Topic: Moses and the Promised Land.

Hola!

When reading the story of Moses in Exodus, and his life, I wonder if he was not tried to harshly by God, especially that Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Once in Sunday School as a child, the youth pastor asked "Who were the two (or three) original refugees from Egypt made it to the Promised Land in the end. Being a small child, I called out "Moses did!" "Nope, said the pastor, Moses didn't make it, he was not allowed to cross the Jordan."

God demanded a lot from this guy..............

1.) He was born a slave in Egypt. During that time, there was a Genocide in Egypt where Hebrew boys were being slaughtered to keep the population down. So his mother, in desperation, put Moses on the banks of the Nile and sent the baby into the unknown, just to be happened to be picked up by Pharoh's daughter. So, not only did God save him, He sent him into the arms of the Roal Family who instigated the murders of his breathren. The daughter of the King annointed Moses' mother to be the nursemaid, and all is happy.

2.) Moses grows up to be a rich son of the King that everyone admires. "This young man will be out Pharoh one day" many people exclaimed.  Although Moses in pride likes the accolades of the people, he learns from his mother his true identity, and feels for the sufferings of his people. One day he KILLS an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. The Royal House could of executed Moses. They did not. But they told him to get lost and never return.

3.) Moses leaves Egypt into an unknown land (to him). Helps defends a nomadic family against thieves. The family takes Moses in, where he falls in love with the daughter named Zipporah. The once God-Prince of Eqypt marries Zipporah, has some children with her, and is accepted and loved by a good Hebrew family and probably no doubtably enjoys the life of a simple herder, with a beautiful wife, some children and a loving Hebrew father in law who treats Moses as a son. He lived out there for 40 years. If someone stays in aplace for 40 years, that means that they are happy there. He was blessed.  He's already been blessed by the Savior.However, GOD has a job for him.

4.) The Burning Bush. Moses doesn't really know who God is. He knows of a Hebrew God. He was raised by a family of pagan people, people who killed children, but people who STILL CARED FOR HIM and loved him. If Pharoh did not love him like a brother, he'd be dead. God had a job for him.

However, Moses knows hos true identity, but is more than happy living in the wildreness with Zipporah living the simple life. God (as a burning bush) told Moses that he had a job to do. Free the Hebrews from Egypt and to guide these people to the Promised Land (Israel today.) Moses told God that he was not the right person for the job, and that his brother Aaron would do a much better job..............

Could you imagine if God came to you and talked to you about doing a task for Him, and you said no? AND then trying to push off the job to your stupid older brother? "Sorry Lord, I cannot speak well, but my stupid brother can. Why don't you ask the stupid brother to do it and leave me be to my comfortable life?"  God more or less said "Nope, you are tha man I chosen." Moses sets off for Egypt.

5.) We know what happened. The curses upon Egypt. The final releasing of the Hebrews. The Red Sea. God protected Moses and put the words into his mouth. "Let My people go." One should remember that Moses was not a young man when confronting Pharoh (who is probably his step brother that he has known since birth). Old Moses was probably in his 70s. Imagine someone as old as Mike Gravel doing these things. Being seperated from his wofe, and his children and grandchildren and a comfortable life that Moses had known to do this.

6.) So Moses took these tens if not hundreds of thousands of people out of Egypt, and all of these people saw God's miracles and majesty unfold between their eyes. Imagine watching a hundred foot wall of water appear from nowhere and oneself walking acrossdry land and watch the armies of Pharoh drowning into the sea. WOW! If you didn't believe in God, you should of after that.

7.) Moses takes the Hebrews across a desert for 40 years. 40 years in a desert. God provided mana and food or the trip. What did the people do? Complain and gripe. The people would of rather been in Egypt in slaver than going to their own land ordained by God. Imagine the 10 Commandments. Moses goes on top of a high mountain, talks to God and receives the 10 Commandments. While he was gone, the people asked his stupid brother to make a gold statue of a cow. Imagine Moses coming down from that mountain and seeing thousands of his followers worshipping a gold statue after he has been in conference with God and recieved the Law.

One (me included) could say that Moses' sin was anger. More it was one of just aggrevation. Imagine running a company, and you know how to run the business well, but none of your underlings will do what you want, and there is no way to fire them. Pretty annoying, dont cha think?

