And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And Jehovah shewed him the whole land, Gilead to Dan,
Moses climbs away from the camp for the last time. Before he dies, he looks at a country he will never walk in. Two questions follow. Why did God keep Israel's leader out of the land? And why did He take such care to show him what He was refusing him?
Moses did not pick his own lookout. God arranged the mountain, the climb and the sight itself.
The Lord Himself gave Moses the sight of the distant land, from the mountain the Lord Himself had led him to. Moses did not choose where to stand, and he did not direct his own eye. The Lord did it... Suppose Moses had stood on lower ground than Pisgah, where God had guided him. He would not have seen all the land. If God had not directed his eye Himself, he would not have told Gilead from Judah, or the city of palm trees from Zoar.
The name of the place fits what happened there. What Moses saw went past normal eyesight.
He went up to the top of Pisgah, which means "survey." There God showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan (v.1), at the far north of the land. God showed him all Naphtali, Ephraim and Manasseh, and Judah as far as the Western Sea (the Mediterranean)... All of this wide view would not normally be visible from that point, but God made it visible to Moses on this one occasion.
The work Moses was given had a limit built into it.
Looking at this loved and honoured man in his official role, it is very plain that it was not his part to lead the people of Israel into the promised land. The wilderness was his sphere of action... His ministry was tied to man's responsibility under law and to the government of God, so it could never lead the people into the enjoyment of the promise. That was left for his successor. Joshua, a picture of the risen Saviour, was God's chosen instrument to lead His people across the Jordan and plant them in the inheritance God gave them.
God upheld the law without loving Moses any less.
God could not pass over the fault of Moses without weakening the authority of law. There was righteousness in the ways of God, but this did not hinder in the smallest degree the perfectness of His love to Moses... Suppose Moses had entered the land — which the ways of God did not allow. What grief for him to see the unfaithfulness of God's people, their contempt for His law, their half-finished conquest of the enemy... Can that compare with the blessing of looking down on the land beside the LORD? He did not see it in the hands of man, half rescued from the Canaanites. Instead, God Himself was already calling it the land of this tribe and of that.
One writer sees a picture in the scene itself.
The earth had now stopped claiming Moses. Israel knew him no more. The wilderness was all behind him, and the Lord alone is his company on the hill that overlooked the land of promise. What an expression this whole scene is of the place of the church, of heavenly glory! On high with the Lord, Moses looks down on the earthly inheritance: the place of the tribes of Israel, Gilead and Dan, Naphtali, Ephraim and Manasseh, with all the land of Judah to the sea.
What cost Moses the land was small. That is why it is worth weighing.
Let us remember that it was a little thing, an unadvised word that occasioned to Moses the loss of Canaan. And let us remember too that the New Testament presses the governing of the tongue on us more than almost anything else. "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matt. 12:37.) Seeking to exalt ourselves is rebellion against God.
Centuries later Moses stands inside the land after all — and his attention is elsewhere.
His government could not allow Moses to enter the land, but His grace let him see it all — a sight entering the land would never have given him, and one no Israelite who entered would see. More than this, the New Testament shows Moses in the land (Matt. 17:1-3). His interest is not fixed on the land at all. It is fixed on the Lord Jesus, transfigured before his eyes.
- Cause. One hasty word at the waters of strife closed the Jordan to Moses. God's government spares no one, not even His most honoured servant.
- Gift. The God who refused him the land led him up the mountain and showed it to him. Grace ran alongside government; it did not cancel it.
- Reach. From Pisgah, whose name means "survey," Moses saw more than any eye could take in on its own, and more than any Israelite who crossed over would see.
- Result. He saw the land as God gives it, not as men would half-conquer it — a better sight than his feet could have found.
- End. Nebo was not the last word. The man kept out of Canaan stands in the land at last, on the mountain with the transfigured Christ.
and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the hindmost sea,
Moses stands on Pisgah, and God walks him across the map tribe by tribe — Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, Judah, out to the sea. None of it was conquered yet, so why show all of it to the one man God had barred from entering?
The sweep is wider than any eye could take in from one spot.
