Humility (Deuteronomy 34:1-12)
1Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the LORD showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain — that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees — as far as Zoar. 4The LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 5Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. 6He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. 7Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. 8The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
9Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the LORD had commanded Moses.
10Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. 11He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, 12and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Of all people, why was Moses denied entrance into the promised land? Wasn’t he the stalwart of Israel? Hadn’t he found favor in God’s eyes? Only he spoke “face to face” with God pleading for his nation’s fate. It was a minor transgression; completely understandable. In a moment of frustration and anger he took it upon himself to strike the rock producing water for his people. But was it his people or God’s? Did he show distrust, and disrespect, wondering if God would provide in His time? God is unsearchable in his judgements. We can ask finite questions in an attempt to understand, but God is above all. God is right. God is blameless. So, we are merely left to ponder about something that we could never entirely appreciate.
There is a story told in our culture which is revered. Here, an individual of humble origins overcomes great adversity to achieve something truly magnificent. This speaks to our deepest yearnings for validation. It’s a metaphor for something that we all aspire to: total affirmation. We want to achieve. God puts that in us. We want to stand out above the crowd. We want to be vindicated. Still, we must be careful that we don’t take credit for something that is really God’s doing. Pride is a problem; a big problem on the cosmic scheme. When we succeed, our minds are inclined to swim with thoughts of grander. But what do we have that wasn’t given: drive, skill, strength, beauty, mental acuity, and talent? The list goes on. And we are at odds with God if we see ourselves better than we ought. Truth be told, all glory is God’s. People shouldn’t look at us and surmise that we are good. Rather, it should be obvious that we merely have a good God!
Moses had severed his connection to the vine. For all of us, this is an easy reality to fall into. We lose sight of the fact that it is God working behind the scenes to our benefit. Our experience is the result of His providence. On the grand stage, we are merely benefactors of a story God is in charge of. To be fruitful, our bearings must be fixed on Him, our motives must be pure.
So, God has a way of humbling us by aligning us with reality. He reveals our flaws and weaknesses. He reminds us that we are mere mortals, totally dependent. Sure, he lets us go on for a while blind to this truth. But in the end God has his way. Pride rises before a fall, and impact is painful. Yet, God even uses this to our benefit. His grace reveals His glory. It is He who blesses and restrains. Regarding ultimate realities, his gifts are eternal, having done for us what we could never do for ourselves. We flounder. He steadies. We stray. He brings us back. We are best only when we give credit to the Source.
For Moses, it was never about something temporal like land, provisions, or a prodigy. He was first and foremost a spiritual man. His eyes were fixed on eternity. In this, he cared deeply for the things of God. A momentary mistake doesn’t take that away. Maybe God was protecting him from future trials. For there were still battles to be won and troubles to be overcome. Through God, Moses had succeeded in his part. Now, he was getting old, and God’s grace was shown in His mercy, the way He picked him up and held him in the end.
In Matthew 22: 20-21, Jesus makes a shrewd observation in reaction to his opponents. They were trying to trap him in his words by setting him up against established authority. In response, he said “give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The subtle suggestion hidden in this statement is that first and foremost all things belong to God. We must remember this in our assessments about ourselves. It’s okay to congratulate a fellow for a job well done, but keep in mind that God is behind everything. It is He who is good, and apart from Him we are nothing. In this contrast is the miracle of free will and design. We stive only for God’s glory, something preestablished, yet open for us to discover.