Stephen
Terry, Director
The Resurrection of Moses
Commentary
for the December 25, 2021, Sabbath School Lesson
"But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron,
'Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the
Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.'"
Numbers 20:12, NIV
Have you ever felt exhausted
from having chronic pain and anxiety from dealing with everything that seemed
to be continually tugging at your resources and your physical strength? We try
to do right and provide for the future for ourselves and all those depending
upon us. Along the way, we make mistakes that cling to us like barnacles to a
ship's hull, and those mistakes further frustrate our efforts. We may have
tried to appear as perfect as possible, knowing that any sign of weakness or
failure on our part can come with a heavy price, burdening our efforts to
achieve the goals that we desire for ourselves and those who depend upon us.
Sometimes it can seem like we are racing to remain at least one step ahead
before it all comes crashing down.
We know where our foundations
are unstable sand. Sleepless nights remind us of how we got where we are and
the compromises we made in the process. We may look back over our lives and
lament the foolish arrogance of younger years when we thought we could ride the
tiger and come away without a scratch. But our scars tell a different story.
Wisdom can come at a high price, and the price is not negotiable. While Genesis
tells us that we have the Knowledge of Good and Evil due to the Fall in the
Garden of Eden, knowledge is not wisdom. We may even unwisely pursue knowledge
as that event shows.
Moses had access to all the
educational resources of Egypt as a young man, yet failed to deliver a single
Israelite from slavery, ending up an exile instead. We know he spent the next
forty years tending the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro, a priest in
Midian. Somehow, during that time, he went from being an arrogant noble in
Egypt to becoming the meekest of men.[i]
There is something about tending sheep that imparts wisdom enough to lead a
people out of bondage or elevate a boy to become king over Israel, like David.
There is so much wisdom gained through interacting with the flock that even
Jesus repeatedly referred to sheep in his parables and modeled himself as the
Good Shepherd. Sheep, and even our household pets, teach us much about
ourselves and God's compassion and love for us.
When we are young, we can
hardly wait to become independent. Getting our driver's license and moving away
from home become hallmarks of that independence. We want to be in charge. We
know we can avoid the mistakes of previous generations if they would just step
aside and let us run things with the advanced knowledge of our generation. But
when our sandcastles come crashing to the ground, the next generations after us
quickly say, "We could foresee it would happen!" But intrinsic to human folly
is the ability to see the errors of our forebears but not our own. Those must
be pointed out by those who come after with each generation. Rare is the young
person who can say to their parents or grandparents, "I seem to be no more able
to learn from the mistakes of the past than you were." Each generation seems
destined to wander behind the sheep for decades before they find the humility
that leads to wisdom. Those who would be great, compassionate leaders find that
the school of compassion teaches through the care of lesser beings that are
more honest about their needs and feelings. Sheep, cats, dogs, and other
animals recognize instinctively humanity's original dominion over creation and
do not hesitate to tell us when they are hungry, hurting, or scared. They also
respond easily with contentment and love when those needs are met. The bond of
that love is strong, and cats and dogs often follow their owners as faithfully
as a sheep follows its shepherd.
Unfortunately, in our own
weakness, when we are tired, in pain, or anxious, we fail to respond
appropriately to our animals' trust in our care for them. Too many experience
abuse verbally or physically in those moments. And as with animals, so it is
with our fellow human beings. Who has not been short with another? Whether we
cross the line into abuse, the water flows from the same poisonous fountain.
Once tasted it can never be untasted and will go on to hurt us for years to
come, even to the end of our days.
We have adopted several animals
over the years from animal shelters. All of them have written on their
personalities the treatment they endured from previous owners. Some adapt
quickly, while others, scarred with trauma followed by abandonment can take
years to feel comfortable again. Even then an unidentified trigger can bring it
all back to them. One of our cats, a male Siamese, suffers post traumatic
stress whenever he hears Velcro. We cannot even guess what experience scarred
him like that. When he first came to us, he was also extremely frightened of
feet. Fortunately, that fear has mostly subsided.
Moses, an experienced shepherd,
found himself leading the largest flock he had ever shepherded with the exodus
from Egypt. But these were more than simply innocent sheep who were ready and
willing to follow their shepherd to good pasture. This new flock had been
severely traumatized through the rigors and abuses of slavery. Doubtless, like
the inmates of places like Auschwitz, some were willing to betray everyone
around them if it meant their chances of survival could increase even by an
iota. These were people who had learned through generations to blame their
masters for everything bad that came into their lives. Therefore, they
naturally blamed Moses for everything that threatened them. They had completely
abandoned the idea of loving God with all their being and loving their
neighbors as they loved themselves. Like children learning to walk and talk,
they needed to have everything spelled out for them in detail. It was not
enough to have the two great commandments in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus
19:18. They needed the details of the Decalogue and the many rules about
personal hygiene, diet, health care, and sanitation that were all based on
those two great commandments.
Even today, we still struggle
with this. When we learn we are to love, we cavil about the meaning. We get all
tied up in the various Greek terms for love as though we are looking for loopholes we can exploit so we do not have to really commit
to the idea of becoming compassionate and humble in our relationships with
others. God is impressive with his patience with all of this. It shows how
important that is to him. But Moses, worn out by the constant struggle, failed
to model that patience at Meribah where he struck the rock to bring forth
water. Instead of modeling love and compassion for them, he chided them in a
manner that revealed a reluctance to care for their needs. But God had fed
them, cared for their clothing and shoes, and intervened for every emergency.
Therefore, Moses' model of God's character at Meribah fell short. Some
interpret God's response as a punishment for Moses, but as I grow old myself
and face the exhaustion and weariness of age, I feel maybe a
different dynamic was happening. God was recognizing that Moses had done
so much for so long that now he needed to come home to rest and heal. Those who
were stronger and younger, Caleb and Joshua, could now assume the burdens he
had been carrying for decades. The battles to come were for younger men to
pursue.
Three things confirm for me
that God was not interested in punishing Moses. First, he readily granted
Moses' wish to at least see the Promised Land from Pisgah. Second, Moses
willingly gave up his life in the arms of the Lord, trusting in his compassionate
grace for his future. Third. Moses was honored with being present upon the
Mount of Transfiguration to comfort and sustain Jesus over the trials to come
as he steadfastly strode toward the cross and his own proclamation of freedom
for those held in bondage. Wearing chains they could not see and the scars of
abuse they barely recognized as such anymore, humanity's inability to recognize
the hour of their visitation was something Moses understood well. He also
understood the tremendous price about to be paid by Jesus and how worthwhile it
would be. We have no record of the words of comfort he spoke to Jesus on that
mount, but they echoed whatever words of comfort God spoke to him on Pisgah.
God's loving character still speaks today, and when God speaks, wisdom rides on
the wind.