What You See Isn’t Always What You Get
Have you ever uttered the words, “That’s not fair!”
Have you ever heard someone say, “It’s not fair!”
How are these words usually spoken? With gentleness, understanding, and self-control? Or with anger, frustration, and defiance?
This Sunday, Pastor Doug will share a story that, on the surface, seems unfair. It’s from Deuteronomy 34 about Moses who’s arguably the most important person in the Hebrew Bible.
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What You See Isn’t Always What You Get
Have you ever uttered the words, “That’s not fair!” Have you ever heard someone say, “It’s not fair!” How are these words usually spoken? With gentleness, understanding, and self-control? Or with anger, frustration, and defiance? Today I’m going to share a story that, on the surface, seems unfair. It’s about Moses who’s arguably the most important person in the Hebrew Bible.
Moses was the first and preeminent leader of the Israelites. He led the people out of slavery in Egypt to the threshold of the Promised Land. He’s the dominant individual character from the book of Exodus through the book of Deuteronomy. He’s spoken of in the highest terms. For all his greatness, Moses never loses his humanity, displaying at times fear, anger, and frustration, in addition to his leadership ability, faith, and perseverance.
The first information we’re given about Moses in Exodus 2:1-10 is his birth in secret, to a Levite couple. Because of the Egyptian decree to kill all newborn Hebrew males, the child was first hidden by his mother and then cast adrift on the Nile in a watertight container. As his sister watched a short distance away, Pharaoh’s daughter found him, and his sister stepped forward to suggest an appropriate nurse for the infant—none other than his natural mother. So, the boy was raised by his own mother and then returned to Pharaoh’s daughter who adopted him and named him Moses (Hebrew, mosheh).
Nothing is known of Moses’ childhood. He reemerges as a young man who identified himself with the enslaved Israelites. In an attempt to protect one of them he killed an Egyptian and was forced to flee Egypt. He went to Midian where he married Zipporah, a daughter of Jethro, a Midianite priest.
Throughout the rest of his life Moses did amazing things. He was a prophet. God used him to perform amazing signs and wonders among the Egyptians and Israelites. He was a spokesman for the people as well as their primary intercessor with the Almighty. Moses was the Lawgiver, the Judge, the Leader of the nation – it’s impossible to overstate his importance and all he did for the people and for the Lord.
For many decades, Moses gave everything he had to God and to the people in order to lead them to the Promised Land. In Deuteronomy 34, the long-awaited goal is finally in sight. All of Moses’ hard work and dedication will finally be rewarded as they enter the land of their dreams. Deuteronomy 34:1-12
“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.”
I listen to all the compliments about Moses in these verses and I feel badly for him.
Why didn’t he get to go into the Promised Land?
Why didn’t God let him at least touch the ground or drink the water?
It seems unfair.
I know life isn’t fair and we’re reminded of that daily, but Moses did so much and to get so close to the finish line that he could see it, the goal he has pursued for most of his adult life, overcoming so much adversity and so many obstacles, only to be denied entrance. It doesn’t seem fair.
In the back of your minds listening to this story, you may think, “Moses deserved better,” or “If this is how God treats one of the greatest persons of faith, how is God going to treat me?”
Moses died and wasn’t allowed to enjoy entering the Promised Land; and we know he was far from alone in having this kind of experience.
There are so many examples in history and life, in literature and movies where we see this happen to a hero, who helps so many others, and yet dies, denied the opportunity to enjoy the freedom or blessing his or her efforts made possible. There are so many I could name, I’m sure you can think of some also. It always bothers me. It doesn’t seem fair.
Moses died where he was; not where he was going. He died and was buried with no pyramid like the Pharaohs, no elaborate tomb like a king, not even a pile of stones to mark the spot and allow for veneration and grateful remembrance by future generations. He died even though “his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.”
The people mourned him 30 days and then headed onward into their future under their new leader, Joshua. The land that Moses saw from the mountaintop was filled with opportunities and obstacles for the people. You can read the books of Joshua and Judges to see what they faced.
To look out from the mountaintop is to see not only what is but beyond to what could be. Moses was guided by and sustained by a vision of the Promised Land where God’s people would be able to live in peace and prosperity. Moses saw from the mountaintop the fulfillment of the promises of God. He understood that what you see isn’t always what you get. He knew that what he had worked for, others would now enjoy. He could also die in peace knowing he had been faithful and done what God had called him to do.
Moses gets to the mountaintop to see the Promised Land but isn’t allowed to go in. It seems frustrating and unfair, but that’s the way life is, you get to participate in what God is doing but you don’t always get to see what you’re doing through to completion.
