Amen. So, last chapter of Deuteronomy chapter 34, excuse me. So, we're wrapping up a great book,
and we'll be getting into a new one Thursday, and if you want to know what it is, you got to
come out Thursday, all right? People have been trying to get it out of me, but I'm like a steel
trap, man. You ain't going to get it out. You ain't going to pry it open, okay? I almost worked
to Hinton in May in the sermon, so if you can figure it out, it's pretty obvious. I'm probably
not going to do it. If I said it, everyone would probably figure it out, but anyway, Deuteronomy
chapter 34, you know, these last few chapters have been really, I think, some of the most powerful
chapters just because we're seeing a great man of God pass off the scene, you know, and he's,
of course, giving his last words to the children of Israel, and then we're going to kind of just
get into the details a little bit tonight about exactly what transpired at the end of his life,
and it says there in verse one, and Moses went up from the plains of Moab
unto the mountain of Nebo to the top of Pisgah that is over against Jericho,
and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan and all Naphtali and all the land of
Ephraim and Manasseh and all the land of Judah unto the utmost scene, and the south and the
plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees unto Zoar, and the Lord said unto him,
This is the land which I swear unto Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, saying, I will give it unto
thy seed. I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
So obviously, this is a huge moment, you know, and not just in Moses's life, but really in the
history of the children of Israel. He said there in verse four that this is the land that he
swore unto Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. I mean, this is, you know, hundreds and hundreds of years
later, this promise is finally coming true. You know, Abraham had known about this promise. When
he was first told, you know, God showed him and said, I'm going to, you know, wherever, you know,
wherever your foot falls, you know, that's going to be the inheritance that I give to your seed.
So this is a promise that God has been, you know, holding in reserve to follow through on
for many, many years, you know, hundreds of years. And so what a great moment, you know,
when he's already, when he's finally getting ready to come through on that and deliver on
that promise that he made so long ago. And it's interesting, too, that when he shows in the land,
he names it, you know, of course, the author is writing, you know, retroactively and telling us
what the names of the land were. But, you know, you can kind of get the sense that it was such
a sure thing that the Bible's already naming that land before they didn't gotten over there.
So it just goes to show you that when God makes a promise, you know, you can count on it,
you know, one that it's going to happen and that he's going to keep his promises.
But really kind of the highlight here is the fact that God took him up on this mountain and he says,
I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou will not go over thither. And really,
you say, well, that seems kind of rough, you know, why, why, why isn't he let him go over there? And
we're going to talk about that a little bit tonight. But really, and God even taking him
up there and allowing him to even see it with his eyes is actually, you know, God being merciful
into Moses. You know, he could have just brought him up there and said, you know, okay, now it's
time for you to die and not shown him the land. So he at least gives them that courtesy, you know,
for everything that Moses had done and everything that he had accomplished, you know, God was
merciful unto him and saying, I'm going to at least let you see it, you know, I'm going to show
you this land. And really, that had to be quite a moment for Moses. You know, we read these stories
and we have to remember that we're reading about people who are people like me and you, you know,
men of like passions, you know, what would it so we can often put ourselves in their position and
wonder, you know, what it would be like at that moment, you know, what would it be like to be
Moses going up that mountain knowing this is the day, you know, you're walking basically to your
death, you know, and then seeing that land, I mean, and what a moment that must have been,
you have to wonder what Moses would have felt like, what were things that he might have felt.
And of course, this is just all speculation on my part, we don't really know what he felt. You know,
I kind of touched on this last week, you know, and at least made the point that he might have felt
maybe like he regretted his sin a little bit more at that point. You know, I'm sure he did,
you know, he was felt bad for what had happened. And we'll talk about that here in a minute.
But he might have seen that land and said, man, I really, I really messed up, you know,
and I already talked about this, I don't really develop this point over, you know, too much. But
often, that's what sin does to us. You know, we think, oh, I'll enjoy this sin, I'm going to get
involved in this sin. And you know, and it might cost me something, it might not, or we say it's
worth it. And then later, we see how much it really cost us, and we regret it. Maybe that's
what went through his mind. I don't know. But maybe he got up there, and he might have felt,
you know, grateful. I tend to think this is probably something more likely than what he
felt that he was grateful for what the Lord had done, and what he was going to do. Because you
have to remember the great thing about Moses through all of it is that he was a man who had
a heart for the children of Israel. You know, we've seen that through his life. You know, when
he had opportunity to take their place where God said, I'm going to wipe them out and start over
with you, you know, he stopped, he prayed and treated the Lord and said, no, Lord, you know,
and he treated those people. And he was like a father to them. You know, he said he carried them
in his bosom. You know, he was burdened with these people. So I can't help but feel that when
he got up there, he probably took a look at that land, and might have been just feeling very
grateful for everything that God had done for Israel, all the mercy had shown, and the fact
that he's about to follow through on this promise, and what he was about to do for Israel's sake.
