Why Was Moses Not Permitted
To Enter The Promised Land?
Moses was called by God to deliver His people from slavery in
Egypt.
Through him, God showed His ways, and gave His laws to His people. Through
divine inspiration and dictation, Moses faithfully wrote the first
five books of the Bible, namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy.
Jesus Himself said that Moses was a forerunner of His own work as
the Messiah.
John 3:14-15
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal
life.
In Hebrews 11, Moses was listed as a great example of faith.
Hebrews 11:23-29
The Faith of Moses
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden
three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful
child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command.
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused
to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than
to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath
of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling
of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by
dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.
In history, no one else except Moses was buried by God Himself.
And nobody knows his burial place even today.
Deuteronomy 34:5-6
5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab,
according to the word of the LORD.
6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of
Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this
day.
Even the archangel Michael had to contend with the devil about
who would have the body of Moses.
Jude 9
Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil,
when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring
against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
There was no other prophet in Israel like Moses whom the LORD
knew face to face.
Deuteronomy 34:10-12
10 But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet
like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
11 in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the
land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all
his land,
12 and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses
performed in the sight of all Israel.
In view of all the wonderful and marvelous things that Moses had
done for God, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. But why
not?
The reason was because Moses had sinned against the LORD at the
waters of Meribah Kadesh. That was in the Desert of Zin. Moses did
not obey GOD in the midst of the Israelites. He was allowed to only
look at the Promised Land from a far distance but could not enter
the land that God was giving to the people of Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:51-52
51 because you trespassed against Me among the children of
Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness
of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children
of Israel.
52 Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall
not go there, into the land which I am giving to the
children of Israel.”
Moses died on Mount Nebo. But before he died, he was given a
panoramic view of the Promised Land on that same mountain.
Deuteronomy 34:1-4
Moses Dies on Mount Nebo
1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo,
to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the
LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan,
2 all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of
Judah as far as the Western Sea,
3 the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of
palm trees, as far as Zoar.
4 Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I
swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will
give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it
with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
The more I read about the reasons that many Bible scholars and
teachers had written about why Moses was barred from entering the Promised
Land, the more I was not satisfied with those answers. I hereby
attempt to give my answer to the same question. I might be right or
I might be wrong. Please hear what the Spirit of God is speaking to
you personally.
I was at Mount Nebo in 2002. I asked the LORD why Moses was not
allowed to enter the Promised Land. As I prayed, I saw something
wonderful in the valley. Multitudes and multitudes of people!
Joel 3:14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
When Jesus was transfigured, Moses and Elijah were talking with
Him. What were they talking about? It is interesting to also note
that the Mount of Transfiguration was in Israel. Moses was there in
the Promised Land when he and Elijah met Jesus!
Matthew 17:1-4
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount
1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
led them up on a high mountain by themselves;
2 and He was transfigured before them. His face
shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking
with Him.
4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to
be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for
You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
If Moses were one of the two witnesses in Revelation, then he has
an awesome task ahead.
Revelation 11:3
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will
prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed
in sackcloth.”
Elijah will be witnessing on one side of the Jordon River to the
Jews, and Moses on the other side to the non-Jews.
If we look at the map of Mount Nebo, we will understand a little
bit more. Mount Nebo is a summit located in Jordan, approximately
700 metres (2,300 ft) above sea level. The elevated view from the
mountain provides an excellent view of Israel beyond the Jordan
River.
As I looked further, I noticed Midian. Midian was in the
northwest Arabian Peninsula, on the east shore of the Gulf of Aqaba
on the Red Sea. The Midian Mountains are in northwestern Saudi
Arabia, bordering Jordon.
After killing an Egyptian, Moses fled and spent 40 years in exile
in Midian (Exodus 2:11-15).
There in Midian, he married Zipporah, the daughter of the
Midianite priest, Jethro (Exodus 2:21). Jethro was also known as
Reuel.
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, helped Moses
in establishing a system where decisions were delegated to some
other appointed leaders (Exodus 18). In doing so, Moses would not be
worn or burnt out by the daily problems, issues and complaints
coming from the people to him continually throughout each day.
Moses asked Hobab, the son of Reuel, to accompany the Israelites
as they were travelling towards the Promised Land because of his
local knowledge about the terrains and the surrounding threats. But
Hobab preferred to return to his homeland in Midian.
Numbers 10:29-31
29 Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite,
Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of
which the LORD said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,
and we will treat you well; for the LORD has promised good things to
Israel.”
30 And he said to him, “I will not go, but I will depart to
my own land and to my relatives.”
31 So Moses said, “Please do not leave, inasmuch as you know how we
are to camp in the wilderness, and you can be our eyes.
Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, and was buried
by God in Mount Nebo on the other side or the Jordon River nearer to
Midian where Jethro, his father-in-law, was buried.
When walking in the streets of Petra in Jordon in September 2002,
I noticed a few streets were named after Moses. If Moses were
to be one of the two witnesses, I know that God has better reasons
of not allowing him to enter the Promised Land.
Jesus might have discussed very important things with him and
Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. And that might be the reason
why the archangel Michael and the devil were fighting over who should
have the body of Moses after he died.
There is an awesome task ahead for Moses. Multitudes and
multitudes in the valley of decision.
Revelation 15:2-4
2 And I saw something like a
sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have
the victory over the beast, over his image and over his
mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of
glass, having harps of God.
3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying:
“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!
4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”
Again, this is just my answer to the question.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Nebo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midian
Written on 11 October 2023