Each of us needs a vision of the future and what could be, to help us persevere in the present. This is true throughout history.
With victory finally in sight at the end of the devastating American Civil War, less than a week after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. 158 years later, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address remain among the best speeches ever written by an American. They share a vision of Union, of government of, by and for the people, not perishing from the earth; of caring for those who had borne the battle and for their widows and orphans. President Lincoln helped preserve the Union, but he didn’t get to enter the Promised Land of a re-united United States of America where no one was enslaved.
Almost 100 years later, in August of 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today,
signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.
It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.
One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.
One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.”
King was saying that the Emancipation Proclamation was 100 years old, but African-Americans were still not free.
The first words “five score years ago” were a direct reference to the words spoken by Abraham Lincoln during the Gettysburg Address.
Five years later, on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was only 39, but he had spoken more meaningful, powerful words than most people ever speak in a full lifetime in his efforts against racism, discrimination, segregation, war, and poverty, and for equal rights, voting rights, and a nation where all people could live and prosper together with dignity and respect.
Although he’s most widely known for his “I have a dream” speech, King spoke prophetic words the night before his death. He was ill before he gave the speech and nearly didn’t attend the event. At the conclusion of his message, King drew parallels between his role in the civil rights movement and the role of Moses in leading the children of Israel out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 34.
“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.
And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will.
And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain.
And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land.
I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! And so I’m happy, tonight.
I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man!
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!”
Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. have monuments, holidays, and well-marked graves to commemorate their significant impact on our nation. But, like Moses, they died, without entering the Promised Land they were leading people toward.
Moses doesn’t have a holiday, and nobody knows where he’s buried. He saw the Promised Land, but didn’t go in, but God’s people never would have made it there without him.
It’s not likely any of us will have the impact of Moses, Lincoln, or King. Most of us will not be remembered in history nor commemorated with monuments, yet each of us has to do our best with our life, knowing what we see isn’t always what we get. Like those great leaders, you’re to pursue God’s vision without the assurance you’ll see it to completion.
Yesterday I led a memorial service for long time BBC member Jean Putnam and as I was preparing her service, I realized something. Jean was born in 1929, the same year as a girl named Anne Frank who died in February or March of 1945 in a Nazi concentration camp just months before the end of World War Two. She got only fifteen years on this earth and the last two were spent in fear and terrible conditions. Anne is remembered because of her poignant diary, which describes the frightening period experienced by Anne, her family, and friends while hiding from the Nazis. It expresses her hopes and aspirations for the future, which sadly were never to be realized. Martin Luther King, Jr. was also born in 1929 and he died at the age of 39 in 1968. More recently, TV broadcaster Barbara Walters who was also born in 1929, died six weeks after Jean on December 30, 2022.
Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr, Barbara Walters, and Jean Putnam were all born the same year. I wonder how the world would be different if Anne and Martin had lived as long as Jean and Barbara? All of them were motivated by a vision of their future, just as Moses was motivated by the Promised Land. Each of us personally, and our church collectively needs a vision that inspires us and motivates us each day. What is your “Promised Land?” What’s there? Who’s there? What does it look like? How are you moving toward it?
As a church, I hope we share a commitment to the vision of creating a loving, growing, generous community in which each of us is actively following Jesus as his students and seeking to become more like him every day. In BBC’s “Promised Land” each of us, will be loving God and our neighbors and inviting others to join us in enjoying what we’ve found as part of a church where we serve, support and care for one another and for all God’s children.
We may never fully realize that vision, but each of us has a part to play, in getting us where the Lord wants us to go. What you see isn’t always what you get, but journeying together with the Lord and God’s people, each of us can play our part in God’s great drama of faith, hope, and love.
Questions for Discussion or Reflection
- Think of a situation that seems unfair to you – what is it? Why do you think it bothers you?
- Even young children quickly learn the concept of something being fair or unfair – why do you think that’s so? Why does fairness matter so much to us?
- What do you know about Moses and what he did? Can you think of any reasons why he’s remembered?
- Why didn’t the Lord let Moses go into the Promised Land? How would you have responded if you were Moses when you heard you couldn’t go in? Would you be angry? Disappointed? Relieved to be done with the heavy burden of leadership?
- Is there something the Lord is calling you to work on or contribute to, even if you may not be able to see the task or job through to the end? What might that be?
- How can you help BBC and other people move toward God’s future? What can you do, like Moses, to help others to move forward with the Lord?