Now, if you would keep something in Deuteronomy 34, but go back to chapter three, go back to
chapter three. You see, Moses definitely desired to go on with the people of God.
You know, we know that from Scripture that Moses, it was his heart's desire to go over into that
land and continue to be a leader under the people and to see all the things that God was going to
do. And he said in Deuteronomy chapter three, verse 24, he said, O Lord God, thou must begin
to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand. For what God is there in heaven or in earth
that can do according to thy works and according to thy might? I pray thee, let me go over and see
the good land that is beyond Jordan. So if you recall, at this point, he's already been told
that he's not going to go over. And now he's kind of imploring God, you know, and that, you know,
obviously it doesn't work out. God has his reasons why he's not going to let him go over.
But we can read this and we can kind of see, there's kind of a, maybe an example or a pattern
of how to maybe, you know, ask somebody for something that you want. You know, he starts
out with saying, you know, you've shown thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand. You
know, what God is there in heaven and earth. I don't think he's just buttering up God. I think
he sincerely means every bit of this. You know, and sometimes that's, you know, then he asks,
you know, first he pays God some compliments. He gives God some praise, you know, and it's
sincere. It's from the heart. And then he makes his supplication known. You know, that would be
a good lesson for us to learn. You know, when we pray to God and maybe instead of just going to
God and making our list of demands, I might take, God might appreciate if we would just stop and
maybe just, you know, praise him a little bit. I mean, that's what Jesus taught his disciples to
pray. That's the first thing he told him to say, you know, our father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. You know, before you get into forgive us our debts and our debtors
and give us our daily bread, he starts out with hallowed be thy name. So that's just a good
pattern of prayer, I think, or a good way to make your supplications known unto God. You know,
before we just start, you know, asking for things, maybe give God some praise. Now you might not get
the answer you like all the same, but it's still, you know, it's still worth it because it's, if
especially if it's sincere and true and you mean it. But he says, you know, he goes on,
he says, I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly
mountain and Lebanon, but the Lord was wroth for me for your sakes. Now that's important.
Moses here is saying, look, God was mad at me because of you because he's kind of, remember,
he's rehearsing this in the ears of Israel and he's saying, look, you guys are the reason God
was mad with me. Now there is a grain of truth to that because of the fact that
Moses became very frustrated with them and that's what caused him to sin. Okay. Now Moses is still
responsible for what he did. You know, it was still his fault. He should have not made the
mistake that he did, but he did it. He said he was wrong with me for your sakes. We'll look at
that again here in a minute. And he said, and he would not hear me. And the Lord said unto me,
let it suffice thee, speak no more unto me of this matter. You know, and Moses had, you know,
was so obedient to the Lord that when he said that, he was like, okay. And he knew that God
had made up his mind and Moses shows us that, you know, we read this here in Deuteronomy three,
and then we see later in Deuteronomy 34, that God follows through exactly what he said he was
going to do. Like saying, Hey, I'm not going to let you go over. And when he gets this answer,
you know, don't talk to me about it anymore, Moses. I made up my mind. Moses leaves it alone.
He doesn't keep pestering and badgering and trying. He just accepts what's coming, you know,
and sometimes that's, that's just the way we have to take life. You know, if we've committed sin,
if we've gotten, you know, you know, we're going to have to suffer those consequences.
Now there's always grace and there's always mercy and God is long suffering. We understand that,
but there's also consequences that come with sin that even though we have God's forgiveness,
even though, you know, God has forgotten that, you know, there's still consequences that come
and we can't just keep throwing a fit every time we have to deal with those consequences.
We just have to accept them and move on with their life. And I think that's what Moses is
kind of showing us here. Now, if you would keep some of Deuteronomy 34, I'm sure you have,
but go over to Numbers chapter 20. We're going to talk a little bit about exactly what it was
that prevented Moses from going over in the promised land.
So he says, he's not going to let him go over.
