ALMOST TO THE PROMISED LAND Deuteronomy 34:1-12 First ...

2You’ll remember the beginning of this story. The Hebrew people had settled in Egyptbecause of famine in Canaan. The Egyptians enslaved the Hebrew people and they criedout to God. God heard their cry and a Levite woman gave birth to Moses. He was placed ina basket for his safety and sent down the river to be discovered by a daughter of theEgyptian pharaoh. Therefore, Moses was raised in the Egyptian court. When he was 40, hesaw one of his fellow Hebrews being abused by an Egyptian taskmaster. Losing his cool,taking matters into his own hands, Moses killed the Egyptian. Forced to flee his homelandhe went to the wilderness of the Sinai peninsula.Forty years later, according to the story, he heard the call of God from a burning bush toreturn and lead his people out of Egypt. Through many dramatic confrontations with thePharaoh, he eventually led the people through the Red Sea and into the wilderness heknew so well. Moses struggled in leading the people. The ingratitude and sinfulness of thepeople came to the fore. The people were unfaithful and disobedient. The people spentsome forty years in the wilderness. While there Moses went up on Mt. Sinai, received thelaw, and talked with God.Here we are now, at the end of his long life. The journey, the long journey of his life isalmost over. Mt. Nebo is not a high mountain, only 2,600 feet above sea level but it mayhave taken Moses awhile to climb it. On the other hand, maybe he bounded up thatmountain. All his life, he heard of this land. Way, way back in time some 800 years earlierAbraham and Sarah heard God’s call and promise to go to the land. While growing up,Moses no doubt heard many whispers about the promised land. Moses was the one Godfinally used to galvanize the people to break free from Egypt. It was never easy, but now hehad led them to the brink of the land.Never before, though, had he seen the land. Until now. He reaches the peak, the windblowing around him, and gazes upon this land, this promised land. Oh my. The view tookhis breath away. The sheer exhilaration and the deep sadness intermingled in his heart andmind. The power of that moment.Then the word of the Lord comes to Moses in verse 4: “This is the land of which I swore toAbraham, to Issac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants”, I have let you see it withyour eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Then Moses, the servant of the Lord died there in theland of Moab.”If this last chapter is the only one in Deuteronomy that we read, we are shocked to discoverthat Moses will not be allowed to enter the land. But if one reads the book throughout, onediscovers that this is a constant theme of Deuteronomy- why Moses was not allowed toenter the land of promise. “Moses’ death outside the land was inexplicable. If anybody