Today, with Chapters 33 and 34, we finish the Pentateuch, the five “books of Moses” that begin the Bible. Here is what the Cycle has uncovered so far (by number of verses):
Unity with God – 1,833
Commands – 1,514
Temptations – 76
Disobedience – 118
Disunity – 32
Warnings – 332
Judgments – 181
God’s Never-ending Love – 68
Repentance – 56
Restoration by God – 146
Total – 4,356
There can be no question that we know what God expects from his children through his teaching about unity with him, his commands, his warnings, and his judgments. Neither can there be any question that his children are far more likely to give in to temptation, disobey, and split apart and divide than to repent.
But don’t miss the fact that God’s trumps all of our poor behavior. His light is in our darkness!
I was overcome by the tragedy of Moses’ final days in Chapters 33 and 34. This mountain of a man, the prophet who God knew “face to face”, who answered God’s call and saved God children from slavery in Egypt while wreaking havoc on those who hated God, was betrayed by the very people he saved. And because he disobeyed a commandment of God at the waters of Meribah, God judged him very harshly by not allowing him to proceed with his people into the Promised Land. It broke my heart.
But Moses’s final act was to bless the sons of Israel, and by extension, all of us who call God our Father and Jesus God’s Son, all of us whose behavior is no better than the sons of Israel.
So before we move on to Joshua, Judges, Kings and Chronicles, take a moment and soak up the blessing of Moses for yourself:
The Lord dawned on us and shone forth on us; his right hand flashed his lightning for us (33:2).
Indeed He loves his people; his holy ones are in his hands (33:3).
There is none like the God of Israel, who rides the heavens to our help (33:26).
Blessed are we; who are like a people saved by the Lord? Who is the shield of our help? (33:29)
But having been saved by the blood of Jesus, what will He find when He returns?
Will it be perfect unity or disunity among his children against the powers of darkness?
Unity with God – 1,833
Commands – 1,514
Temptations – 76
Disobedience – 118
Disunity – 32
Warnings – 332
Judgments – 181
God’s Never-ending Love – 68
Repentance – 56
Restoration by God – 146
Total – 4,356
There can be no question that we know what God expects from his children through his teaching about unity with him, his commands, his warnings, and his judgments. Neither can there be any question that his children are far more likely to give in to temptation, disobey, and split apart and divide than to repent.
But don’t miss the fact that God’s trumps all of our poor behavior. His light is in our darkness!
I was overcome by the tragedy of Moses’ final days in Chapters 33 and 34. This mountain of a man, the prophet who God knew “face to face”, who answered God’s call and saved God children from slavery in Egypt while wreaking havoc on those who hated God, was betrayed by the very people he saved. And because he disobeyed a commandment of God at the waters of Meribah, God judged him very harshly by not allowing him to proceed with his people into the Promised Land. It broke my heart.
But Moses’s final act was to bless the sons of Israel, and by extension, all of us who call God our Father and Jesus God’s Son, all of us whose behavior is no better than the sons of Israel.
So before we move on to Joshua, Judges, Kings and Chronicles, take a moment and soak up the blessing of Moses for yourself:
The Lord dawned on us and shone forth on us; his right hand flashed his lightning for us (33:2).
Indeed He loves his people; his holy ones are in his hands (33:3).
There is none like the God of Israel, who rides the heavens to our help (33:26).
Blessed are we; who are like a people saved by the Lord? Who is the shield of our help? (33:29)
But having been saved by the blood of Jesus, what will He find when He returns?
Will it be perfect unity or disunity among his children against the powers of darkness?
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