And he gives the reason why here in Numbers 20, we see the explanation for it. And really the reason
why God wasn't allowing Moses to go over in short is because of the fact that here in Numbers 20,
we see Moses ruin a great picture of Jesus Christ or a foreshadowing of Christ in the
Old Testament. So let's read about it. He says in verse one, it says,
Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin
in the first month, and the people abode in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried
there. And Miriam died there and was buried there. Now I'm going to make kind of a subpoint here,
because this is worth bringing up. You know, it says Miriam died there. And I don't think that's
a small detail. You know, that, I mean, to us it is. And in the big picture of things, of course,
we understand it is. But we have to understand that's Moses's sister. You know, and that's
something that I'm sure affected Moses. You know, when Moses's, you know, sibling is passing away,
you know, he probably understood that, you know, she's in heaven and all of that. And we understand
that when we have saved loved ones that die, that they're with the Lord, but there is still a
mourning. You know, now we don't mourn like others who have no hope, you know, but there is still an
impact there. You know, there is, you know, some kind of a, you know, people are affected on a
certain level. And I'm sure Moses, to some degree, was going through some kind of mourning. You know,
he was sad to see that happen because he's human just like everybody else. And, you know, I just
think it's interesting the timing here. You know, he brings them over, Miriam dies, and then that's
when the congregation decides to start complaining. That's when they start getting mad. Look there in
verse two, the very next verse. And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered
themselves together against Moses and Aaron. And the people chode with Moses and spake saying,
would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord. They'd rather say we'd be better
off dead, Moses. And why have you brought us up, brought up the congregation of the Lord into the
wilderness, that we and our cattle shall die there. And you've made us to come up out of Egypt
to bring us into this evil place. It's like they're forgetting how bad Egypt was. And they're
saying this is the evil place. We had a better in Egypt under hard bondage. It is a place of no seed
or of figs or of vines or pomegranates. Neither is there any water to drink. Now what's frustrating
about this, he said, well that sounds like a reasonable complaint. But you have to remember
they've already been through this. And Moses, you know, remember he split the rock, and waters get
gushed out of the rock. They've already been through this exact situation. And they've seen
God work miracles. And specifically, you know, not just the miracles of what happened in Egypt
and all the Red Sea and all those just miracles, just amazing things that they would have seen.
But they've specifically been through this before, not very long ago. They've been in this exact same
position and watched God just miraculously pour out water to them out of a rock. So, you know,
you could see kind of how these people are very, why God calls them stiff necked. Why God calls
them hard-hearted and rebellious, because that's just what they are. But what I want to point out
here is that, you know, Moses is kind of going through a personal trial here. I mean, his sister
dies, you know, and here's the thing I want us to understand, that as leaders, you know, and this
goes for not just, I'm not talking about just, you know, men of God. I'm talking about if you're
a leader, if you're a dad, if you're a mom, if you are, you know, if you help maybe at work,
you're a supervisor, whatever, lead to people in leadership to understand that you don't have the
luxury of choosing when people are going to get a bad attitude. I mean, moms can attest to that,
right? You know, the kid starts throwing a fit and it's like, you know, I don't know what a good
time for that is, you know, but you can't, you can't reason with the child and be like, can you,
can you come back and do this next week around noon? And that would be a better time for me for
you to have a hissy fit right now. No, kids, I mean, that's the way it is for leaders,
you know, when people, people will get a bad attitude when they decide they're going to get
a bad attitude and it doesn't matter if your sister just died. It doesn't matter if, if it's
not a convenient time for you, that's, it's going to happen. So that's just kind of a side note. I
thought it was worth kind of pointing out there and, you know, and that's, that goes for any of
us that are in leadership. That is something that we need to keep in mind, that you need to be
patient and look how he handles it. Moses, you know, and Moses really at this point could have
just been like, you idiots, you know, don't you remember? And could have really just scolded them
and just said, I mean, we just went through this. What in the world is wrong with you?
But what did he do? And it says in verse six, and Moses and Aaron went from the presence of
the assembly. You know, sometimes that's the best thing to do is just get away from the source of
the aggravation and do what? They went to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation and they
fell upon their faces. You know, maybe, maybe we're in a position of leadership or we have
somebody that's griping and complaining or there's some situation we're having to deal with.
You know, rather just, you know, blowing up and getting angry and getting upset, lashing out,
maybe it's just better to just kind of say, hey, let me talk to you later about that and just go
get along with God for a while. Maybe just go get on your face before God in private and bring
it to him first before you decide to deal with it. And that's what Moses did. And I believe he
handled it right. I mean, up to this point, he's handling things right. He's not just lashing out
or, you know, trying to get back at them or, you know, getting into some kind of scuffle with them.
He goes and gets with God. You know, I read this and it's kind of like, this is like the spiritual
version of counting backwards from 10. They tell you, like, so I've heard, you know, in anger
management classes or whatever. I've never been. Maybe that's, maybe I need to go. I don't know.
But, you know, they tell people, you know, when you feel yourself getting upset,
you know, just count backwards from 10. 10, 9, you know, I've never tried it. Probably should.
But this is kind of like the spiritual version of that. You know, let me get away and just cool off.
You know, let me talk to God for a while and then I'll come back when, and cooler heads will
prevail. So he's doing it right. And then verse seven, he says, and the Lord spake unto Moses,
take the rod and gather thou the assembly together. No, this doesn't sound like,
what's going to happen here. He's taking a rod. He's getting everyone together.
I was thinking, all right, I was kidding. And he goes, and Aaron thy brother and speak unto the
rock before their eyes. Now he's very specific here. He's giving very clear instructions.
