Word of Encouragement (11/15/2022)
Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” (Num. 27:15-17)
Moses addressed God as “the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh....” Why? He was just told by the LORD that his time of departure from the world was near. He did not complain that his time in this world came to an end. Nor did he complain any longer that he was not allowed to enter the promised land. He was not concerned about his imminent death; his primary concern was for the well-being of the people of Israel. So, in this prayer, he asked the LORD to appoint his successor, who would take his place in leading the people of Israel into the promised land. Who would be the right person? Only God knew because He was “the God of the spirits of all flesh”: He knew what was in the inner man.
How admirable it was of Moses to be so concerned about the people of Israel in that way! They were not the easiest people to deal with, to say the least. They were such an ungrateful bunch. Did they know how had to intercede for them to spare them from God’s wrath? Did they know how he was willing to sacrifice his life for them on more than one occasion? Yet, they complained all the time, accusing him of all kinds of malice when he worked hard for them! Of course, there were a few occasions when he got fed up with their complaints. But, the first thing that came to his mind when he learned of his imminent death was the welfare of the Israelites, who had given him so much trouble over the years.
This was all the more remarkable when we consider how reluctant Moses was to take on this task of delivering the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage. Remember how he kept dragging his feet until the LORD had to rebuke him? And when he faced difficulties initially, he complained to God about calling him to do the work. Oh, how much he had changed since then! And look at him at the end of his life.
What an inspiring and encouraging picture of what walking with God does for His people! Here was a man, who was not afraid to die because he was at peace with God and himself, who was more concerned about those around him than himself, and whose ultimate concern was for God’s glory and honor. This did not happen overnight. It had taken him forty years since he was called, which were filled with many ups and downs. But we must say that those last forty years of his life would not have been what they were if he did not have the first eighty years—the first forty years in the household of Pharaoh as a prince, and the next forty years in the wilderness of Midian as a fugitive. In God’s sovereign and providential care, every experience of Moses’ life contributed to who Moses was at the end of his life.
Brothers and sisters, God knows what you will be like at the end of your life—better yet, God knows what you will be like in glory in the kingdom of heaven. Everything God does in your life is to make you what you shall be on that glorious day. You may be complaining as Moses did about the cross you must bear. You may be reeling from a disappointing setback. You may be grieving over a strained relationship. Do not be discouraged as if you were the only one who went through it. Moses was there, too. Do not be fixated on the present: how it is now will not always be. View what you are going through in light of what God will make of you. Christ suffered, died, and rose again from the dead to make sure you will be perfected in the image of God!