“Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.’So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.”-Deuteronomy 3:27-29
There is an important God-principle being expressed in the relationship between Moses and Israel that we should not overlook.
It is this.
Although the leader and those he is leading are connected to each other as one whole so to speak…
…it is the leader’s unswerving responsibility to do what is right in the eyes of HASHEM regardless of what his followers may want him to do.
This is not always easy.
The Scriptures show us that more often than not, the reward for following God no matter what usually results in martyrdom.
It is very rare that one of God’s chosen leaders are lauded and applauded by the world as a great man.
In fact, if a man is being lauded and applauded by the world, that is usually a sign that he is probably NOT a man of God.
The attitude of a righteous man as portrayed in Scripture has always been “Do what is right and good from God’s perspective and to heck with the consequences!”
In many cases, this would prove to be much easier said than done…as Moses found out…and many of the other great leaders of Scripture found out.
And if a leader allowed himself to be swayed into doing something ungodly or rebellious, he would have to pay for his sin…
…as Moses had to pay for his sin by being barred from entering the Promised Land.
Hence, chapter 3 ends on a bittersweet note.
Moses achingly admits…
“Because of my faults and my sin, I will not be able to lead you into the Promised Land”
“Instead it is Joshua who will lead you into the Promised Land and it is he who will be the one to apportion the Land of Canaan among the tribes.”
A couple of points about Joshua before I close.
FIRST, Joshua did NOT become the replacement mediator for Moses.
In other words, Joshua wasn’t given the full authority Moses had.
Moses authority was so supreme that even the High Priest was under him.
But not so with Joshua.
He was simply commissioned as the military leader of Israel.
We now know that Israel would not have another Mediator until the coming of the Messiah which we now know occurred about 1300 years later with the coming of Yeshua.
SECOND, I’ve said this before but since it’s so inspiring, I shall say it again.
Note that in Hebrew, the names of leaders who are to lead Israel in conquering the Promised Land are exactly the same.
Joshua and Yeshua.
Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land but unfortunately did not do a complete job in conquering the land.
When Yeshua returns, not only will he lead the people of Israel, but he is going to finish the job of conquering the Promised Land for all time and forever!
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER FOUR
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