He didn't say, go over the rock with the rod and just do whatever you feel like doing.
And we'll get some water out of it. He said, go to that rock and speak unto the rock before their
eyes. I want them to see you do it. And it shall give forth water and thou shall get, and thou
shall bring forth to them water out of the rock. So thou shall give the congregation and their
beasts to drink. Now, if you recall, first time he told him to smite the rock, right? He told him,
take that staff and hit the rock and that split. And then the water came. But this time he's real
clear. He said, I want you to go and I want you to speak to it. And it says in verse nine,
and Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered
the congregation together before the rock. And he said unto them, here now you rebels,
must we fetch you water out of this rock? So now you can already see Moses is kind of starting to
lose his temper. He said, you rebels. He's kind of letting it kind of come out, right? Maybe he
should have stayed in there a little longer. Maybe you should try counting down from 10. I don't know.
But he's kind of getting, you could see the frustration that Moses has with these people.
Maybe it's because Miriam died. Maybe it's just because he's been over this. Maybe because it's
just over and over again. These people are murmuring and complaining and he keeps having to
remind them of who God is. But he says, here now you rebels, must we fetch you water out of this
rock? And Moses lifted up his hand and with the rod and he smote the rock twice. So he is not
doing what God told him to do, right? And that's why he had to smite it twice. So you could kind of,
every time I read it, I get a little bit of a chuckle at it because you think about Moses,
just like, here you rebels, I'll get you water out of this rock. Whack! And then nothing happens.
They're all like, oh sure, Moses. Did you grab the right rod? I mean, you got the wrong one.
And then he has to hit it a second time and water came out abundantly. So God's up in heaven. The
Lord's looking down. He hits it. He goes, what are you doing? That's not what I said to do. I said,
speak unto it. So maybe he's even kind of giving him a second chance here to get it right. Oh yeah,
supposed to speak unto it. Now I don't think Moses was deliberately going against God here.
He's like, I know God said speak unto it, but I'm just going to hit it. I think Moses lost his
temper. I think Moses is just seeing red. He's had enough of these people. They're hard people
to deal with to the point where God was ready to destroy him. And now he's just in the heat of the
moment. What did God say to do? I don't know. And he hits it. So then God's kind of just going,
what are you doing? I told you to speak unto it. So then he hits it again. He's like, well,
I can't have my man looking like a complete fool up there for all these people. Obviously,
he doesn't remember what I told him in the tabernacle 10 minutes ago or whatever.
But he doesn't just leave Moses hanging. And he doesn't leave the people hanging either.
He gives them the water that they want and takes care of their needs.
So he goes ahead and he splits the rock. But that was the transgression that he was guilty of.
That was Moses' great sin that kept him out of the Promised Land. And we read that and we kind
of scratch our heads and say, really? That's it? But we have to understand that this was supposed
to be a really important picture of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
And we'll get into that in a minute here. But
what I kind of want to point out here before we get to the picture of Christ is that
what we see with Moses is that God doesn't just miraculously adjust your attitude.
Moses was handling things right. The people were out of line. They should have known better. They
should have known that God could have fed them in the wilderness, given them water in the
wilderness. He's already done it. So Moses handles it right. He goes to the Lord and he gets in
prayer. But then he comes out of there and it's like he's still mad. He calls them rebels.
And in the heat of his anger, he doesn't follow God's clear instructions.
And what that's showing us is that it's great that we're going to the Lord.
It's great if we're going in prayer. But prayer isn't this magical wand that God waves over you,
where God's just going to miraculously adjust your attitude.
You know, the time of the tabernacle didn't really seem to have benefited Moses, did it?
I mean, he leaves the tabernacle with clear instructions and then immediately messes them up.
See, because here's the thing. Prayer gives us the ability to change, but it doesn't change us.
That's what I believe. I believe what you could do is you go and pray, Lord,
you could confess that your heart's not right. You have the bad attitude, whatever it is.
You can confess it and then you can pray and ask God to give you the strength to change
or the wisdom to change. You know, you can ask God, hey, help me to be better. But that doesn't
mean that God is just going to automatically do it for you. God's, you know, and I've said this
before, God's not a spiritual vending machine where if I just spend enough time on my knees,
on my face, you know, contrite before God that I'll just stand up and all of a sudden my life
will be perfect. My heart will be right. My attitude will be right. No, that's not how it
works. You go and you pray and you confess and you ask for help, but then you have to walk out
of that prayer closet. Moses had to leave the congregation and put into practice those things
that he knew he needed to put in practice. So that's kind of a sub point there that I wanted
to point out that, you know, hey, it's great that if you're handling things right, Moses,
and going to the Lord, but don't just get, don't stand up off your, get up off your knees on your
feet and just think, God, God has just miraculously changed my attitude. You know, you have to put
those things in practice when you get out there. And that's really a whole other sermon. But
what we see happening here is that in smiting this rock rather than speaking into it,
like he was told, Moses ruins just great foreshadowing of Christ. And I, and again,
I'm not going to develop this a great deal, but the foreshadowing is this. So if you remember the
first rock, he smote the rock. We can all kind of pick up pretty quick how that's a picture of Jesus.
