Scripture Focus
“Blessed by the LORD be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven above, and of the deep that crouches beneath, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, with the finest produce of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills, with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.” — Deuteronomy 33:13–16 (ESV)
“So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.” — Deuteronomy 34:5–6 (ESV)
Devotional Thought
And so we come to the end of Deuteronomy—and to the end of Moses’ earthly journey.
God had already instructed Moses to climb Mount Nebo and look across the Jordan into the Promised Land. He would be allowed to see the land, but because of his disobedience at Meribah, he would not enter it. Here in Deuteronomy 34, Moses does exactly what God tells him to do. We don’t read of any final argument or protest. Moses climbs the mountain, God shows him the land, and there Moses dies.
Then we read something remarkable: God Himself buried Moses. No one knows where Moses was buried. There is no great monument marking the spot. But Moses didn’t need one. The God who had been with him throughout his life was still with him when that life came to an end.
Something back in the previous chapter makes that scene even more meaningful to me. While blessing Joseph, Moses refers to God as “him who dwells in the bush.” After all those years, Moses still remembered the bush.
That was where this remarkable journey had begun. Moses had fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian and spent years shepherding sheep in the wilderness. Then one ordinary day, a bush burned without being consumed, and God called his name.
“Moses, Moses.” The God who dwelled in the bush was calling Moses to return to Egypt and lead His people out of slavery. Moses was reluctant. He had questions. He had excuses. He didn’t believe he was eloquent enough. He wondered why Pharaoh would listen to him and why Israel would believe him. But eventually Moses obeyed.
What followed was an extraordinary life, but certainly not an easy one. Moses stood before Pharaoh. He watched God send the plagues upon Egypt. He led Israel out of slavery and stood at the Red Sea as God made a way where there appeared to be no way. He climbed Mount Sinai and entered the presence of God to receive His law, only to come down the mountain and discover that the people had made a golden calf.
He endured their complaining and grumbling. He watched them arrive at the edge of the Promised Land and refuse to enter because they would not trust God. Then Moses spent another forty years leading them through the wilderness because of their unbelief.
And Moses had failures of his own. At Meribah, he disobeyed God and failed to honor Him as holy before the people. That failure had consequences. Moses would lead Israel all the way to the Promised Land, but he would not enter it himself.
There were incredible victories between the burning bush and the burial ground. There were also disappointments, frustrations, failures, consequences, and forty long years in the wilderness. But through all of it, God was faithful.
Moses enjoyed a relationship with God unlike any other prophet of Israel. Deuteronomy 34 tells us that there had not arisen another prophet in Israel like Moses, “whom the LORD knew face to face.” God called him, prepared him, corrected him, strengthened him, forgave him, used him, and remained with him throughout the journey. And when Moses could take no more steps, God was still there.
That may be the part of Moses’ story that speaks most powerfully to me. Our lives will look very different from his. We probably won’t stand before Pharaoh, lift a staff over the Red Sea, climb Sinai, or lead an entire nation through the wilderness. But we know something about wildernesses, don’t we?
We know about victories and disappointments. We know about seasons when God seems to be doing something incredible and seasons when we wonder what He is doing at all. We know what it means to obey faithfully, and unfortunately, we also know what it means to fail. We have experienced blessings we never expected and consequences we wish we could undo.
Our stories are different. But our God is the same. The God who called Moses prepared him for what was ahead. The God who sent Moses went with him. The God who used Moses also corrected him when he was wrong. The God who sustained him through forty years in the wilderness remained faithful when the journey reached its end. And He will be faithful to us too.
Maybe you are somewhere in the middle right now. You are a long way from where your journey began, but you know the journey isn’t finished. Perhaps you are walking through a wilderness you never expected. Maybe you’re celebrating a victory, recovering from a failure, carrying a disappointment, or simply trying to remain faithful one more day. Remember Moses.
A difficult chapter does not mean God has abandoned the story. The God who met you at the beginning is still God in the middle. He calls us. He prepares us. He helps us. He corrects us. He grows us. He carries us through the wilderness. And when we finally reach the end of the journey, He will still be there. The God who met Moses at the burning bush was still there at the burial ground.
And the God who met you at the beginning will be faithful through every wilderness, every disappointment, every victory, and every failure along the way. When you finally reach the end of your journey, you will discover that He is still there. From the burning bush to the burial ground, God is faithful.
Reflection Questions
- As you look back over your life, where can you clearly see evidence of God’s faithfulness?
- What “wilderness” season has God used to prepare, strengthen, or grow you?
- How have you experienced God’s faithfulness even through your own failures?
- If you are walking through a difficult chapter right now, how does Moses’ story encourage you to trust God with the rest of your story?
- What would it look like for you to remain faithful to God in the season He has given you today?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for Your faithfulness through every season of life. Thank You for meeting me, calling me, leading me, correcting me, forgiving me, and sustaining me along the way. When I walk through the wilderness, help me remember that You have not abandoned me. When I experience victory, help me give You the glory. When I fail, draw me back to You and teach me through Your correction. And when I cannot see what lies ahead, help me trust the God who already knows the end from the beginning. Thank You that the God who was faithful to Moses from the burning bush to the burial ground is still faithful today. Help me walk with You until my journey is complete. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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