May 6, 2021 Good evening, ” For I know that after my death you will act corruptly, turning aside from the way that I have commanded you. “ Deuteronomy 31:29
” So Israel lives in safety, untroubled in Jacob’s house in a land of grain and wine, where the heavens drop down dew .Happy are you, O Israel ! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord …”Deuteronomy 33: 28-29
These are the words of Moses. Both verses are near the end of his life. One is positive about God’s people. The other one is negative about God’s people. Moses is the great prophet. He leads the people of Israel out of Egypt, and towards the promised land. But, he is not able to get there. It’s complicated. He gets close, real close. He gets to Mt. Nebo, and he can see the town of Jericho. We were standing on Mt Nebo in 2019, you can still see Jericho. For Palestinians, it is a difficult view, because many cannot return to their places of birth. It is political and complicated. I do not know why Moses gives opposite messages here in Deuteronomy.
Maybe he knows he cannot go to the promised land, and is angry, but then reconsiders. After all he is human like us. He is a murderer of an Egyptian. He strikes down some of his own people while in the desert. He gets angry with them because of the golden calf. I wonder if I ever give mixed messages, after all I have preached over 1000 times in my life. It cannot all go in a straight line, and I am a very different person than i was in the summer of 1982, in my home church, when I preached my first sermon ( the text was Psalm 46 ). How have you changed ? And are you still willing to change your views ?
