It was time to say goodbye. In his swansong, the great man swayed in the breeze and spoke with deep affection for the people he had loved and served. When Paul's turn came, the church wept on his neck, but we must all let go, so that our legacies may live on in those we leave behind. Thank you Moses.
There is an intriguing play of words in the
opening verses of the chapter that sums up all that Moses has said. In vs 6 he
speaks for God, saying “I am the Lord your God”.
Obviously, he wasn’t speaking for himself. Deuteronomy was all his own recorded words, yet, in truth, none of it was.
He only ever spoke the word of God.
Given that, embrace a sweet shift in
language from the normal first and second person up to verse 6 in chapter 30, to the third person in verses 7-8.
God, briefly lowers his guard and
identifies so fully with their journey that he says, “we drove them out, we
took their land, together”.
At some stage in your journey, a transition
from a we and they or a he and I, will happen and you will get why Moses said, “If
you do not go with us, we will not go”.
At a similar stage Paul said, “I am a co-worker
with God”. Until we finally leave our mother’s skirts to walk with our father
in his vineyard, we will never be complete.
In verses 14-15 he adds more
mystique, saying “I confirm this covenant not just with those standing here
today”. He alluded to souls yet to be born and to the gentiles.
Thus, the succeeding verses confirm Paul’s
exegesis in Romans 1-2, that not all who say they are Jews are Jews, but only
those of faith and of the heart.
As such, their place in God is not
guaranteed, but conditioned on a two-way covenant, as in “You will be my
people, as long as I am your God”.
Yet
I will not forget you (Chapter 30)
Though God reveals a coming anger, and a
turning away of the Jews, with all the rancid consequences, he confirms that
he will not forget them.
He promises to draw them back from the nations
and to restore them as a people.
Subtly weaved into his words are echoes
of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8). He holds out hope for a people who do not know him and
confirms, “I will be your God and you my people”.
Then he adds, in verses 11-15, the second
inference of that covenant: to write his laws in our heart that no man
need teach us right or wrong.
Thus he says, “who will go up to heaven to
bring it to us that we may do it, but the word is near you, in your mouth and
in your heart to do it”.
That will only ever be possible through the
redemption of our hearts by the transforming work of Jesus. It will come with
the third part, “I will remember your sins no more”.
What a hope for Israel and, because Moses
includes us, for all of humanity, that a day will come when he will draw a
people from all the nations, be their God and forget their sins. To that
he will add all his blessings and turn our curses back on all who cursed us.
Thus he sets before us a blessing and a curse. If we choose life, it will accrue to us and our children, and if we obey him and cleave to him, he will lengthen our days and secure our
heritage.
Thank you Lord for your great love.
It is all beautiful. A fitting closure.
After this, Moses bade farewell and Israel prepared to cross into the land that
God denied him. It is such a poignant moment of closure spoken across the hushed
whispers of the grassy plains that overlooked the Promised Land.
The refrain (Psalm 90,91)
We cannot be sure that Moses wrote Psalm 91, a beautiful and poignant work, but Psalms were grouped by author and, as it is unnamed, it is generally regarded as his work.
He acknowledged the timelessness of his God who was there before the mountains were formed - he clearly chatted to Job, for the rest of Psalm 90 reflects the groans of Job and the conclusion we must all reach and which Paul also reached: that we are wretched.
The normal years of a man are 70, but Moses conceded that we end it all with a groan and an untold story. As such, he called on God to teach men how to number their days, so that we can find his mercy and compensation for all the days he has afflicted us.
In 91, he revealed the untold secret of his strength in the face of so many troubles: he found the secret place of the most high and hid under his outstretched wings.
What a beautiful idea. He knew more than anyone how God sustained him.
He also named God 4 ways, as El Elyon (no one above him), El Shaddai (almighty, a shoulder to cry on), Yahweh (the sacred I am) and Jehovah (the name God gave him to use).
Through his grace, a thousand will fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand. For we shall see the reward of the wicked. He will give his angels charge over us, bear us up on his arms, and spare us from dashing our feet: words quoted against Satan by Jesus.
Surely we will call on him and he will answer us, he will be with us in trouble, deliver us, honor us, satisfy us with length of days and show us his salvation.
What a beautiful swansong for such a towering life. Thank you Moses.
We cannot be sure that Moses wrote Psalm 91, a beautiful and poignant work, but Psalms were grouped by author and, as it is unnamed, it is generally regarded as his work.
He acknowledged the timelessness of his God who was there before the mountains were formed - he clearly chatted to Job, for the rest of Psalm 90 reflects the groans of Job and the conclusion we must all reach and which Paul also reached: that we are wretched.
The normal years of a man are 70, but Moses conceded that we end it all with a groan and an untold story. As such, he called on God to teach men how to number their days, so that we can find his mercy and compensation for all the days he has afflicted us.
In 91, he revealed the untold secret of his strength in the face of so many troubles: he found the secret place of the most high and hid under his outstretched wings.
What a beautiful idea. He knew more than anyone how God sustained him.
He also named God 4 ways, as El Elyon (no one above him), El Shaddai (almighty, a shoulder to cry on), Yahweh (the sacred I am) and Jehovah (the name God gave him to use).
Through his grace, a thousand will fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand. For we shall see the reward of the wicked. He will give his angels charge over us, bear us up on his arms, and spare us from dashing our feet: words quoted against Satan by Jesus.
Surely we will call on him and he will answer us, he will be with us in trouble, deliver us, honor us, satisfy us with length of days and show us his salvation.
What a beautiful swansong for such a towering life. Thank you Moses.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
