Moses didn't enter the Promised Land; yet he walked in the promise of God's presence

Numbers 20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

² There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. ³ The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! ⁴ Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? ⁵ Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” ⁶ Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; ⁷ and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

⁸ “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; ¹⁰ and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. ¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” ¹³ Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them…

²² Now when they set out from Kadesh, the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to Mount Hor.

²³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, ²⁴ “Aaron will be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the sons of Israel, because you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵ Take Aaron and his son Eleazar and bring them up to Mount Hor; ²⁶ and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar. So Aaron will be gathered to his people, and will die there.” ²⁷ So Moses did just as the Lord had commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. ²⁸ After Moses had stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on his son Eleazar, Aaron died there on the mountain top. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. ²⁹ When all the congregation saw that Aaron had died, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

In Joshua 1:2 God spoke to Joshua saying:  "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.”   In Numbers 12:4-8, when Aaron and Miriam challenged Moses, it says:  Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. When they had both come forward, He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. “Not so, with My servant Moses,
He is faithful in all My household; 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?”   Moses, God’s servant, was separated, differentiated from other prophets and leaders of God, by God Himself as faithful. Yet in today’s text it says:     There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.” Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them; and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.” So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He had commanded him; and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them.

Certainly it would seem as though Moses was justified, showing righteous anger toward the rebellious Israelites. Romans 12:17-19 says:   Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.    Jesus says:  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.“ (Matthew 7:1-2)   Moses judged the people as rebellious, and perhaps rightly so, but God alone is the one to judge, so Moses was judged by God with his own standard of measure. Moses too was judged as rebellious in the sight of God. There was a consequence for Moses sin. God told him that he would not be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses had a choice to make in how he would respond to God and the consequences of his sin. Moses could have walked away from God and the people. He could have blamed the people or even blamed God and ended his journey with them. We too, need to understand, if Moses, God’s servant was accountable for and experienced the consequences of his sin, we too may experience consequences for the times and the things we do to rebel against God.  

Moses chose to continue with God. Even though he would not enter the Promised Land, he chose to journey with God rather than without Him. We too, as a consequence of our sin, not as punishment from God, might not see and experience all that could have been. But, as 1 John 1:9 says:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.   If we repent and return to God, we will be redeemed and restored. Our journey may take a different path than what might have been, but it does not mean that our journey is without God. Moses remained God’s faithful servant. At the end of his journey on earth, God said:   "Moses My servant is dead.” I can’t help but to believe that at the end of his journey, he heard the words of Jesus, as we see in Matthew 25:23, saying:  'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Like Moses, we need to know and understand that regardless of the consequences of our sin, and the path our journey may take, our true inheritance and promise is the presence of the Lord with us. It is better to walk in the wilderness with God, than to search for a promise without Him.

May our prayer be the prayer of the psalmist from Psalm 84.

How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You. Selah. How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings.  They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah. Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.  O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!   Amen.