CONSIDER HIS SEVERITY DEUTERONOMY 32:44-52 KEY VERSE: “Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:52). A robber’s dying testimony was most telling. He had been involved in an armed robbery incident consequent upon which he was condemned to face the firing squad. It took a long while however, before the execution was carried out. During the intervening period, he surrendered his life to Jesus and publicly repudiated his criminal past. Indications were that the death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment but alas this was not to be. But before his execution, he had accepted his fate with dignified calmness, convinced that he was on his way to heaven. The story above captures the theme of our text. Moses was an exemplary disciple and leader whose persona towered above the credentials of many. His obedience to God was legendary. His knack for details was unequalled. He recorded and repeated God’s instructions to the continuous hearing of the people and for the edification of generations yet unborn. He spoke mouth to mouth with God and received rare glimpses of His glory. He loved the Israelites, despite their shortcomings. Our text opens with Moses setting the glorious attributes of Jehovah to music and urging his people to admonish their children to take the song to heart and to observe “all the words of this law”. Yet, he was denied the ultimate glory of entering Canaan simply because of what we might call a minor irritant, an unintended refusal to sanctify the Lord before the people at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh. Not even his repeated entreaties and heart-rending repentance could make Jehovah to alter His judgment. The dice was cast. To whom much is given, so much is required by the Lord. As the believer progresses on the spiritual ladder, so is there the awesome need for watchfulness and absolute holiness of heart and life. It is one thing to commence the Christian race on an excellent and peerless note of righteousness. It is quite another to finish on the same note. From Biblical and contemporary examples, it is evident that only those with the fierce comportment to obey the Lord all the way, will eventually enter into His glorious rest. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The consequences of sin often subsist even when the real sin has been forgiven.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Sep 2013 04:51:36 +0000
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