How, you know, he, you know, like he told the woman at the well, you know,
ask me of the water life and, you know, and I'll give it to you. You'll never thirst again,
right? He's like that water. And he was, he was, he was bruised for our iniquities, right? He was
smitten of us and afflicted a man of sorrows, right? So we could see the picture there pretty
easily. You know, Jesus was, was smitten and because he was smitten, you know, he brought
forth life and the people were able to drink that water. But also I think it's a great picture in
the fact that God told him to speak to it too, because, you know, it's true that Jesus has
smitten. In fact, he, you know, he died for the sins of the whole world, the Bible says.
But does that mean everybody's saved? No. Who's saved? The people who do what? Call upon the
name of the Lord. Those that use their mouth and speak to the rock, right? I believe this is a
great picture. That's why it says in Romans 10, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. So I believe that's the picture there. And people could have other ideas about
exactly how that's a foreshadowing of Christ, but I believe that's, that's a valid interpretation
of that. And really, you know, again, that'd be another great sermon, but we're trying to
wrap up this chapter here. So let's move on in Deuteronomy chapter 34. So that was Moses'
great transgression. That's what cost him the Promised Land. And actually, before you go over
there, let's look at verse 12, if you're still there in numbers. And he said, and the Lord
spake unto Moses and Aaron said, because he believed me not to sanctify me in the eyes of
the children of Israel. Therefore, ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I,
which I have given them. This is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel
strove with the Lord and he was sanctified in them. So what we don't, really the message you
can get out of that whole scenario with Moses and the rock and them being rebels and everything,
is that you don't want to let other people's sin cause you to sin. You know, the people weren't
right. They were faithless. They were just unbelieving. They were in sin.
But you could see how it also drove Moses, let it get to him, and it also drove him to commit sin.
I mean, the people, they were definitely rebels, but is that an excuse for Moses to lose his cool?
Is that an excuse for Moses to do what he did? No, not at all.
But you can also kind of see how Moses said, for your sakes, the Lord is wroth with me.
You can see where he's coming from, humanly speaking. You know, you guys
upset me. I was mad because of you. You know, now the right or wrong, that is how it was.
You know, I don't know that it's entirely, that doesn't make Moses without excuse though, however.
But it goes on in verse, go back to Deuteronomy chapter 34, but that was his great sin.
You know, and again, I talked about this in a couple weeks ago in previous chapters.
I mean, is that the worst thing you've ever read somebody doing in the Bible?
I mean, the people that are going to go over there, they've seen and done worse things than
that. I mean, there's people in the Bible, and we could talk about other great men of God,
that have done far more wicked things than what Moses did, and suffered. I mean,
they had their own set of consequences. But again, and I've made this point before,
I won't belabor it, but the more you know, the more accountable you are.
Unto whom much is given shall much also be required, the Bible says.
So Moses, because he was so close to God, you know, and had such clear instructions,
he was without excuse. So even that little sin ended up costing him dearly.
But let's move on here in Deuteronomy chapter 34.
And it says in Deuteronomy chapter 34, in verse 5, So Moses the servant of the Lord died there
in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him. Now when it says
he buried him, it's talking about the Lord buried him. I don't know, I can't think of anybody else
that the Lord buried besides Moses. That'd be one funeral service, right? That'd be a great
funeral service. He goes on, he says, and he buried him in the valley of the land of Moab,
over against Beth Peor. So you can see, even in this, God is still honoring Moses in a way.
You know, he's still steaming very highly. Remember, he said, I will speak to Moses as
a man doth his friend. I mean, that was how close the Lord was with Moses and Moses with the Lord,
that he even took the time to bury him over against Beth Peor. But no man knoweth of his
sepulcher unto this day. And that's really interesting, you know, that God purposely did
it in a way that nobody could come find him. Now, why did he do that? Well, there might have been
a temptation for them to dig him up, you know, or, you know, and maybe even to worship him,
you know, that when they get into some kind of idolatry or something, they might mistake,
start thinking, oh, Moses was God, you know, that type of thing. Maybe that's why God does this
in obscurity, you know, to make sure that nobody would come dig him up and try to worship. You say,
no one would worship a dead body. Oh, yeah? You want to go down to San Xavier and kiss some bones?
Because you can do that. They'll bring a saint through there, some so-called saint,
and you can walk up there and pull back a little piece of cloth and kiss a dead man's bones.
