"PROMISED LAND!"

Deuteronomy 31:1-8          (1599 Geneva Bible)
"1 Then Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel,
2 And said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day: I can no more go out and in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
3 The Lord thy God he will go over before thee: he will destroy these nations before thee, and thou shalt possess them. Joshua, he shall go before thee, as the Lord hath said.
4 And the Lord shall do unto them, as he did to Sihon and to Og kings of the Amorites, and unto their land whom he destroyed.
5 And the Lord shall give them before you, that ye may do unto them according unto every commandment which I have commanded you.
6 Pluck up your hearts therefore, and be strong: dread not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God himself doth go with thee: he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
7 And Moses called Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be of a good courage and strong: for thou shalt go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers, to give them, and thou shalt give it them to inherit.
8 And the Lord himself doth go before thee: he will be with thee: he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not therefore, nor be discomforted."


Do you ever wake up feeling "BLAH", maybe a little apprehensive, and there is no excitement or zeal to face the day ahead of you?  If you will, place yourself in the shoes of Moses leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

Moses had already found out that he "shalt not go over this Jordan."  Because of his disobedience to GOD, Moses knew his time on earth was near.   His journey was near the end, but his task was not completed.  Moses knew that the people had confidence in his leadership, and he wanted them to have a similar confidence in Joshua.

The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for over 40 years.  Scholars say the journey should have taken three to four days!   Why would the Israelites continue following a man who was leading them into every seemingly bad scenario imaginable?  If they were GOD's chosen people, why would HE cause them to suffer through the trials and battles they went through?  GOD could have decreed that the Promised Land be thier's, and it would have been done.

Joshua 5:6 lets us know this, "For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people of the men of war that came out of Egypt, were consumed, because THEY OBEYED NOT THE VOICE OF THE LORD: unto whom the Lord sware that he would not show them the land, which the Lord had sworn unto their fathers, that he would give us, even a land that floweth with milk and honey."

Moses knew he would not get to enter into the PROMISED LAND.  But he also knew that GOD had blessings untold waiting for those who obeyed HIM!   It is my desire to follow GOD'S PLAN for my life, even if it leads to the wilderness, in order to reach HIS "PROMISED LAND" for me!