Month: December 2023

49.r. Wilderness – 13.x. “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart”

 

Deu 4:32-40  “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Moses asked Israel to carefully consider the days that are past, and if God had ever dealt with any other nation the way He had dealt with Israel. Israel needed to know they had a special place in the plan of God. Israel could know that the LORD was God, because of all the amazing things God did in the life of their nation. In the same way, when we consider how God has touched our lives – how we have experienced the power to free us from sin, to give us hope when we are discouraged, to heal our bodies, to free our bitter hearts, to answer our prayers, to overcome the most difficult obstacles – when we consider these things, we can know that the LORD Himself is God. Israel heard God’s audible voice from heaven; they saw His holy fire and benefited from His divine choice. They could know this from all God had done for them.  In light of who God is, and all He did for Israel, obedience to His commands made perfect sense. It was simply what should be done. We are fools to disobey such a God of love and power. (Guzik)

Note this is from the Old Testament while Israel was in the wilderness being encouraged by Moses before going into the Promised Land. The reasoning is pure, right, and true. Fast forward to today. We live with the knowledge of so much more knowledge of God and what He has done over the course of time up to and through the death of the writers of the New Testament. We know of God’s power and love. We have been given precious promises. He sent His one and only Son to redeem us, forgive our sins, and give us eternal life, and we have been given the Holy Spirit to indwell in us to teach, convict, encourage, lead, and guide our thoughts, words, and actions so that we would honor and glorify Jesus Christ. 

What punishment awaits those who deny, reject, neglect, and turn their backs on such a great gift of salvation?  Romans rings true; “Man is without excuse”. 

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

It is hard to have love in our hearts when we feed it with worldly views, opinions, and ideals. There is so much in social media and news outlets that is written, not to give news and understanding about an issue, but rather to twist, turn, knead, and form it into a means to sway weak-minded sheep to hate and fear. If you spend any time on social media or reading/watching news outlets and you read it with – what intent are they proclaiming – you can understand it clearly. The sheep of this world – Left or Right leaning – will spew these same thoughts as though they were their own. They do not see the lack of love or the division or the hatred or the anger or the fear it causes.

This devotion has a great message about Love.

God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

–John 3:16

“Love . . . bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 7-8). You probably have heard those words recited at a wedding ceremony. Many people–even some non-Christians–have signs and plaques in their homes with quotations from this famous chapter of the Bible.

But sometimes we become so immersed in the literary style and beauty of 1 Corinthians 13 that we ignore the substance of this passage. Paul did not get up one day and say, “You know what? It is a beautiful spring day. I think I will sit under a tree and write an ode to love.” No, Paul was not trying to create beautiful poetry here. He was addressing a problem in the church at Corinth. They were being torn apart, so in this chapter, he provided real answers to the Corinthians’ problems–and to all our problems today.

Remember, the church at Corinth was a growing church in an influential city. Yet in the church at Corinth there was no love. Love is not a spiritual gift; it is a command. And the reason God commands us as Christians to make love preeminent in our lives and in the church is that we are the visible representation of Jesus Christ on earth. In John 13:35, Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples.” By what? Not by your orthodoxy, your doctrinal purity, or your knowledge of Scripture, Jesus said, but “if you have love for one another.” Love is the way we keep the body of Christ functioning as a good representation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Greek language, there were three primary words that are translated as “love.” The word “eros” refers to sexual love. The word “phileo” refers to the warm emotion you have for another person in your family. Then there is the word “agape.” It is a self-sacrificing love, a love that is more interested in what it can give than what it can receive. Sometimes when I am counseling a young couple that is about to get married, the young man will say, “I just cannot wait to get married. I love her so much!” That may be true, but a lot of times people confuse love and lust. I have heard the difference described this way: “Lust can never wait to get, but love can never wait to give.”

This sacrificial, agape love is the kind of love God demonstrated for us. As John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” God gave up His only Son for us. That is the kind of love Paul was describing in 1 Corinthians 13. He said self-sacrificing love is the answer to the conflicts in our lives and in the church.

Turning Point – Devotion

 

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
2 Corinthians 10:3, NIV

The Bible declares some things that might not be immediately obvious—like mankind being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Other things it assumes—like the fact that we are in a war. It is obvious that we do not currently live in a world where peace is the norm.  When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he did not reveal that they were in a war; he assumed they knew that. Instead, he told them how to go about waging war. The specific war Paul was in was with false apostles who were masquerading as “ministers of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:15). Though they were in the world and Paul was in the world, he did not battle them with worldly weapons (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Rather, he battled with spiritual weapons, the fullest description of which is in Ephesians 6:10-18: truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. These are not the weapons of the world but of the Kingdom of God.

