Deuteronomy 32
48 And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of MeribahKadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
Let us consider this text carefully to see what God says to us and what He is like.
The Bible says there was no one like Moses who was meek, faithful in the Lord’s work and he spoke to God as a friend to a friend, face to face.
But here we see that God judged Moses severely at the end of his life and refused him entry into the promised land. Moses missed out on certain blessings – his reward was diminished. Why? We find the answer from God in verse 51, “because you trespassed against Me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, and did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel”.
When the rebellious Israelites murmured because of a lack of water, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces and asked direction from God. God answered Moses and commanded him to speak to a certain rock. Moses went to the rock, but struck it twice with his staff instead, and water gushed out. The people were happy but God was unhappy. God had not instructed Moses to hit the rock but to speak to the rock. There was an earlier instance when God had commanded Moses to smite the rock, but not this time. Moses did not hallow God in the sight of the Israelites, and God judged him.
This forces us to admit the way God sees sin and His judgment upon sin.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “hallowed be Your Name”.
In your work for the Lord, are you serving Him in exactly the way He instructed you to serve Him? God punishes sin and the unrepentant sinner.
Think of king Saul. He started so well, was loved of the Lord but he ended so badly. He got used to things; he got used to God’s voice, and pride entered into his heart. Pride is the source of all other sins.
When God commanded him to completely destroy the Amalekites, he disregarded God’s clear command and followed his own logic. He saved the king alive and the best of the livestock, and continued in his pride even when the prophet Samuel confronted him directly.
Eventually God left Saul and he was irresistibly drawn to the very sins he had forsaken.
Christians who live in disobedience to God and are not fulfilling God’s will for their life is a trouble in a congregation.
Many people are guilty of the sin of neglect. They take things in a light-hearted way and go softly on their personal sin.
Think back on the time when you’ve just met the Lord, how diligent you were to keep your life clean from sin and to obey Him. However, maybe with time you have become guilty of the sin of neglect and today you’re far from God and you’re not doing His will anymore. Beware lest you are barred from heaven one day as one who has called Him Lord, but hasn’t done His will.
Keep God’s Word diligently in your life. Do not remain in disobedience, lest you are rejected one day.
Some say that the Blood of Jesus worked in their lives in the past and so the wicked ways they live in today doesn’t matter. God hands such people over to their own lusts. Such people are deceived and will not enter heaven.
Make right your life with God. Return to the Lord Jesus and leave your wicked ways. He died so that the works of the devil might be destroyed in your life. Obey Him and destroy sin in your life, lest it become your master forever. Whoever sins is a servant of sin.
Remain close to the Lord at all times and do His work through His Spirit that your reward be not diminished.