He went up to the top of Pisgah, which means "survey." There God showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan (v.1), at the far north of the land. He showed him all Naphtali, Ephraim and Manasseh and Judah, as far as the Western Sea (the Mediterranean). These were the possessions God had purposed for these tribes. Normally this whole view would not be visible from that point, but God made it visible to Moses on this one occasion.
Canaanites still held these territories, yet God named them tribe by tribe.
God's own hand leads Moses to the top of Pisgah. From there he sees the land of promise in all its magnificence — not just as Israel later held it, but as God had given it from the start.
Had he gone in, the view would have been a poorer one.
God's ways made it impossible for Moses to enter the land. Had he entered, what grief it would have been to see the unfaithfulness of the people! He would have watched them make light of the law, leave the conquest of the enemy unfinished, and turn back to wickedness and idolatry even in that land. Can that compare with the blessedness of looking down on the land from beside the Lord? He did not see it in the hands of man, only half rescued from the Canaanites. Instead God Himself was already calling it the land of this tribe and of that, and so giving His servant's heart a view of the time when no Canaanite would be in the land.
One rash speech kept Moses out of the land. Two dealings of God stand side by side here, and neither cancels the other.
It was grace that brought Moses to the top of Pisgah and showed him the land of Canaan from there. … It was better to see the land of Canaan in company with God than to enter it in company with Israel. And yet we must not forget that this rash speech kept Moses out of the land. God, in government, kept Moses out of Canaan. God, in grace, brought Moses up to Pisgah.
How Moses looked at the land becomes a lesson in how to read the Bible.
Moses looked from Pisgah on the distant land. He would not have looked at it rightly unless he saw it as the inheritance of Israel, though at that time the Gentiles held it. As it stood then, it was the Amorite's land. In the counsels of God it was Immanuel's land. That is how Moses surveyed it, and that is how we should survey Scripture.
One writer turns the same view on the reader.
God did not let Moses go in. He does take him, however, to the top of Mount Pisgah, and there his eye can range over the whole territory. … All the inheritance of God's people is a future inheritance. But where do we find that inheritance described? Where do we see it spread out in all its beauty, fertility and perfection? In the precious Word of God. And so these Scriptures are our present inheritance. We can enter them now by faith and already enjoy the reality they unfold to us.
Another writer warns that admiring from a distance can take the place of entering.
There is often a great deal of looking from far off, a great deal of mere admiration — and it is not untrue admiration. The view from Pisgah captivates the heart. People see the land that the Lord our God cares for, the land His eyes rest on continually, but they do not enter it or live in it.
- Cause — One rash word shut Moses out of Canaan. God's government took its course even with His own servant.
- Gift — The same God walked him to the summit and showed him the land. Grace gave what government refused.
- Reach — Gilead, Dan, Naphtali, Ephraim, Manasseh, Judah, the sea. It was more than one eye could hold, and God made it visible for this one occasion.
- Title — God names the tribes before Israel wins a single field. Moses saw the land as God gave it, not as Israel would later hold it.
- Result — Faith reads Scripture from Pisgah and sees the inheritance as God describes it. The danger is admiring the view and never living in the land.
and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, to Zoar.
Verse 3 closes the sweep of land God showed Moses from the top of Pisgah. The view drops to the south, then to the valley of Jericho with its palms, and ends at Zoar. Why walk a man through every corner of a land he was not allowed to enter?
The mountain's own name describes what happened on it.
Moses climbed to the top of Pisgah, which means "survey." There God showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan at the far north of the land... as far as the Western Sea (the Mediterranean). The south of the land was included too, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, which was much closer. All of this view would not normally be visible from that point, but God made it visible to Moses on this one occasion.
God did not show Moses a land already fought over and half-won. He showed it as He had already assigned it, tribe by tribe.