You are in a spiritual war in this world. Arm yourself with the armor and weapons that will ensure your victory.

Lies and false reports are among Satan’s choicest weapons.

49.q. Wilderness – 13.w. “Take care, lest you forget”

 

Deu 4:23  Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.  For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

Moses urged the greatness, glory, and goodness of God. Did we consider what a God he is with whom we have to do, we should surely make conscience of our duty to him, and not dare to sin against him. Shall we forsake a merciful God, who will never forsake us, if we are faithful unto him? Whither can we go? Let us be held to our duty by the bonds of love, and prevailed with by the mercies of God to cleave to him. Moses urged God’s authority over them, and their obligations to him. In keeping God’s commandments they would act wisely for themselves. The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. Those who enjoy the benefit of Divine light and laws, ought to support their character for wisdom and honour, that God may be glorified thereby. Those who call upon God, shall certainly find him within call, ready to give an answer of peace to every prayer of faith. All these statutes and judgments of the Divine law are just and righteous, above the statutes and judgments of any of the nations. What they saw at mount Sinai, gave an earnest of the day of judgment, in which the Lord Jesus shall be revealed in flaming fire. They must also remember what they heard at mount Sinai. God manifests himself in the works of the creation, without speech or language, yet their voice is heard, Ps 19:1,3; but to Israel he made himself known by speech and language, condescending to their weakness. The rise of this nation was quite different from the origin of all other nations. See the reasons of free grace; we are not beloved for our own sakes, but for Christ’s sake. Moses urged the certain benefit and advantage of obedience. This argument he had begun with, ver. 1, That ye may live, and go in and possess the land; and this he concludes with, ver. 40, That it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee. He reminds them that their prosperity would depend upon their piety. Apostacy from God would undoubtedly be the ruin of their nation. He foresees their revolt from God to idols. Those, and those only, shall find God to their comfort, who seek him with all their heart. Afflictions engage and quicken us to seek God; and, by the grace of God working with them, many are thus brought back to their right mind. When these things are come upon thee, turn to the Lord thy God, for thou seest what comes of turning from him. Let all the arguments be laid together, and then say, if religion has not reason on its side. None cast off the government of their God, but those who first abandon the understanding of a man.

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

–1 Corinthians 10:21-22

Paul told the Corinthians to flee from idolatry. He said you cannot mix the worship of Christ and the worship of idols, and he illustrated that by pointing to the Lord’s Supper. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:16-17: “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.” When we worship together at the Lord’s table, we are not worshiping just any god; we are worshiping a specific God–the one true God who manifested Himself in Jesus Christ. In the same way, participating in the practices of idolatry is the same as worshiping that idol.

But the Corinthians wondered, “If those idols are not real, what difference does it make?” Paul answered that question by confirming the truth about idols. He said in verses 19-20, “What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No.” Is there anything real about an idol? Of course not. Psalm 115:5-8 explains how impotent idols really are: “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; they cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them.”

But then Paul told the truth about demons. He said in 1 Corinthians 10:20, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.” Behind every idol, every false religion, is a demonic power. We see this in Psalm 106:35-37: “[The Israelites] mingled with the nations and learned their practices, and served their idols. . . . They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons.” When the Israelites and the Canaanites sacrificed their children, did they think they were sacrificing to demons? Of course not. But behind those false deities were demons.

In our inclusive culture, we get this idea that followers of other religions are just sincere seekers of the truth. They are trying to find God in their way. No–every false religion is demonically inspired to lead people away from God. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:21-22: “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?” You cannot mix the worship of Christ and the worship of idols. You cannot mix truth and error.

49.p. Wilderness – 13.v. “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully”

 

Deu 4:15  “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly.

Deu 4:19-20  And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.

Exodus 19:5-6     Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;  and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ 

 Psalms 28:9     Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

 Psalms 33:12     Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

 Ephesians 1:18     having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

 Titus 2:14     who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

As the people had seen no form or figure when God spake to them, so they were to beware for their very lives (cf. ver. 9) of acting corruptly by making any kind of image, whether of man or of beast, for the purpose of worshipping God as represented by it; they were also to beware of being so attracted by the splendor of the heavenly bodies as to be forcibly seduced to worship them and offer them religious service. They were not in this respect to imitate the heathen; for God, who had delivered them out of the furnace of Egyptian bondage, had taken them for himself to be his special possession; and therefore they were to take heed not to forget the covenant of Jehovah their God, nor to offend him by making any image or representation of him as the object of worship. Among the heathen, and especially in Egypt, images were the very pillar and support of religion; but in Israel, as God had revealed himself to them without form, it was as a spirit he was to be worshipped, and not under any outward representation. (Unknnow)

God did not deliver us from the bondage of sin so that we could do our own “Thing”, but so we would do that which honors and glorifies Him. There is so much more to learn of the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin. Every single day our sinful nature must be recognized in the light of His Word. When recognized, it must be turned away from. Every day we have the opportunity to grow in our understanding of God’s Holiness and the sinfulness of sin. This knowledge and understanding do not come to us naturally but by and through His Word and with a heart, mind, and soul desiring to know and understand so that we might not sin against Him but rather honor and glorify Him. 

