If you’ve been a member of this site from the beginning, we are now at the end of the book of Numbers, at the end of the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness where they have counted the inhabitants of each ancestral clan to assign lots according to their size. The Israelites are at the border of their Promised Land which none of the originally freed Israelites were able to enter - not even Moses. As he prepares to tell them fair well in his final address to the nation and hand his authority over to Joshua, it is important to remember that the LORD, Adonai, uses them as an example for us today. Not even Moses, the most important man in the Bible second to Jesus, reaches the Promised Land because despite all of his obedience and good works, he still fell short of the glory of God, when he struck the rock. (Rom. 3:23)
It is a reminder to us all, that no one can earn their way into the Promised Land. Jesus had not yet been crucified on the Cross. His blood had not yet been poured out for us all to be covered in His likeness before our LORD, and so therefore, despite his greatest accomplishments, he remained unclean, and his sins exposed, to be exiled from the LORD’s portion. Not forever - the LORD is just. We know from Matthew 17:2 that Moses is with the LORD now, but as our example of the human condition and it’s relation to our Portion on earth, he dies. No one can get in without the blood of Christ. You must be crucified on the Cross with Jesus to enter. (Galatians 2:20) That is why we rejoice in the Cross of Jesus Christ. His crucifixion and resurrection is our greatest joy in the universe! Not because we are murder-obsessed like those who binge-watch them on TV, but because without His loving sacrifice, we would have no way into Paradise! The Cross is our gateway to all of the LORD’s promises that weren’t initially made to us as gentiles, but by loving us and sending us His Son, He has made them available to us all.
Look at your life. Even if we freed thousands of slaves, and made it our life’s work to lead them, without Christ, it would be a waste! Our good works are nothing without a focus on His glory. (Isaiah 64:6) Don’t waste your life by not pointing everything you do to the glory of Christ Jesus! It is only by His sacrifice to atone for our sins that we have anything worth enjoying in life. By enjoying His gracious gift and mercies daily in proper worship of our Savior, we live a life not wasted. 🤍