To me, it is like the anger one gets from working a long tiring job without ANY appreciation from anyone. Imagine if you were instrumental in freeing someone from am prison, only for that prisoner to want to be put back into that prison, even if that isn't the will of God. I am sure that there are some paralllels that many ministers of thr Gospel have made between Moses and the Lord Jesus Christ.  However, Jesus is God and Perfect. Couldn't say that about Moses.

Sorry about that, and now the point................

8.) After being in the desert for 40 years, why did'nt God allow Moses in the Promised Land. From what I have deferred from the internet and the Holy Boble, this..............

Moses was barred from the Promised Land due to an incident in the Desert. The Israelites were wandering in the desert, and had no water. Basically they started complaining against God. God told Moses to speak to a particular rock and it would give water. Instead, he got shirty with the Israelites and struck the rock, and said something that didn't glorify God. For that disobedience, God banned him from seeing the Promised Land. See Numbers chapter 20 in the bible for the full story. If you don't have a bible, go to www.studylight.org and do a search on Numbers 20. 

From what I have read from The Scripture is that:

20:8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.   (20:8-12)
Moses is punished for hitting the rock with his staff (like he did before in Ex.17:6) to get water, rather than just speaking to the rock (as God asked him to do this time). For messing up the magic trick, Moses will never get to the promised land. 

20:9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. 

20:10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 

20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.  Moses hits a rock with his rod and Presto! -- water comes out. 

20:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

That: Moses was given a power by God, and that the people were showed the power of God (by the power of the water coming out of the rock). Why did Moses make God so mad? Moses hot the rock, but didn't then water come forth? I think it was an instance of great pent up anger against the Israelites for the 40 years of BS that the people put Moses through, plus all the non belief that the people had in face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I think poor Moses was just old, he did his deed for the Lord, but the pressures and the BSof putting up with a stiff necked people had just taken a human toll, and he just ended up saying "OK, you SOB's, your thirsty, here is some water. Moses hits the rock, BANG! Do you see now? (AND SOME THINGS MOSES SAID THAT WASN'T RECORDED IN SCRIPTURE) Ahhhh! You fools! I have been with you 40 years and you still don't believe? BANG!Believe am sick of you and am going back to my tent." What probably got Moses in trouble was Moses saying "Kiss my rear end. I have been with you for 40 years in this desert and have taught you and you have truly not believed." Moses was exasperated and angry tha after 40 years of showing the brethren the the true power of God, that his people would still complain. After 40 years, old Moses just went " Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, here is your food and water!" Moses was being human, which is evil in God's sight. But in out human understanding, we can understand why he was so angry and so impatient.

God didn't like the sin of Moses, and barred him from the Promised Land.

I can see (as a human, not a Christian) Moses final frustration with these people. He saved them from slavery. He's been an excellent leader to God's people. He took these people into the desert for 40 years (How old are you?). I believe in pre-destination, and it waordained Moses  before he was remotely born to serve this duty to be denied anything. This was God's will trillions of years before he was even born. God knew that Moses could not enter Jerusalem forever before. I want to say that Moses should of been allowed to muddle his sandel on the promised land, but I am not GOD. But my humanism wishes Moses could of entered.

Why isn't Moses in hell if he sinned against God? Moses sinned aginast God. In my weak defense for Moses, I could state that he was in a very stressful situation, and then failed God for an answer and that one son kept him out of Zion. I can see God keeeping him out for that sin, but did'nt God meant him for this mission with the intention of him out of Zion?

Moses is interesting.


Senor

Hi Senor.  Well think about this.  God personally buried Moses and called him his friend.  Maybe God was really being selfish and wanted Moses in heaven with Him.  Moses was 120 years old by this time, he was allowed to gaze upon the land before he died.  The deal is Moses and God had a very unique relationship that we cannot understand.  But to bring this into even greater prospective, if God did not spare His only begotten son, who was perfect and sinless, who is Moses?

 Moses said to the  people: “Is it from this crag that we shall bring out water for you?” Psalm 106:33 gives us insight into this, for it shows that Moses acted out of a bitter spirit and that he ‘spoke rashly with his lips.’ In anger, he called attention to himself and Aaron rather than to the One who really  could miraculously provide water. Thus, just before Moses died at the border of the Promised Land, God referred to the incident at Kadesh-barnea and indicated that Moses’ error was that he failed to sanctify God before the eyes of the people. see Numbers 27:12-14.