The reading of the Scriptures just took me into Deuteronomy. As the book begins, Moses is just about ready to pass the torch of leadership off to Joshua. The children of Israel – this massive group of people numbering in the 100’s of 1000’s is once again standing at the entry of the Promised Land 38 years after they originally supposed to enter. They had become pretty good at camping and following the signs. When the cloud moved – they moved. When the cloud stopped – they stopped. They also had learned to do it very orderly by God’s instructions.
The out of pocket for the adventure was minimal because the Investor was providing for everything they needed. Food and water, housing and clothing were all taken care of. In fact their wealth portfolio had been growing substantially. Their livestock and families were numerous. They had spacious amounts of land awaiting them. When a group opposed them, they were defeated and the children of Israel captured the spoils. They had it pretty good – in fact great from their Investor’s perspective.
In Deuteronomy, Moses gave his last speech to the people. He deserves the time to be heard; in fact he has earned it. For 40+ years of his life he has had a task – a task he initially tried to avoid, but being “the most humble man on the earth”, a task he embraced because of his love for his Leader. Countless times Moses stood in the gap for the people in front of God’s wrath and pleaded for their lives.
He trusted God in every situation he faced and gave up on any life he had a part from God to accept the challenge he had been presented. His family stepped up – his sister Miriam, his brother Aaron, his wife and kids, and even his father-in-law; they all helped him in his growth of becoming a leader. The one time he did not trust God (“tell the rock to express the water” vs. “strike the rock to express the water”) cost him his entry into the Promised Land. Yet despite that disappointment, he remained faithful to what God called him to do for Him.
So Deuteronomy begins and Moses lays it out for the people. He prophesies what the future will look like. They will follow and they will fall away. They will repent and they will follow again. This cycle would be repeated for hundreds of years. He reminded the people of what is most important – Love God – and be enveloped by His love. Teach it to your children, live it, celebrate it through the years, remember His goodness to you.
Until the day God called him home, Moses shared that message. A message that pointed all the way to Jesus’ coming one day.
You and I are also called to deliver a message as well. It is a message of a loving Savior – a message of forgiveness – of life changing grace and mercy – a message that he is coming again.
We get to share that message in a number of ways. One is to help build a school environment where Christ permeates all we do. The things we discuss together are all focused on that one thing – helping move this people towards the Promised Land – an eternity with Jesus.
May our discussions be rich as we celebrate our past and look to the future of what God has in share for His people in this place at this time. May our focus always be to create an environment where students are helped to internalize the Gospel message of salvation in Christ Jesus.
