Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Pam Reed, Registrar, for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Deuteronomy 34: 1-12
34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. 4 The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 5 Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. 6 He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. 7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired, and his vigour had not abated. 8 The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
9 Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him, and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 11 He was unequalled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, 12 and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Devotional: Passing on the baton – Faithfulness in Transition
Recently I visited a church that I had co-pastored some years ago. It was great to catch up with people, and to hear what’s been happening. I was told about some initiatives that I had hoped for whilst I was there, but only now have come to fruition. I could have been frustrated or resentful that I wasn’t involved in these events, but instead I found myself rejoicing that they had happened, and that it was in God’s timing and not my own.
This passage from Deuteronomy concludes Moses’ life and ministry and records his “passing on the baton” to Joshua. Moses could have been resentful. He was the one who had led his people for many years. He had faced opposition from the Pharaoh, and then rebellion from his own people. And in the end, despite years of faithful service, because of one lapse he would not get to enter the promised land. God allowed him to view the land, but then he died.
This could be seen as a disappointing end to such a promising leader. And yet the passage doesn’t reflect that. Here is a eulogy many would be happy to have spoken about them. Moses was still “the servant of the Lord” (5), and “his sight was unimpaired, and his vigour had not abated” (7). He was a prophet without equal and had an intimate relationship with God – someone “the Lord knew face to face” (10). He had performed signs and wonders at God’s behest. But even more, he was commended because of the legacy he had left in the new leader. Joshua was “full of the spirit of wisdom” because Moses laid hands upon him, and he has the confidence of the people because Moses directed them to obey him (9). Moses could have been resentful, but instead he was faithful in preparing the way for his successor to lead the people God loved into the land God had prepared for them.
Prayer
God, you are the one who calls us and loves us and never leaves us. Help us to live our lives rejoicing in what you are doing in our world and not resenting that life has turned out differently than what we might like. Help us to be faithful in transitions, and encouraging to those who are called to lead and minister. Amen.
Rev. Pam Reed (Registrar and Student Support Tutor)