself with the knowledge that God was with him. This is why he could say this about himself and about the other soldiers of the gospel who were enduring intense persecution: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
I'm having the kind of year where I feel hard pressed on every side. I am perplexed. I am dismayed. But, to paraphrase the Apostle Paul, "I may be down but I am not out." If I did not know that the Lord loves me and is with me, I would be crushed and I would be in despair and I would feel abandoned and I would be destroyed in battle by the one who is the enemy of my soul. But the Lord does love me! The Lord is with me. Therefore I declare that I may be feeling down right now but I am not out. No, not by a long shot. I will wait and see what the Lord will do, and in that spirit I conclude our study today by quoting these words from Micah 7:7-8: "But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light."
No comments:
Post a Comment