The entire book of Deuteronomy consists of a series of farewell messages by Moses, addressed to those who survived forty years of wilderness wandering and were destined to possess the land of promise. He reminds the new generation of the importance of obedience.
“You know your fathers’ history. They were a people called, chosen and anointed by God but they lost the vision. The Lord loved them so much that he bore them up in his arms and carried them, time after time. Yet over and over they murmured against him, grieving him.”
Moses goes on, “Finally, God’s patience came to an end. He saw that they were committed to unbelief and there was nothing he could do to change their minds. Their hearts were like granite, so God told them, ‘Not one of you is going to enter my Promised Land. Instead, you are going to turn around now and go back into the wilderness.’”
What powerful words. Yet, Moses was not speaking just to a new generation of Israelites but to every generation of believers that followed, including us today. Like other Old Testament accounts, this one was written “for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).
Moses was showing us the danger of unbelief. He warned that unless we take heed, we will suffer the same consequences as fell upon those before us: “Lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).
Many believers today have let Satan convince them that they are not good enough, that God is still mad at them for past sins but, as with Israel, your choices will determine the course of your remaining years.
You have a promise awaiting you, just as there was for Israel: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). The Lord saved you to bring you into a place of rest, a place of unshakeable faith and confidence in the Lord. Trust him for it!