[Scripture: Numbers 20:6-13]
Moses could not enter the Promised Land with the people, and he only saw the land across the Jordan River. When I read Numbers 20:12, I was surprised by what God said to Moses. God said, “You did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites.” Because of this reason, “You will not enter the Promised land with them.”
I often wondered why God did not allow Moses to enter the Promised Land.
Full Meaning of Faith
Before I talk about why God did not bring Moses into the Promised Land, we should take time to think about faith. Faith is the most important core value of the Christian belief which builds a right relationship with God. No matter who we are and no matter what we do, faith is the essential truth in our Christian doctrine.
However, there are two different interpretations about faith in the Bible. For example, in Ephesians 2:8, Paul said that salvation is God’s gift. It comes to us only through faith, not by works, but James said, “a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.”
I pondered why they had two different interpretations of faith. Finally, when I read Hebrews 11:6, I figured out why they spoke differently. The author of Hebrews said, “And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
It tells us two things about faith. Faith means believing that God exists. He sent His Son to save us, and we must believe it. This is faith. The other thing is God is looking for people who earnestly seek God to reward them. Seeking God means always keeping God at the center of our hearts in our daily life. Therefore, if there are people who do not believe, they must focus on faith to receive salvation. But if you are a believer, you should live to bear fruit as a faithful Christian.
Main Story
Moses’ life was full of the responsibilities he had in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt and into promised land. He dedicated 40 years in the wilderness to leading around two million people so that they could get into a land of milk and honey. But God said, “You cannot go to the land with them.” It was a sad story.
However, today’s passages tell us why God made this decision. Numbers 20 says, “When there was no water and people were complaining, God said to Moses, ‘Take the staff and speak to that rock before their eyes, and it will pour out its water.’ So, Moses gathered people and said, ‘Listen, rebellious people, must we bring you water out of this rock?’ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out. After that, the Lord said to Moses, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.’”
The biblical evidence tells us that Moses had to speak to the rock and wait to let God make it happen so that God would be glorified among the people. That was what God told Moses to do.
However, Moses made a wrong choice. That wrong choice meant that Moses did not do what God told him to do but rather what he wanted to do. As a result, Moses could not enter the Land of Promise because of his choice. After that happened, God said to Moses, “You do not believe in me and do not glorify me. As a consequence of that, you cannot enter the land that I promised.” However, that did not mean that Moses did not believe in God or was not saved. God rebuked him for not trusting Him on a particular part of a specific event. Because of Moses’s wrong decision during this particular event, he was not able to participate in this supreme moment of joy. In other words, Moses could graduate after 40 years of wilderness school but could not participate in the graduation party.
Spiritual Lessons
This biblical story teaches us two spiritual lessons.
- Faith is not only salvation faith. It also includes living by faith to receive a reward.
- The other lesson is that a Christian’s every choice has its consequences.
Salvation faith means focusing on how we are saved, but living by faith means demonstrating how to live by faith in our daily life. Non-Christians must have faith in order to be saved. But if you are a Christian, you should live by faith and make faithful decisions for Christ in every moment of your life and also live for bearing much fruit.
Bearing fruit is the evidence of living by faith. Matthew chapter 25 gives us a specific example of how God rewarded His servants according to their production.
Matthew chapter 25:14 says that the master called the servants to whom he had entrusted the property, told them to do work and gain profits, and then he went on his journey. After a long time, the master returned to settle the accounts. The master praised the servants who made the right choice, worked hard, and made a profit saying, “Come and share your master’s happiness.” But a servant who made the wrong choice and did not do what the master wanted lost his reward.
All Christians know that the Great Commission in Matthews 28:19-20, which is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey everything that the Lord has commanded us. If Jesus Christ is the master for Christians, the Great Commission is what our Lord, Jesus Christ, entrusts us to do. And He will reward us according to what we do for Him when He returns to us.
The other lesson is that a Christian’s choices have consequences. The Prodigal Son story is a good example of the relationship between choice and consequences, and it gives us an idea of how wrong decisions have disadvantages for Christians.
The Prodigal Son returned back to his father, and his father forgave him and restored his relationship with him as father and son. When the father had a feast with the son who returned, the oldest son complained to the father saying, “I always worked for you and never disobeyed your order. When can I have my reward for all my works for you?” The father said, “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But your brother was dead and is alive again, so we celebrate for him.”
This parable shows us that a Christian’s right decisions are always rewarded, and bad decisions always have proper consequences. The prodigal son was accepted again as a son. But there was no reward for him. All the father’s rewards were for his older brother.
Life and Choice
Life is full of choices. A French philosopher once said that life is C between B and D. In other words, Life is C (Choice) between B (Birth) and D (Death).”
Most decisions, like what to have for lunch today, are small and have only negligible impact, but before God, Christians should make decisions carefully because God is full of love for sinners, a righteous, jealous God for His name’s sake. We often tend to make decisions based on our circumstances and experiences rather than God’s truth and God’s words like what Moses did in today’s passages. We need to know that each decision has consequences.
2022.01.30. Pastor Cloud Poy
