Deuteronômio 34

Deuteronômio 34

Meyer - Deuteronomy 34:7 His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. This was true of Moses as a man. He had seen plenty of sorrow and toil; but such was the simple power of his faith, in casting his burden on the Lord, that they had not worn him out in premature decay. There had been no undue strain on his energy. All that he wrought on earth was the outcome of the secret abiding of his soul in God. God was his home, his help, his stay. He was nothing: God was all. Therefore his youth was renewed. But there is a deeper thought than this. Moses stood for the law. It came by him, and was incarnated in his stern, grave aspect. He brought the people to the frontier of the land, but would not bring them over it: and so the Law of God, even when honored and obeyed, cannot bring us into the Land of Promise. We stand on the Pisgah-height of effort, and view it afar in all its fair expanse; but if we have never got further than “Thou shalt do this and live,” we can never pass into the blessed life of rest and victory symbolized by Canaan. But though the law fails, it in through no intrinsic feebleness. It is always holy, just, and good. Though the ages vanish, and heaven and earth pass away, its jots and tittles remain in unimpaired majesty. It must be fulfilled, first by the Son, then by his Spirit in our hearts. Let us ever remember the searching eye of that holy Law detecting evil, and its mighty force avenging wrong. Its eye will never wax dim, nor its natural force abate. Let us, therefore, shelter in Him, who, as our Representative, magnified the law and met its claims, and made it honorable. A Life-Long Issue The days of our lives are seventy years; and if . . . they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow. — Psalm 90:10 Today's Scripture: Psalm 90 Scientists predict that the average lifespan in the United States may reach 100 by the end of the 21st century. They say the genetics that control aging could be altered to extend life beyond the 70 to 80 years referred to in Psalm 90:10. Life’s final chapter, however, will still read, “It is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Moses, who wrote those words, likened our existence to grass that flourishes in the morning and is cut down and withers in the evening (vv.5-6). Although he lived to be 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7), life’s brevity was never far from his mind. That’s why he prayed, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). D. J. De Pree, a longtime member of the RBC Board of Directors, took those words literally. He calculated the number of days from the date of his birth until he would turn 70. At the end of each day he’d reduce his total by one. To see that figure decline reminded him to make each day count for the Lord. To gain a heart of wisdom takes a lifetime, And we are told to seek it all our days; But whether life is long or too soon ended, God's lovingkindness fills our heart with praise. —Hess A life lived for God will count for eternity. Deuteronomy 34:7; Luke 2:36–38 Gray Can Be Golden Quoting The People’s Almanac, Parade Magazine listed a few people with major achievements after age eighty. Among them were David Eugene Ray of Tennessee, who at ninety-nine learned to read; twin sisters Kin Narita and Gin Kanie, who at ninety-nine recorded a hit single in Japan; and Paul Spangler, who at ninety-two completed his fourteenth Marathon. Advertisers are getting the elderly in focus. The cosmetic company Maybelline, Inc. targets older women by offering a Revitalizing line and Age-Denying makeup. McDonald’s offers seniors a 25 cent cup of coffee and hires 40,000 of them in its restaurants. Schumacher and Company’s Understanding Living Trusts has sold 150,000 copies since being issued in 1990. Modern Maturity, the publication of the American Association of Retired Persons has an annual circulation of 22.5 million copies. The 64 million people in America over 55 hold $800 billion in their reserve—about 77 percent of the nation’s assets—and most of them are willing to spend. With $300 billion in ready cash, they buy over 40 percent of the new cars and half the luxury cars sold. Indeed, depending on our lifestyle, habits, diet, and exercise, old age need not be gloomy and disagreeable. Instead, we can say with Adam to Orlando in As You Like It, “Therefore my age is as a lusty winter. Frosty but kindly.” Can the church afford to ignore these senior citizens? Aren’t we compelled to make special efforts to evangelize and disciple those whose very age offers substantial advantages to God’s kingdom? - Speaker’s sourcebook of new illustrations Loins Girded - The Top of Pisgah Deut. 34:7 Not everyone has the privilege to be kept free from the defects of age to the very end. Even where the eternal youth lives in the heart and God’s grace is experienced in a great measure, we see the decay of strength start in due time, which makes the heart