Every day we have the opportunity to grow in our understanding and knowledge of God and things of God if our heart’s desire for it does not become dimmed by worldly distractions. 

Enduring Word – Devotional

 

With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3)

Ephesians 4 begins a whole new part of Paul’s letter. The first three chapters explain in glorious detail all that God has done for believers, freely by His grace. Starting with chapter 4, he tells believers how to live rightly, but only after having explained what God did for His people in Jesus Christ.

Having considered and received all that God has done for us, we are to live with all lowliness and gentleness, not a pushy desire to defend our own rights and advance our own agenda. Before Christianity, the word lowliness always had a bad association to it. In the minds of many it still does; but it is a glorious Christian virtue (Philippians 2:1-10). It means that we can be happy and content when we are not in control or steering things our way.

Having considered and received all that God has done for us, we are to have longsuffering and to bear with each other. We need this so that the inevitable wrongs that occur between people in God’s family will not work against God’s purpose of bringing all things together in Jesus – illustrated through His current work in the church.

Having considered and received all that God has done for us, we should endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This humble, patient attitude towards each other naturally fulfills this gift of the unity of the Spirit.

Note that we must endeavor to keep this unity – we do not create it. God never commands believers to create unity among themselves. God has created it by His Spirit; our duty is to recognize it and keep it.

This is a spiritual unity, not necessarily a structural or denominational unity. It is evident in the quick fellowship possible among Christians of different races, nationalities, languages, and economic classes.

We can understand this unity of the Spirit by understanding what it is not. This isn’t the unity of lies, of evil, of superstition, or the unity that cowers under spiritual tyranny. This isn’t the unity of geography, as if all the Christians in a city had to be weekly gathered in the same building to fulfill this. It isn’t the unity of church government or denominational arrangements.

This is the unity of the Spirit and false forms of unity work against the true. We are confident that this unity is found in Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of God. As true, born-again believers from different backgrounds and experiences draw closer and closer to Jesus, they will also draw closer to one other. Jesus Christ is the source of our unity; He is one who broke down every wall (Ephesians 2:14).

Jesus purchased this powerful unity at great cost: with His own blood. Believer, what are you doing to keep this unity?

49.o. Wilderness – 13.u. “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things”

 

Deu 4:9  “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

 Proverbs 3:1    My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

 Proverbs 3:3   Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

 Proverbs 7:1   My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;

 Proverbs 4:20-23  My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.  Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.  For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.  Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

 Hebrews 2:3    how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,

 Psalms 119:11    I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Their only danger was, lest they should grow careless and unmindful of all the wonderful things that God had done for them and thereby not teach them to their children.  The possession of the oracles of God by Israel was a benefit to them only as these were kept in mind and reverently obeyed. Therefore they were to take heed and diligently beware of forgetting the circumstances under which the Law had been received at Horeb. God had then commanded the people to be gathered together, so that they stood before the Lord, were in his manifested presence, and were made to hear his voice speaking to them from amidst the fire and the clouds that covered the mount. They had thus actual evidence and guarantee that the Law they had received was Divine; and this they were to keep in mind as long as they lived, and to communicate to their children in all coming time, that so they might fear the Lord; for on this rested that covenant which God had made with Israel, and which they were to keep as the condition of their continuing to enjoy privilege and life. (Unkown)

When we are passive towards God’s Word and the things of God we will become complacent and neglectful. The quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading will be drowned out by the busyness of whatever we have turned to or allowed to consume our desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ. The Bible was inspired and authored by and through the Holy Spirit. His Word was given to us so that we might know God and His plans, purposes, and promises. How many days go by when we are just going through the motions of being a faithful servant? How many times do we leave our house and give no thought to how we might continually honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions? How many trials and problems do we seek to rely on self-reliance rather than reliance on God our heavenly Father? 

God is ever-present and worthy of all praise, honor, glory, and worship. Becoming careless and unmindful of God’s purpose for each of us is to believe, trust, follow, obey, and rely upon Him, and grow in our understanding of His great power, might, grace, mercy, and love, and be in a continual desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions, we drift away, think unholy things, speak worldly thoughts, and seek the pleasure of fleshly and worldly desires. 

