Deut.34:1-12. The Lord showed Moses the whole land... And said, "'this is the land of which I swore to Abraham,,, I will give it to your descendants'... But you shall not cross over there."
At bible study the other night, one person commented, "that's not very nice, to show him the land but not to let him enter into it." I would like to argue that it was a very kind thing that the Lord did.
When Moses began this journey with "the children of Israel," he was 80 years old. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, he is now 120 years old. It has not been an easy task of leading this collection of vagabonds. He has argued with them, he has kept them in check, he has taught them to be a family and given them laws and rules to guide their behavior. He has judged between them when disputes had divided them. And he has mediated between them and their God.
As a parent with grown children, I can tell you that it is not easy raising a family and that is exactly what Moses did - for forty years. (These days we hope our kids are out of the house in 20 years.). Moses is tired and as they approach the promised land, he knows the journey is almost over. His job was to bring them here. It will be some else's job to help them become established in the new land.
As a parent, I can also tell you that more than anything, we want to know that our children are going to survive, that they are going to succeed in life. We pour our heart and soul into our children and we want to know that they are going to be okay when we are gone. That is the gift that God gives to Moses: "you have been a faithful shepherd, doing your best to shape and form these your children. This is the land they will inherit. Well done, good and faithful servant."
Moses died there and the children of Israel entered the promised land under the leadership of Joshua. As a parent, that is all we can do - give our kids the tools they need to live life to its fullest, and trust the Lord to be with them as they continue the journey. Shalom.
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