Living in the Spirit

October 23, 2023

Scripture Reading:

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 and 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 for 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 unequalled 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.

All kinds of events/ideas flashed through my mind as I read this scripture. Was getting the Israelites to their homeland Moses’ final goal, with the idea that once he attained it, he could rest? Currently, we are dealing with two nations trying to regain or hold onto land they identify as theirs. Russia wants Ukraine back, and Israel wants to keep what it worked hard to reclaim in 1948, the same land where Moses delivered the Israelites after rescuing them from Egyptian slavery. Some indigenous people in the USA recognize that the earth belongs to the Great Spirit, who has provided it for all people to share and to care for wisely, as the land provides the necessities of life for all God’s people.

Our world seems to be at a turning point.  We can either move forward toward building the Kingdom of God, or we can give up and give in to letting the world define us. We can build and live in God’s Beloved Community on God’s created land in peace, harmony, and justice, or we can destroy the land and the people on it.

Prayer: Lord, show us how to live in harmony with one another as we share in the bounty of the land you created for our use.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.