One day the Lordsaid to Moses, “Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Then Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people. Transfer some of your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him. When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”
So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses. Numbers 27:12-23
There has never been another prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. The Lord sent Moses to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharoh, all his servants and his entire land. And it was through Moses that the Lord demonstrated his mighty power and terrifying acts in the sight oof all Israel. Deuteronomy 34:10-12
If Moses, the only man to have know God face to face failed to demonstrate God’s holiness, how can I ever hope to accomplish such an impossible task? I don’t think that I should expect myself to accomplish said task, only that I should continually hope to accomplish it thereby continually hoping for the expected end. I must admit that these past few weeks I’ve been very self-absorbed. I am being selfish and stubborn. I know these things, yet I can’t seem to muster up the courage to humble myself to anyone and I’m even having a hard time humbling myself before God.
I’m thankful that it doesn’t scare me to humble myself before God, though I disgust myself at my stubborn willfulness that keeps me from doing it. I suppose we are all subject to stubborn willfulness from time to time and not that, that is the way to be or the way to live, but when we finally do give up ourselves, God lovingly accepts us as we are, lovingly chastises or disciplines us and then lovingly restores us to His presence.
Moses is a great example of this scenario. Because he failed to demonstrate God’s holiness, even though Moses knew God face to face, he had to be disciplined. And even though God disciplined Moses, God favored him with grace and restored him and called Moses His friend. I suppose that it is this promise of grace offered not only to Moses, but to myself and everyone else in this world that I can confidently know even though I sin, such as not humbling myself before God, that when I do humble myself, God will gracefully forgive me, lovingly discipline me and mercifully restore me to His presence. That isn’t to say that any ordeals that I may encounter while I stubbornly refuse to humble myself isn’t the loving discipline of God, in fact, though they may be natural consequences of my actions/inactions or attitudes, they can also be God’s chastisement.
Is it any easier knowing that punishment is from God than only suspecting it is from God? What about Moses and Aaron who were both told, “Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” Numbers 20:12 Right there, God told them they would die before reaching the promised land. Was it harder for them to continue to walk with the Lord and continue to do His will and serve Him by leading the people?
As leaders, whether it is leaders of nations or leaders of the family - the God given structure of the husband as the authority - they have a double portion of responsibility to demonstrate God’s holiness. So, what does that entail? I am only speculating, but I’d say it would include all the fruits of the spirit, ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.‘ (Galatians 5:22) No one at any given time can demonstrate all of these simultaneously. I believe that it is impossible, even if outwardly they seem to do so, only God knows the heart. But I do believe that the fruits of the spirit are the expressed qualities of God’s moral perfection. And this is part of His image that we are made in His likeness. We may never demonstrate all of these qualities until after Jesus returns for us, but we continually seek Him and the promises for our future with Him and He will display His power through us by these very same fruits. His spirit within us made manifest with these qualities of His image. That is what it is all about, or at least it is for me today, right this moment as I write and contemplate the universe and more importantly, God’s Word.
There were notes for the scripture I used from Numbers, but I’ll leave that out today. I do want to include the notes from Deuteronomy though and I think I’ll end with them. So, I leave you with this thought … How can I demonstrate God’s holiness today? For me, at this time in my life, I need to humble myself before God first and man second as a manifestation of my cleansed heart and renewed right spirit within me.
Note on Deut 34:4, 10
Moses was the only person who ever spoke with God face to face (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:8). He was called Israel’s greatest prophet. Yet even this great man was not allowed to enter the Promised Land because he disobeyed God (Numbers 20:12). No matter how good we are or how much we’ve done for God, we sometimes disobey him. The result of our disobedience is that we will be disciplined. God disciplined Moses severely but still called him his friend. When you experience the sting of God’s discipline, respond as Moses did. Don’t turn away in anger, embarrassment, or resentment. Instead, turn toward God with love, openness, and a desire to do better.
Note on Deut 34:10-12
Moses, the man who did not want to be sent to Egypt because he was “not a good speaker” (Exodus 4:10), delivered the three addresses to Israel that make up the book of Deuteronomy. God gave him the power to develop from a stuttering shepherd into a national leader and powerful orator. His courage, humility, and wisdom molded the Hebrew slaves into a nation. But Moses was one person who did not let success go to his head. In the end, God was still Moses’ best friend. His love, respect, and awe for God had grown daily throughout his life. Moses knew that it was not any greatness in himself that made him successful; it was the greatness of the all-powerful God in whom he trusted. There were many great and powerful prophets during the time of the kings. But it would be more than a thousand years before one greater than Moses would appear - Jesus.
Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 I give my body to You because of all You have done for me. Let my body be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind you will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship You. I won’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but I will let You transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to know Your will for me, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 Amen.
May God provide the increase.
