Deuteronomy 32:44-52 "Breaking Faith"

Introduction

Over the last two weeks we covered the Song of Moses. A lawsuit written as a song that the Israelites were commanded to teach their children. For this song was to stand as a testimony against that future generation of Israelites that would betray their covenant and go after false gods. This was a song that place God Almighty as the plaintiff in a case and Israelites as the unfaithful party who would break their covenant and thus bring about the curses that had been declared. This song goes from God’s faithfulness, to Israel’s unfaithfulness, to Israel’s judgement, to God’s mercy, and finally to God once again standing before His people as their God. Moses has just finished reciting the words of this song and now, we read what happens next.

Text Read

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Text Explained

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, We find Moses being faithful in his sharing of the song that God had commanded him to teach the people. Upon the heels of this, Moses adds an exhortation. 46 he/Moses said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they/your children may be careful to do all the words of this law. So Moses pleads with the people to pay attention. To take to heart. Not merely hear the words and mentally ascent that they are correct, but to take this warning into their inner most being and make it a part of their life. Not only is this warning to be a part of their life, but the parents are to pass on, not only the warning itself but also the importance of the warning. The warning is not simply ‘good advice’ that the children could take or leave, but it was to be imparted in such a way that the children understood the dire importance of it. Moses continues, 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Understanding and following these words will be the difference between a prosperous life in the land God was giving them and a life full of death and misery. These words of the Law were vital to the life of the people and to the life of the nation. So Moses pleads with the people for their very life. Then, upon completion of the song and of Moses’ pleading, we read...

48 That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, Moses, go up the Mountain, view the Land of Promise and see the walled city of Jericho in the distance. View this land from a distance, then you will die. Moses will see the Land the Lord had promised, but he will never set foot in that Land, 51 because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. Because Moses had broken faith with the Lord and because Moses had not treated God as Holy before the people, Moses would never set foot in the Land, b/c “he had done two things to disqualify himself: (1) he had “broken faith” with the Lord at Meribah Kadesh, and (2) he had failed to “uphold the Lord’s holiness” (Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 429). Broadman & Holman Publishers.) Now these two phrases are interesting. On the surface we read them and go “Yes that is bad” but what did it mean that Moses “broke faith” and did “not treat God as Holy”? Let us go back to the incident in question. Numbers 20:10–13 “Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in Me, to uphold Me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them He showed Himself holy.” This is the point in time where Moses lost the privilege of entering the Promised Land. As one scholar notes: “Nearing the end of their forty years of wandering, the Israelites came to the Desert of Zin. There was no water, and the community turned against Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron went to the tent of meeting and prostrated themselves before God. God told Moses and Aaron to gather the assembly and speak to the rock. Water would come forth. Moses took the staff and gathered the men. Then, seemingly in anger, Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses struck the rock twice with his staff (Numbers 20:10–11). Water came from the rock, as God had promised. But God immediately told Moses and Aaron that, because they failed to trust Him enough to honor Him as holy, they would not bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land (verse 12).” (Why was Moses not allowed to enter the Promised Land? | GotQuestions.org) This seems to be a very extreme punishment for a very understandable human reaction. Two primary reasons are explicit in the text. First, Moses had been commanded to speak to the rock. Now this is the second time God had brought water from a stone. The first instance was in Exodus 17. In that first instance, God had commanded Moses to strike the rock and Moses had obeyed. Yet at Meribah, God had commanded Moses to speak to the rock and Moses, in anger, had struck it instead. Second, Moses seems to have taken credit for bringing forth the water. Notice, Moses and Aaron are there and Moses says “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” Moses, in understandable frustration with the Children of Israel, publicly claims credit for giving the people water instead of attributing it to God. Remember our text says “in the midst of the people of Israel.” 2x. This wasn’t a private sin. This is why James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” For this infraction/sin, God declared that Moses would not enter the Promised Land. Yet, God was gracious. For God said, 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.” Even though Moses would not set foot in that Land of Promise, God would allow him to see it before his death.

Text Applied

Be Doers of the Word: In our text today, we find Moses & Joshua audibly teach the people the song of Moses. Yet Moses does not simply want the people to mentally agree that God’s way is right, he pleads with them to live it out. Dear one, it is not enough that you agree that what God says is true and right, you MUST actually live it out. Moses tells the people to do all the words of the Law. It is not enough to simply know what is right. You must do what is right. It is not enough to say, yeah I probably shouldn’t be watching that show or listening to that book/music, you must actually act on what you KNOW to be right. Illustration: There are thousands of people who would say, “I shouldn’t eat as much junk food as I do.” Yet only a small portion ever actually act on that knowledge. They know how to make healthier eating choices, yet they never do. Dear one, most of our problem is not a lack of knowledge, it is a failure to act upon what we do know. This is the reason James 1:22–25 tells us “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” It is not enough to know what is right, you must do what is right day by day. Remember the words of Moses, For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live.

The Consequences of Sin. In our text today, we read of the consequences of Moses’ sin. Moses would never enter the Land of Promise all because of the actions he took in anger in one moment of one day. For forty years, Moses led the people. Yet all because of that one moment of anger, Moses would never set foot in the Promised Land. By striking the rock instead of talking to it and by claiming credit rightly due the Lord, Moses lost the privilege of leading the Children of Israel across the finish line, across the Jordan River. Again, we think that striking the rock isn’t that big of a deal, claiming the credit isn’t that big of a deal, so why? It is because Moses publicly and in anger, disobeyed the Lord and stole glory due the Lord’s name. When you or I publicly disobey God, when you or I publicly take credit for what God has done, we are causing harm to the name of Christ. Our actions, our words, our choices all reflect on Christ. If you say you are a Christian, and then cuss, get drunk, make crude jokes, lie, complain, watch what you ought not, and live just like, if not worse than, those without God, you are a hypocrite and are guilty of the same sin that prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land. Namely, your actions demonstrate a failure to believe the Lord and you are failing to treat Him as Holy. And I can guarantee there are things you will miss out on because of it. Dear one, remember the words of the Apostle Peter 1 Peter 1:14–21 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

God is gracious. Now you may say, I have already failed. I have already been a hypocrite and I know I lost so many blessings because of it. Why should I bother to even try now? Why should I try to change when I have already reeked havoc on my life? The Answer: God is gracious. In both Numbers 20 and Deuteronomy 32, we fail to see Moses argue with the Lord over the consequences of his sin. Rather we find Moses faithfully lead God’s people. As one scholar notes: “Moses’ failure at the rock did not negate or break his relationship with God. God continued to use the prophet and continued to love him with tenderness.” (Why was Moses not allowed to enter the Promised Land? | GotQuestions.org) Dear one, just because you have sinned, does not mean that your life is over or that there are no more blessings for you to be had. Yes, our sinful choices have consequences, yet God forgives sin 1 John 1:9“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” and He sends us down those alternate paths that continue to have blessings. Different blessings, but blessings all the same. We read how Moses was not allowed to set foot in the Promised Land, but God would show him the Land of Promise all the same. God would allow him to see this land flowing with milk and honey. God would allow Moses to see the promised destination that Moses had spent 40 years journeying towards. Yes you may have made a mess of your life, but God is gracious and takes those messes and makes them into something beautiful. Perhaps they may not be the exact same as if you had not failed, but they are beautiful in there own right. If you are in that place where you have or are currently making a mess of your life by sinful choice after sinful choice, know that God is ready to cleanse, forgive, and to take all that broken and turn it into something magnificent. Yes your past choices have consequences, but in Christ there is hope for a bright future. Not because you or I are worthy, but simply because God is gracious. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”