Deuteronomy 3 recaps the taking of the land on the east side of the Jordan that went to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. God gave them the land from Og’s kingdom and they were to settle there. But before they could, the men had to go across the Jordan and help take the Promised Land for their brethren in the other tribes. I imagine there were some who asked “why” since they had what they wanted, but that was the deal Moses gave them. Only thw “wives, children and livestock” could settle until the work of taking the new land was accomplished. Joshua is now stepping up as the leader that will replace Moses and lead the charge into the Promised Land. Moses gives him this truth: “God, your God – he’s fighting for you”. This is a reality we all need to realize continues today. God is on our side. Scripture is clear that He is always loving on us and is for us in every way. We need to realize that the battle is really His, not ours, and we need to follow His lead instead of running ahead and getting into trouble on our own. God is God even today. Sometimes we may tend to forget that. But the truth is still truth. He still is in control and will do far more than we can imagine. We need to learn to trust and obey and let Him be God in our lives just like He was for Moses and the people.
It is interesting that here we see Moses make a plea one last time to be able to enter the Promised Land. “Please, let me in also on the endings, let me cross the river and see the good land over the Jordan, the lush hills, the Lebanon mountains.” But GOD was still angry with me because of you. He wouldn’t listen. He said, “Enough of that. Not another word from you on this”. Moses wants to finish what he started some 40 plus years ago. He led them out of captivity and now wants to lead them into the Promised Land. But God still says no – that the sins of the past would not allow it. Moses hadn’t really passed the torch to Joshua until God puts His foot down and says he will not cross to the new land. It is only then that he acknowledges God’s direction that Joshua “will lead this people across the river”. There is a new leader to finish the task Moses started. He will not be completing the mission. It is important to realize that even though God doesn’t let Moses enter the Promised Land – for the 40 years and beyond they were wandering – God was very close to Moses. He spoke to him continually, he led him daily, they were in deep and close communication. God doesn’t throw away people who miss the mark or are not perfect. God in fact uses us even though we are not all He may desire us to be. People sin – God still uses us. The truth of this is that it will impact some of the outcomes and circumstances. But it doesn’t prevent us from being used by God. Scripture is full of that lesson!
