Death of Moses
421
had wrought for them, notwithstanding his own prayers and labors,
only two of all the adults in the vast army that left Egypt had been
found so faithful that they could enter the Promised Land. As Moses
reviewed the result of his labors, his life of trial and sacrifice seemed
to have been almost in vain.
Yet he did not regret the burdens he had borne. He knew that
his mission and work were of God’s own appointing. When first
called to become the leader of Israel from bondage, he shrank from
the responsibility; but since he had taken up the work he had not cast
aside the burden. Even when the Lord had proposed to release him,
and destroy rebellious Israel, Moses could not consent. Though his
trials had been great, he had enjoyed special tokens of God’s favor; he
had obtained a rich experience during the sojourn in the wilderness,
in witnessing the manifestations of God’s power and glory, and in the
communion of His love; he felt that he had made a wise decision in
choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
As he looked back upon his experience as a leader of God’s people,
one wrong act marred the record. If that transgression could be blotted
out, he felt that he would not shrink from death. He was assured
that repentance, and faith in the promised Sacrifice, were all that God
required, and again Moses confessed his sin and implored pardon in
the name of Jesus.
And now a panoramic view of the Land of Promise was presented
to him. Every part of the country was spread out before him, not faint
and uncertain in the dim distance, but standing out clear, distinct, and
beautiful to his delighted vision. In this scene it was presented, not as it
then appeared, but as it would become, with God’s blessing upon it, in
the possession of Israel. He seemed to be looking upon a second Eden.
There were mountains clothed with cedars of Lebanon, hills gray with
olives and fragrant with the odor of the vine, wide green plains bright
with flowers and rich in fruitfulness, here the palm trees of the tropics,
there waving fields of wheat and barley, sunny valleys musical with the
ripple of brooks and the song of birds, goodly cities and fair gardens,
lakes rich in “the abundance of the seas,” grazing flocks upon the
hillsides, and even amid the rocks the wild bee’s hoarded treasures. It
was indeed such a land as Moses, inspired by the Spirit of God, had
described to Israel: “Blessed of the Lord ... for the precious things of
[473]
[474]
[475]