So people do that kind of thing. They get involved in that. I mean, they do that all
the time in the Catholic Church. They've got all kinds of dead bodies laying around that they
venerate and worship. So anyway, I think maybe that's part of it, because God didn't want them
doing that. But for whatever reason, to me, it's just impressive that Moses died this way,
that God buries him himself, and that no man knows the sepulcher.
Because Moses, and the fact that no man knows the sepulcher, that is impressive because of
the fact that Moses was somebody. I mean, Moses wasn't somebody dying in obscurity.
He wasn't just somebody that nobody knew. Everyone knew who Moses was. I mean, they go on and they
mourn for 30 days, right? And what's interesting, and if you would quickly turn to Jude chapter 1,
this comes up in Jude. You probably recall this passage. That even the angels,
and we don't know the context here, but it's brought up, are debating over the burying of
Moses, his body. It says in Jude chapter 1, look at verse 9,
yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body of Moses.
So there's just something about, I don't know, now the Bible isn't real clear here
as to what's going on, but what they're disputing about, he said he's contending with the devil,
and they dispute about the body of Moses. What exactly was the dispute? I don't know.
Was he saying, well, he's buried here. No, he's buried there. Or God didn't bury him. Yes,
he did. I don't know exactly what the nature of the argument was, but here you have two,
you know, the devil, first of all, and then you have Michael the archangel,
you know, discussing and debating over the body of Moses. You say, what is that about? I don't know,
but it happens, and that's cool if you ask me. I don't know that anyone's going to be doing that
about me when I pass on. There's not going to be disputing about me and my body.
And what can we get out of that? Well, what you could take from that is that
there's some questions that are only going to be answered in heaven. I mean, we read the Bible
sometimes, and there's things we read, and we just scratch our heads, and we ask other people,
I don't know, and there's just some questions that are only going to be answered in heaven.
I want to get to the bottom of that when I get there. I want to find out about that.
But what it also shows is the prominence of Moses, you know, that Moses was somebody that
had such a high stature that even you have these angels debating about his burial.
They're not disputing over the things he taught or did. They're disputing about
his burial, his body. That's what they're disputing over.
So it goes to show you that Moses, you know, was a man who rose to prominence.
Now, did he do that by, you know, stepping on heads and telling everybody how great he was?
Did he hold like a national campaign and raise funds and go out and put signs in people's front
yards and hold town hall meetings and rallies and debates? No. God had to come find him in
the backside of the desert. And why did God choose him? Because he would rather
suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
God saw his heart in the kind of man he was, that he was the meekest of all men,
and that's why he chose to use him. And that's why he rose to such prominence.
And the Bible says that, you know, in due time, humble yourselves in the mighty hand of God,
then in due time the Lord shall lift you up. You know, if we, you know, if we desire to be
promoted, then chances are we're not going to be. But if our desire is to just serve the Lord
humbly in whatever capacity he sees fit, that's when God will promote us. Because then we'll have
the right motives, like Moses. So let's go on here in Deuteronomy 34, verse 7.
So it says in Deuteronomy chapter 34, verse 7,
and Moses was 120 years old when he died. So not a young man. He was 120 years old.
And every time I read about anybody reaching that age, I always think about that news story.
I read about an old lady down here in Tucson. Well, I think I reached 102 or 105 or something
like that. And she went to Taco Bell every Tuesday. And what is your secret to success?
She goes, well, how are you celebrating this birthday? Because I think it fell on a Tuesday.
So I'm doing whatever I do every Tuesday. I'm going to Taco Bell.
Now, who's going to Taco Bell in Tucson? I don't know.
But she is. That should be a sin to go to Taco Bell when you live in Tucson. Anyway,
not that old joke. But, you know, he reaches 120 years old. And, you know, he was an old man,
but the Bible is real clear there at the end. It says his eyes, his eye was not dim,
nor his natural force abated. You know, he was not a weak old man. He was more than
capable to go on that land and continue to serve God in a mighty way.
And what that should show us is that, you know, sin can cause us from even the best of us,
even the best of us, the best of the most people that are just on fire for the Lord,
living for God, living a clean and godly life. You know, a little bit of sin can keep you from
reaching your full potential. I mean, sometimes you just think about what would happen if Moses
had gotten to go over. You know, how things might have been different. You know, I mean,
Joshua, you know, for all the things he did right, he did make some mistakes.
You know, Israel made some mistakes pretty quickly when they got over there. If you're called,
they beat Jericho. And then you have Achan, you know, running in there taking the
golden wedge and the Babylonian garment and that whole fiasco. And then they run to Ai,
you know, that that happened too. They did not inquire of the Lord. And they suffered a loss
at the second city, which was even smaller than Jericho. And they, you know, then they have the,
I'm drawing a blank, the people that feigned themselves to be others,
you know, and they made a covenant with the people of the land that they shouldn't have.
Right. So they made some mistakes. Now you have to wonder, what if Moses had been there?
