Daily D – Deuteronomy 3:23-28
Deuteronomy 3:23-28
“At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’
“But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more. But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River. Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’” (NLT)
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What if the biggest remaining assignment of your life is not about you? What if it is about your successor? What if you will be remembered most for how you empowered your successor? What if your greatest success is not realized until long after you are gone?
Just before Moses’ memories recorded in these verses are verses 21 and 22. We see how he had begun doing what God told him to do as his last responsibility before climbing a mountain and lying down to rest in peace.
God gave Moses three instructions to prepare Joshua for his responsibility as Israel’s leader. He told Moses to commission him. Everyone was to know while Moses was still alive how God had chosen Joshua as Moses’ successor.
This was both a high honor for Joshua and an impossible assignment. Who could fill the sandals of the most humble man who ever lived (Numbers 12:3)? Who could fill the sandals of the man who met with God face to face (Exodus 33:11)?
Numbers 27:15—23 tells about the commissioning of Joshua. Deuteronomy 31 contains three separate verses where Moses says to Joshua, “be strong and courageous!” (See verses 6, 7, and 23.)
Joshua 1:1-9 picks up where Deuteronomy ends. Verses 6, 7, and 9 each say, “be strong and courageous.”
Moses fulfilled his final assignment. Joshua led where Moses could not go. Joshua fought where Moses could not fight. Joshua finished the journey Moses began.
An article caught my eye. It said the day of building personal platforms with books and social media is over. If true, it is fitting. Life is not a drama competing with other dramas for awards given by dramatic people. Life is not about my story. Life is about our parts in God’s story which means all of his goodness to us is to be used to build a good world for others.
Today is a good day to pour into others all the goodness God has poured into us. Today is a good day to prepare our successors for God-honoring success that builds a better world. Today is a good day to prepare for the day when we recede into the shadows so that others may take their turn in the spotlight.
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I will prepare for another’s success.
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Our Father, thank you for those who prepared the way before me. Empower me to do the same for others. Amen.
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