How is it possible to know what honors and glorifies Jesus Christ if the Word of God is neglected?

How is it possible to grow in our understanding of God’s grace, mercy, and love if there is no desire to do so?

How is it possible to determine what is holy and what is worldly when all that fills your mind is what comes from that which is worldly?

How is it possible to be a light shining in the darkness when the light of God’s Word is dim in your life?

How is it possible to know God’s will when there is no desire to know it?

How many years have we been walking in the wilderness because we allow worldly values and culture to consume us and we walk on paths away from God?

When there is no heart, mind, and soul desire to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions – all of the time – then there will be no fueled desire to read His Word and know God.

See what David said; Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting 

49.n. Wilderness – 13.t. “But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today”

 

Deu 4:1-8  “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you. Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

Moses had reminded Israel of their many rebellions against God in the wilderness. Now, as they were ready to enter into the Promised Land, he wanted them to think about their need for present obedience in light of their past rebellions. You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it: This is an important principle regarding God’s Word. We are not to add to it (in the sense of making the traditions and opinions of men equal to the law of God), nor are we to take away from it (by bad teaching or explaining away passages).  (Guzik)

Application of God’s Word is more than passively hearing it or reading it. There has to be application and manifestation in a persons life. How we think, speak, and act will display the depth of God’s Word in our lives. Being passively hearing and reading God’s Word does nothing for the soul and heart of a person. It is like knowing about a person but never personally knowing them.  You can talk about them, but never have known them in a personal way. 

Moses is reminding them that they have seen the mighty power of God leading them, instructing them, providing for them, judging them, and even in His punishment of those rebellious. Now as they are heading into the promised land he tells them to live in harmony with what they have been taught and in doing so they will display wisdom, knowledge, and understanding as a witness to the world. 

Belief, trust, reliance, reverence, understanding, knowledge, remembrance, application, and obedience, to God, God’s Word, and things of God are essential. Passively reading and applying God’s Word in your life will yield nothing more than a drop of water will in a dessert. 

Seek and desire understanding, knowledge, wisdom, and application of God’s Word in “Your Life”. Without a desire to grow in this understanding, knowledge, and application will fall short of honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

49.m. Wilderness – 13.s. “I pleaded with the LORD at that time”

 

Deu 3:23-29  “And I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying, ‘O Lord GOD, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ But the LORD was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

 Moses knew God was rich in mercy and forgiveness. He knew there was no harm in asking God to relent from His previous judgment that Moses would not see the Promised Land. We can appreciate what a painful thing this was for Moses. He lived the first 40 years of his life confident in his own ability to deliver Israel. He spent the next 40 years of his life having that confidence demolished as he tended his father-in-law’s sheep. He spent the last 40 years of his life being used of God to do what he was called to do. Now, he was not allowed to see the end result. No wonder Moses pleaded with the LORD.

 God did not want to hear Moses’ appeal on this matter. Because of his sin at Meribah (Numbers 20), where he misrepresented God as being angry with Israel when He was not, Moses could not enter the Promised Land. This may seem an excessively harsh punishment for Moses. It seemed that after only one slip-up, he then had to die short of the Promised Land. But Moses was being judged by a stricter standard because of his leadership position with the nation, and because he had a uniquely close relationship with God. It is right for teachers and leaders to be judged by a stricter standard (James 3:1); though it is unrighteous to hold teachers and leaders to a perfect standard. It is true the people’s conduct was worse than Moses’, but it is irrelevant. (Guzik)

Moses prayed, that, if it were God’s will, he might go before Israel, over Jordan into Canaan. We should never allow any desires in our hearts, which we cannot in faith offer up to God by prayer. God’s answer to this prayer had a mixture of mercy and judgment. God sees it good to deny many things we desire. He may accept our prayers, yet not grant us the very things we pray for. It God does not by his providence give us what we desire, yet if by his grace he makes us content without, it comes to much the same. Let it suffice thee to have God for thy Father, and heaven for thy portion, though thou hast not every thing thou wouldst have in the world. God promised Moses a sight of Canaan from the top of Pisgah. Though he should not have the possession of it, he should have the prospect of it. Even great believers, in this present state, see heaven but at a distance. God provided him a successor. It is a comfort to the friends of the church of Christ, to see God’s work likely to be carried on by others, when they are silent in the dust. And if we have the earnest and prospect of heaven, let these suffice us; let us submit to the Lord’s will, and speak no more to Him of matters which he sees good to refuse us. (Henry)