20 Feb

Moses and the Israelites were not perfect people. There are many instances in Exodus and Numbers where they each failed to trust in God or lacked hope. For example, when Moses sends out the twelve spies to explore the land and seek out its inhabitants, ten of the twelve who returned did not think it would be possible for them to conquer the people who lived in the land with “milk and honey”. Because of their disbelief, they were banned from entering the promised land. Caleb and Aaron, the other two spies, held out hope in the Lord and as a result were allowed to enter the promised land. We see time and time again in the Bible narratives when God rewards those who trust in him despite the circumstances. Moses was condemned to not enter the promised land when he struck the rock with his staff instead of doing as God had commanded and simply allow God to bring water forth from it without striking it. This is why Moses died as a strong, healthy man on the cusp of leading his nation into the promised land. After he dies, Joshua takes leadership of the nation and the Pentateuch ends. In my opinion, the core part of the Old Testament ends here for two reasons. First, Moses was such an influential patriarch of the Israelites that the nation was fundamentally changed after his death. Second, once they entered the promised land, God’s people had a different identity now that they had a territory of their own. Deuteronomy 34 emphasizes “the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (34:12). The writers seem to suggest no leader of God’s people would become as close to God as Moses was, at least until God sent his only Son in the New Testament.