Deuteronomy 34: 8 "So the sons of Israel
wept for Moses on the plains of Moab 30
days; then the days of weeping and mourning
for Moses came to an end."
Moses is probably the most dominant
character in the Old Testament (OT). He
recorded the first five books of the OT, the
Pentateuch, often referred to as the Torah
or the Law! He is cited throughout other OT
books as well as many New Testament books.
God used Moses in a unique and powerful way
(vv. 10-12), and yet his days came to an
end. Israel would weep for him for 30 days,
but the weeping and mourning over him ended
and life and Israel moved on! Joshua
stepped up and led Israel where Moses could
not--to the Promised Land!
No matter how successful someone might be in
ministry, no matter what they have built, or
how large their influence may have been,
their time will come to an end. There will
be a "short" season of mourning and then the
people will move on! If we think that we
will be remembered and appreciated long
after we are gone, we are delusional. The
work that God has called us into requires us
to give ourselves away without reservation
until our time is up without any expectation
of great earthly reward and or
appreciation. We do our work as unto the
Lord, serve Him until we are no longer able
to be fully active, thank Him throughout for
His strength to serve, and cheer on our
successor. If we think we will be remembered
long after we are gone, we are not thinking
clearly. People need to move on with their
lives also, and they do not need to dwell on
the past, re-live the past, or glorify the
past. Hopefully, they take what was given
to them through our ministries and make it
their own, then pass it on to the next
generation.
The immediate legacy of the ministry of
Moses was revealed in how well Joshua led
Israel for the next 40 years! The greatest
tribute to our ministry will be reflected in
the obedience to Christ of the next
generation.
In Christ,
Tommy Middleton
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