Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek

21 March 2024

Reading From Deuteronomy 32-34

“Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.”

–Deuteronomy 34:1-8

     Before Moses died, Yahweh gave him a view of the Promised Land.  He would not enter it, but he could see it from the mountaintop.  Sometimes that’s just the way it is.  Some of us prepare the soil, others sow seeds of faith.  Other people water the seeds and tend them with love.  God makes them grow.  We don’t always get to be the ones doing the harvesting, but He gives us vision for what our destiny is.

     The story of the Exodus has many parallels to the Christian experience.  God delivered us from the slavery of sin, parts our seas of trouble for us to walk through, provides for us in the wilderness even as we grumble.  Moses did not enter the earthly Promised Land, but he entered the heavenly one.  We will be right there with him if we continue in the faith. 

     It is important to value every part of the discipleship process and recognize that it is God working through His children to accomplish this work.  Just because Moses did not enter Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey (which, by the way, reminds me of delicious sweetened condensed milk), that doesn’t mean his contributions to the origins of the nation of Israel go uncelebrated. 

While it is true that Joshua led Israel to conquer the land, God used Moses to bring them all the way to the border.  Moses, the great lawgiver, is honored, even with his low points and high points.  Every one of us have value in the eternal family of God and our various roles He uses us in to further His Kingdom on the earth are vital as the Body of Christ works together.

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

–I Corinthians 3:5-10