Deuteronomy 34:1 & 10 –
<1>Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan;
<10>There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
Imagine spending your 120 years working for a goal most of your life, and then dying before you can enter. This is one aspect of the Moses story I struggle with because an instant of anger cost him his lifetime goal. Sometimes I wonder if that was what has happened in my life from time to time. I think back to a job I was offered and then I blew up at the doctor for over charging. That fit of rage cost me almost ¾ of a million in lost wages!! When you think about it my loss is way less than Moses’ was in the big picture.
Again I have a tough time with punishment of anger since I have a big problem with it. I have learned to control it, but it bubbles up inside from time to time and I have to follow my Biblical bases and control it quickly. Do you have something in your life where you think the punishment did not fit the “crime?” Was the punishment from “man” or from God? If I look back I can think of many, some of which were fair in hind sight and other which to this day have me scratching my head. I often wonder if God is 100% just or if it’s like man if you catch Him on a good day you may just get off.
I brought I verse 10 to talk about because I think of Elijah and Jesus who both rose into heaven where Moses was buried by God in an unknown location. Elijah rose before his death so that makes me think about this verse more in depth. I wonder if we are not told of all Moses’ encounters with God. Also the foundation of the Bible is all Moses’ writings, where Elijah’s story was more the glue. Jesus well is Jesus and was well after these writing, so they are definitely not the “final” word on this subject. Makes you wonder!