And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. Numbers 27:12
A wealthy man who received his doctor’s diagnosis of inoperable cancer decided to do something special for his wife before he died. For years, they had lived in a fairly humble home while they built up their business into a huge success. He had always intended to have a more luxurious home built, but the time never seemed right. A building contractor who was a special friend helped him with the plans for the new home, and began construction. The work was finished as the man’s health was quickly fading, and the contractor arranged for a special showing. In his wheelchair, the man was able to view the lovely and magnificent home where his wife would be soon living. He could appreciate all the wonderful features of the house, but he never got to live in it himself. He was like Moses in our text who would be given a view of the promised land that he had spent so many years leading the children of Israel towards.
If we turn to Deuteronomy 34, we read how Moses climbed the mountain where God was able to show him all of the land that He had promised unto the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How his heart must have thrilled at the sight! But how his heart must also have ached to realize that he was not to set foot in that wonderful land he was viewing! We do know that he eventually did make it into the land when he and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the mountain of transfiguration, as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But he had disobeyed God’s direct order by twice smiting instead of simply speaking to the rock at Meribah Kadesh to bring forth water for the thirsty Israelites. There was a consequence to his disobedience, just as there are often consequences to our disobedience today.
Have you ever wondered why God has not led you into greater service or greater blessing? Sometimes it is simply His will for your life. But sometimes it is because there are areas of our life where we are disobedient or are violating the Word of God, and God cannot allow us to continue our progress because of it. It might not be something that we regard as big or important, either. Striking instead of speaking to the Meribah Kadesh rock seemed like a small matter. But it was not small in God’s eyes. Many years ago, I spoke with a fellow Christian whose deepest desire was to become a full-time evangelist. He never made it, and those of us who knew him well could understand why; we could see a particular flaw in his character that would have been inappropriate for a Gospel preacher. How many others of us are disqualified from some particular service for the Lord for similar reasons?
Above all else, God desires that His children be obedient to His Word. He has rich blessings to show us as He showed Canaan to Moses from the mountaintop. But He may have to withhold those blessings if we don’t deserve them. – Jim MacIntosh