sombre. Our loved ones become so fragile and so weak with the climbing of the years, that our love for them multiplies and we try in faithful and differential care to take out of the way anything that might make their path more difficult and we seek to surround them with that which may make that way more plain. Even though there are only few whose strength does not abate when they are called into eternity, in the spiritual sense they may still resemble Moses, and it be our prayer that all silvery heads amongst us may have an end like his. Moses died on top of Pisgah, a mountain peak that elevated itself well beyond the solidness of Nebo,—he was there, so to say, near heaven, it was only a single step to enter into glory. Is it not blessed if we at the deathbed of our loved ones may see something of the sanctity of height? If we may feel so clearly that there death is not a sinking down into the depth, but a rising to the eternal height of the invisible world? And if we can notice that the elevated mountain air plays around their temples when they exchange time for eternity? Add to this, secondly, that Moses died there with a soul full of the peace of God. He knew his sin that excluded him from the land of promise. However, he knew also that this sin had been redeemed, and that, how greatly he had transgressed, the heavens would receive him. That be the privilege of all old aged ones amongst us. The older we get, the more heavily our guilt starts to weigh, and the more seriously we start to deal with the holiness and righteousness of God. Blessed is the man, however, who may boast at the brink of death in full assurance of faith that his sins have been forgiven, his unrighteousness covered, his transgressions redeemed. Whoever leaves the earth in this manner, leaves her, be it in a slightly different manner, with the enlightened eyes of Moses. The Lord showed His servant, maybe in a vision, but maybe also by a miraculous improvement of the power of vision, across the Jordan the whole stretch of Canaan, the country of promise, from north to south, from east to west. How blessed it is for those of us to die in like manner, with an enlightened eye upon the heavenly Canaan,—the earth falls away from them, but they see from afar the great land of rest, a land flowing with milk and honey! Finishing Strong Bob Gass - Fresh Word for Today - Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. (Deuteronomy 34:7) During his last years, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote: “The longer I live, the more convinced I become that neither age nor circumstances need deprive us of energy or vitality. Although I have retired from my church, I occupy my working hours with Guideposts Magazine, speaking, and writing books. I go to bed as early as possible, and rise early. I try to eat sensibly, exercise regularly, and avoid bad habits of all kinds. I mentally repudiate physical, mental or spiritual decline and disability. I trust in the living God, and I recommend the same to anyone who desires a long and healthy life.” The Bible says, “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning” (Job 42:12). Your age is not a problem to God so long as your faith is strong. Noah didn’t start building the ark until he was 500, went into it at 621, came out of it at 622, and helped to start the world all over again! So there’s hope for you! When someone told the 89-year-old poet Dorothy Duncan that she had lived a “full life,” she replied sharply, “Don’t you dare to ‘past tense’ me!” If you’re not too old to learn, and if you haven’t outlived your enthusiasm, then you can still “bring forth fruit in old age” (Psalms 92:14). It is up to you. If you can breathe—pray! If you can speak—encourage others! If you can recall—tell us where the “potholes” are and save us from paying twice for the same wisdom Remember creation? IT’S WONDERFUL WHAT GOD CAN DO IN JUST ONE DAY—SO GIVE HIM ALL THE DAYS YOU HAVE LEFT. Deuteronomy 34:8 So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. Ge 50:3,10 Nu 20:29 1Sa 25:1 Isa 57:1 Ac 8:2 Related Passage: Numbers 20:29 When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days. MOURNING FOR MOSES So (term of conclusion) the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days - Just as they had for Aaron. Thirty days is a lot of tears. Was this real or ritual? Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end - The end of weeping at day 31 is strange, and certainly suggests it may have been more ritual then real. Deuteronomy 34:9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. full of the spirit: Ex 31:3 Nu 11:17 1Ki 3:9,12 2Ki 2:9,15 Isa 11:2 Da 6:3 Joh 3:34 Col 2:3 Moses: Nu 27:18-23 Ac 6:6 8:17-19 1Ti 4:14 5:22 the children: Jos 1:16-18 PASSING THE BATON TO JOSHUA Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom - Joshua had the supernatural ability to see things from God’s viewpoint. The Septuagint translates wisdom not with sophos the usual Greek word for "wisdom" but with sunesis which conveys the idea of putting together the pieces in a way that gives that person insight into the true meaning of the situation and how he should respond. for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. This verse reminds me of Paul passing the baton to his young disciple Timothy The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2Ti 2:2+) William MacDonald -Truths to Live By Deuteronomy 34:9 “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.” (Deut. 34:9) One important insight we gather from this verse is that Moses appointed Joshua as his successor, knowing that his own ministry would be coming to an end. In doing so, he set a good example for others who are in places of spiritual leadership. Some may think that this is too elementary to emphasize but the fact is that there is often gross failure to train successors and to turn work over to them. There seems to be an innate resistance to the idea that we are replaceable. Sometimes this is a problem that faces an elder in a local fellowship. Perhaps he has served faithfully for many years, but the day is approaching when he will no longer be able to shepherd the flock. Yet it is hard for him to train a younger man to take his place. He may see young men as threats to his position. Or he may contrast their inexperience with his own maturity and conclude that they are quite unsuitable. It is easy for him to forget how inexperienced he was at one time, and how he came to his present maturity by being trained to do the work of an overseer. This can also be a problem on the mission field. The missionary knows that he should train nationals to assume places of leadership. But he rationalizes that they cannot do it as well as he. And they make so many mistakes…and attendance at the meetings will drop if he does not do all the preaching. And anyway, they don’t know how to lead. The answer to all these arguments is that he should look upon himself as being expendable. He should train the nationals and delegate authority to them until he works himself out of a job in that particular area. There are always unfilled fields elsewhere. He never needs to be unemployed. When Moses was replaced by Joshua there was a smooth transition. There was no vacuum of leadership. The cause of God did not suffer trauma. That’s the way it should be. All God’s servants should rejoice to see younger men raised up to places of leadership. They should count it a great privilege to share their knowledge and experience with these disciples, then turn the work over to them before they are forced to do so by the hand of death. They should have the selfless attitude that Moses displayed on another occasion when he said, “Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets.” Deuteronomy 34:10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, risen: De 18:15-18 Ac 3:22,23, Acts 7:37 Heb 3:5,6 the Lord: De 5:4,5 Ex 33:11 Nu 12:6-8 Related Passages: Deuteronomy 18:15-18 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. 16 “This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ 17 “The LORD said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. MOSES KNEW YAHWEH FACE TO FACE! Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face - This is quite a statement given the many great prophets who followed Moses. Of course Jesus was a "Prophet" like no other, so He is the exception to this declaration. And while Joshua was blessed with a spirit of wisdom, he still needed the priests' help in order to discover the will of God So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and commission him in their sight. 20 “You shall put some of your authority on him, in order that (PURPOSE) all the congregation of the sons of Israel may obey him. 21 “Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”(Nu 27:18-21+) Moses' personal interaction with Yahweh is recorded in these passages... Exodus 33:11+ Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. Numbers 12:8+ With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?” Disciple's Study Bible - To make Himself known to His people, God empowered human leaders to lead in historical acts and to interpret those acts as God's acts. God entrusted His revelation to human agents so other humans could identify with it, trust it, and witness to it. The greatest example of an historical agent of revelation for Israel was Moses, leader of the central event of Old Testament revelation--the Exodus. John Maxwell - Upon final evaluation, the character of Moses also points to his greatness. He enjoyed a uniquely intimate fellowship with God (v. 10). It is not Moses’ knowledge of God that is stressed, but rather God’s knowledge of Moses! God had sought him out and appointed him to a particular task; over the years the relationship became intimate. Israel knew that Moses communicated personally with God. Moses was unequaled in the performance of signs and wonders (v. 11). Moses displayed awesome power