Page 67 - Living Light Autumn 23

Sunday November 19 - Flawed but chosen
Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of
Pisgah, opposite Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land...
Deuteronomy 34:1
We often hear about the failings of leaders, sometimes when they are alive and many times after they’ve died. Moses’ transgressions were out in the open, and although he suffered because of them God blessed him richly, and honoured him too. He was a friend of God and a mighty prophet, but he was also flawed.
Our week’s passage reflects this mixture of strengths and weaknesses, while keeping the focus on God as the One who cares for, leads, protects and champions his people. It celebrates the man Moses, whom God used mightily – failings and all. It reveals a life well lived and a good death.
As we see in verse 1, the Lord graciously brought Moses to the top of a mountain, not to receive the Law this time, but as a parting gift before his death. Moses got a panoramic view of all the land that God had promised to his people, and which they would soon enter. As he surveyed the sloping hills and rich agriculture he could count on God’s faithfulness, knowing that God would remain with his people after he died.
We too can trust that, whatever our failings and however much we agonise over them, God will meet us and change us to be more like Jesus. He won’t leave us in squalor but will help us to believe and trust in him.
Loving God, thank you for lifting me out of my mess. Help me to always trust in you. Amen.
Monday November 20 - Faithful God
“This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’” Deuteronomy 34:4
God always delivers on his promises. As Moses surveyed the land God had promised for his people, looking from north to south and the places in between, he experienced an enactment of this truth. In speaking to Moses God called him to remember that he had made a covenant with his people through Moses’ forebears – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And now he was on the cusp of fulfilling those promises.
Moses was 120 years old when he died – he who had been set apart for God’s purposes since his mother saved him from death by launching him into a river in a basket (Exodus 2:3). He experienced times of failure and a loss of nerve – such as the 40 years when he exiled himself after he killed an Egyptian – but God never gave up on him.
Nor does God give up on us. We might be living in the middle of a promise, wondering when God will bring about the assurances we believe he’s extended to us. We try to wait, hope and trust, but we may waver in our beliefs too. As we look to God, we can ask him to strengthen us through his Holy Spirit, that we too will welcome his promises – whether at the end of our lives or sooner.
Loving God, you are faithful and true. Help me to trust in you when I’m surrounded by confusion. Please light the way. Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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