Would they have made those mistakes? Would those men that died of Ai still be alive?
You know, probably. I mean, Moses had a lot to offer, even at that old age. So what that shows
us is that even a little bit of sin, you know, can rob you of some great potential. And, you know,
if we let sin in our lives, it's going to rob us of being used of God. And that a godly life
leads to a long life. I mean, 120 years old, that's a long life. You know, we'd be
fortunate and blessed if we reach 80. You know, and if you want that, you know, you're going to
have to live a godly life. If you would go over to Proverbs chapter three, we'll start to wrap this
up. But it says in Proverbs chapter, you're going to Proverbs three, say, wow, 120 years old. How
did Moses make it? What was his secret? It wasn't Taco Bell. I can tell you that. It wasn't because
he ate oatmeal every morning. We know he spent 40 years at least eating manna, right? Good luck
getting any of that. But he says in First Peter chapter three, verse 10, for he that will love
life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile.
Let him askew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord
are over the righteous and his ears are open to the prayer, but the face of the Lord is against
them that do evil. How are you going to live a good life? Stay on God's good side. I mean,
by all means, you know, eat the healthy food, get the exercise, do all that. That's important.
But stay on God's good side. You know, don't, you know, refrain yourself from evil
and don't get God angry at you. I mean, Moses could have gone a lot farther and done a lot more
even than he already had. But God, you know, had to punish him for what he did.
Proverbs chapter three, look at verse one, my son, forget not my law, but let thine heart
keep my commandments for length of days and long life and peace shall they add to thee.
I mean, who doesn't want length of days? Who doesn't want a long, who doesn't want a long
life of peace? He said, well, if that's what you want, then you have to forget not my law
and let thine heart keep my commandments. He said, let not mercy and truth forsake thee,
bind them about thy neck, write them upon the table of thine heart, so shalt thou find favor
and good understanding in the sight of God and man. You know, obeying God's commandments are
going to help you live a long life. One, because of, I mean, just the fact a lot of sin is very
detrimental to your physical health. And if you get right with God and you live, you know, you
keep God's commandments, you forget not his law, you bind it upon your neck, that's going to keep
you from getting involved in a lot of things that are going to bring negative health consequences
in your life. You know, we could think about the STDs and the effects of smoking and drinking
and drug use and so on and so forth. Those are things that are all going to start to cut back
on your life significantly. So, you know, keep God's commandments. You want to live a long life
of peace. You want to get to that old age and still be used of God. Keep God's commandments.
You know, we talked about it earlier too. I mean, Moses is 120 years old and he's ready to go over
and do more. And he spent the last 40 years of his life just doing the most, you know, amazing works
that have ever been done, you know, by and large than anyone else. I mean, there rose not a prophet
like him since. I mean, he did a lot of miracles, a lot of great things, but he was over 80 years
old when he did them. And it just goes to show you that, you know, age is not a factor with the Lord.
We've preached about that. Let's go back and we'll wrap it up here in one last thought.
Go over to Proverbs, or excuse me, Deuteronomy chapter 34. We'll pick it back up in verse 8,
where he says, And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.
So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And I don't think that that was just,
you know, out of routine. They didn't just lower the flag halfway, you know, they wept and they
mourned. I think they really felt that loss because of who Mount Moses was to them. They
were endeared to him, I believe that. And he says in verse 9, And Joshua the son of none was full
of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel
hearkened unto him and did as the Lord commanded Moses. So again, this is something I touched on a
little while ago, but it's this teaching of ordination or laying on of hands, as the Bible
calls it, being ordained. Now, God recognizes the ordination of man, that we saw that, you know,
God called Joshua to serve him, but then he called him to the tabernacle where Moses laid his hands
on him. So it was a two-part thing. Yes, there's the calling of God, but there's also the instrument
of man that God uses to ordain a man into his work and in his ministry. And you can't have one
without the other, you know, either way. And we don't see a lot of people, you know, being called
of God and then, or not being called, well, I guess I should be careful I say this, what we do
see a lot of today, the problem is we have a lot of people saying, well, I'm called of God to be a
pastor, you know, and what they mean is I'm going to go start a YouTube ministry in my basement.
And there's not, you know, no one's going to darken the door of my so-called church,
you know, and that's the problem there. They say, well, how do you, where do you,
where do you get the authority to do that? Well, God called me.
But every time we see ordination in the Bible, God is also using man to confirm that calling,
right? And we see it here with Joshua. He said, Joshua the son of Nun was full of spirit and
wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him. So ordination, God recognizes the ordination of man
by giving the spirit of wisdom unto the man that's ordained. I mean, why, let's read it again.
Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom. Why? For the Lord, for Moses had laid his
hands upon him. So something happened when Moses put his hands upon Joshua and ordained him that
God filled him with wisdom, showing us that yes, God called Joshua, but then he recognizes the
ordination of man by giving the spirit of wisdom unto Joshua. So ordination, you know, the laying
on of hands is biblical. You know, 1 Timothy, Paul wrote to Timothy and said, neglect not the gift
that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, you know, the preaching, with the laying on the
hands of the presbytery. So the gift that was in Timothy was given to him, yes, by the preaching
of Paul, which was given the form that was his charge, you know, when he was ordained,
he would preach to him. But then they also laid it there. He had his hands laid upon him,
showing again that this is a biblical concept, that ordination or having your hand being ordained
of man, you know, is biblical. That's how people get into the ministry. Not by just, you know,
I dubbed myself pastor, and I'm going to go start a YouTube ministry. That's bogus.
And what we see, so the guy that wants to skip that part, okay, the guy who wants to say,
well, I don't need the laying on of hands. I don't need man to lay hands on me and ordain me
into the ministry. You know, they're not granted that wisdom. They're not given that wisdom. They
don't have it. I mean, they're fools to begin with, if they think that's how it's done. Because
again, remember in Hebrews, we talked about this, it says it's one of the principal doctrines of
Christ, meaning it's like beginner level, laying on of hands. This is not a complicated subject.
And if they can't get that right, they're fools to begin with. And then they're going to go out
and take upon themselves that office, an office that has to be earned. You know, those people
are completely devoid of wisdom. And we shouldn't have anything to do with them. And people that
follow them are as foolish as they are. Now, let's close it up here in verse 10. He says,
And there arose not a prophet since in Israel, like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.
Now, there were some men that we could think about that God spoke to. You think of Elijah,
when God came and spoke to him upon Mount Sinai in a still, small voice, right?
But he was never put in the cleft of the rock and saw God's hindering parts.
His face never glowed from having spoken with God, being spent so much time with the Lord
on more than one occasion, spending 40 days and 40 nights in God's presence.
I mean, Moses really was a very unique prophet. And, you know, I was thinking about this too,
it's like, because we always talk about, man, who would you like to meet in heaven?
But you've ever met somebody they had a lot of respect for, like when you first meet them?
It's kind of intimidating. You're kind of like, Oh, now that I got him here,
you know, I better come up with something good to say.
I mean, you think I want to meet Moses. I don't know, man. I might put that off for a while,
gain some confidence. He might go, I go, might go meet some other people. I mean,
Moses to me seems like he might, I'm not that he'd be a jerk or anything, but he's just,
he's, I mean, he was a mighty man of God. There's just nobody else like him.
And he says that there was not a prophet since in Israel, like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face
to face and all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh
and to all his servants and all that mighty hand and in the great terror, which Moses showed in the
sight of all Israel. So Moses, you know, he's, he's the star of Deuteronomy, really. I mean,
he's the star of Deuteronomy, really. I mean, obviously it's the Lord, but humanly speaking,
I mean, he was a vessel that God used like nobody else. And he's a very important character in the
Bible, obviously. And we see here that he becomes the standard by which all other prophets are
measured. I mean, everybody else is measured and few other people are mentioned in the same breath
with Moses. It comes up time and time in, in, in scripture. If you seek that out, if you look it
up, you'll see certain other prophets that are mentioned along with Moses and to be mentioned
with Moses as a prophet is a great honor because there's no, I mean, he is the standard. That's
what the Bible is saying here. There's none like him. Well, really, what is it that made him so
great? Well, it says there in all he was that there was not a prophet since like unto Israel,
like unto Moses from the Lord, no face to face, all the signs and wonders, which the Lord sent
him to do. You know, Moses didn't take this upon himself. He was, went and did what he was told.
He was obedient. That's what made him great. And you know, that's the best thing that any,
you know, we say, well, I want to have, you know, when I pass on, I want people to say
good things about me, but that's really the best thing that anybody can say of any of us.
The best thing that can be said of any of us is that we serve the Lord.
That's what's said of Moses. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of great things here, but he,
it says the Lord sent him to do these things and God used him. And that's his great legacy
is the fact that he served God. You know, you can have that legacy today too. We can have the
same legacy as Moses. Now, are we going to do the same works that he did? You know, are we going to
turn the dust into lice? You know, are we going to, are we going to turn the rivers of water into
blood? We're going to call it frogs, you know, and all that. No, but we can go out and we can
preach the gospel. We can, we can preach sermons. We can raise families and we can serve God just
like Moses did. And you know, that can be said of us that we, we did what the Lord sent us to do.
And if you can end your life having that said about you, you've lived a good life.
You know, you've lived a life worth living.
Yeah, but here's the thing. Moses would never had the life he did if he didn't obey and gone
to Egypt. So you want that legacy, then you gotta be like Moses. You gotta obey and you gotta be
meek and you gotta be in it for the right reasons. Let's go ahead and pray.