among the people of Israel (v. 12). Sometimes at funerals we paint too beautiful a picture of the deceased; we make him or her out to be a far better person than he or she really was. All of the deceased’s good works are magnified and, of course, all shortcomings are passed over. I am often reminded of Lincoln’s remark at the burial of one of his generals: “If he had known he would get a funeral like this, he’d have died sooner.” But the greatness of Moses has stood the test of time. The earthly kingdom of God, which Moses played an important part in founding, came to an end as represented by the independent state of Israel early in the sixth century B.C. The prophets who followed Moses began to point forward to a new covenant. It was in the formation of the new covenant that at last “a prophet like Moses” appeared again, but He was more than a prophet. Whereas Moses was a servant in the household of God, the coming Prophet was a Son, Jesus Christ (Heb. 3:1–6). (Preacher's Commentary) QUESTION - If Moses met face to face with God, why, later, was he not allowed to see God’s face? ANSWER - Before the official tabernacle was built, “Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp” (Exodus 33:7). As Moses visited this tent of meeting to intercede for the people of Israel, “the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses” (verse 9). Moses’ position of favor with God is evident in the fact that “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (verse 11). However, later in the same chapter, Moses requests to see God’s glory, and God replies, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. . . . But . . . you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:19–20). To protect Moses, God put him “in a cleft in the rock” and covered him with His hand as He passed by (verse 22). “Then,” God promised, “I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen” (verse 23). This passage prompts several questions. Does God really have a “hand,” “face,” and “back”? Why could Moses speak to God “face to face” in verse 11 but could not see God’s “face” in verse 23? What is fatal about seeing God’s “face”? We know from Scripture (e.g., John 4:24) that God is spirit. Spirits do not possess physicality. So, when Moses spoke “face to face” with God in Exodus 33:11, there are only two possible ways to understand it: either Moses was speaking to the pre-incarnate Son of God (a Christophany); or the passage is using a figure of speech called anthropomorphism, in which human qualities are applied to God. While a Christophany is certainly possible, it is probably better to view the chapter as using figures of speech. The terms face, hand, and back in Exodus 33 should not be taken literally, and face to face, being idiomatic, is also metaphorical. In verse 11 the idiom face to face can be simply understood to mean “intimately.” Moses spoke with God familiarly, as a man speaks to a friend. In verses 20 and 23, face and back are in reference to God’s “glory” and “goodness” (verses 18–19). Since God is spirit, and since glory and goodness are both intangibles, we can take face and back to signify varying “degrees” of glory. God’s hand (verse 22) is an obvious reference to God’s “protection.” In the Bible, God often communicates using terms easily understood in the human experience. God’s use of anthropomorphism in Exodus 33 was a perfect way to describe what was happening. As humans, we know the importance of one’s face. To readily identify someone, we study his or her face. It is also the face of a person that reveals the most information about his or her character, mood, and personality. However, if all we catch is a glimpse of a person from behind, we are left without a lot of valuable information. It is difficult to identify a person from behind; we know very little about a person if all we can see is a back view. When God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20), He was saying that truly seeing God as He is, in the fullness of His glory, is more than mortal man can tolerate (cf. Isaiah 6:5). Therefore, to protect Moses, God was only going to reveal that portion of His majesty and power that was humanly possible to absorb. God communicated this plan to Moses in a way we can all understand: “You cannot look Me full in the face [it is impossible for you to know everything about Me], but I will allow you to see my back [I will reveal to you a small portion of My nature so as not to overwhelm you].” All of this makes Jesus’ words to Philip all the more amazing: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). When Jesus walked this earth, His glory veiled, we could look Him in the face. “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). On one brief occasion, Jesus’ glory was revealed in this world, at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). Interestingly, Moses was there, speaking to the glorified Lord, face to face (Matthew 17:3).GotQuestions.org G Campbell