It was part of His government to chasten his fault: His grace to Moses remained entire. Suppose Moses had entered the land — which the ways of God made impossible. What grief it would have been for him to see the unfaithfulness of His people, their slighting of His law, their imperfect conquest of the enemy, their readiness to turn back to wickedness and idolatry even in that land! Can that be compared with the blessedness of looking down on the land from beside the Lord? He did not see it in the hands of man, imperfectly rescued from the Canaanites. He saw God Himself already calling it the land of this tribe and of that, and so turning His servant's heart to the time when no Canaanite would be in the land.
Another writer weighs what Moses gained by this view.
Here indeed is "the goodness and severity of God." How wonderfully good of God, in patience and love, to point out to Moses the different parts of the land! He showed him all the east of Jordan and the northern lands, and moved on through the rest until He reached the south and the lands around the Dead Sea. Looking back, Moses would realise that it was much better to look over the land from Pisgah's heights with God than to tread the land on his own feet.
The verse gives Jericho a second name: the city of palm trees.
CITY OF PALM-TREES. A name given several times to Jericho because of the palms that grew there.
That tree carries a settled meaning in Scripture.
The palm tree is, in Scripture, the figure of the righteous, taking its name from the uprightness that makes the comparison so easy. Perhaps no point is more worth mentioning, says Dr. Howson, than the springiness of the palm's fibre, and its determined growth upward, even when loaded with weights.
Zoar, the last place named, has a history of its own.
Zoar was one of the five cities of the plain in Canaan. It was the only one that survived when they fell under the judgement of God. It was formerly called BELA. Lot fled to it when Sodom was destroyed, but was afraid to stay there.
One man, one mountain, one companion — one writer reads the whole scene as a picture.
The earth no longer acknowledged Moses. Israel knew him no more. The whole wilderness lay behind him, and the Lord alone is his company on the hill that overlooked the land of promise. What an expression of the place of the church, or heavenly glory, the whole of this is! On high with the Lord, Moses looks down on the earthly inheritance. He sees the place of the tribes of Israel — Gilead and Dan, Naphtali, Ephraim and Manasseh, with all the land of Judah to the sea, the south too, and the valley of Jericho, with the city of palm trees as far as Zoar!
Commentators differ on how closely the believer's standing matches Moses' on that mountain. One draws a sharp contrast.
Moses stood on Mount Pisgah and looked at the land he was not to enter with Israel. That is not the kind of view the Christian now gets of the glories of Christ and the heavenly land. Through grace we have the right to look at heaven and glory, not as at a distance from us, but as in them. We are not like Moses, who saw a better thing than he owned.
- Survey — Pisgah means "survey." The sweep from Dan down to the south, the Jericho valley and Zoar was more than any eye could take in. God made it visible.
- Gift — Moses saw the land not as Israel would wrestle it from the Canaanites, but as God was already parcelling it out tribe by tribe.
- Grace — One scene holds goodness and severity: God kept Moses out, then walked him through every region Himself.
- Palms — Jericho carries a second name here, the city of palm trees; the palm stands for the righteous, growing upward even under weight.
- Nearer — Moses viewed a better thing than he owned; the believer is not left gazing from a distance, but brought in.
And Jehovah said unto him, This is the land that I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
God speaks His last recorded words to Moses on a mountain top. The whole promised land lies in front of him, and God tells him he will never walk on it. One sentence holds two things: an oath sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that God will keep, and a refusal He will not reverse.
The reason for the refusal is not hidden. It reaches back to one moment at the waters of Meribah.
The government of God, with stern decision, refused Moses entry into the promised land, much as he longed to go in. He spoke rashly with his lips. He failed to glorify God in front of the congregation at the waters of Meribah, and for this he was not allowed to cross the Jordan and set foot on the land.
But why was the leader himself made the example?
It is not merely the failing Israelite who is kept out of the land. It is not merely the stumbling one of small position or little value in the work of God. It is the leader himself. Moses had led them out of Egypt. He had put up with all their folly and shortcomings in the desert. He had brought them to the border of the land. Yet for one act of haste that dishonoured God, he is singled out to show that unbending judgment which always belongs to His house. In grace Moses has the highest place, but in government he must be with the lowest, under the mighty hand of God.
There is a second reason, and it has nothing to do with failure.
Look at this beloved and honoured man in his official role. It is very plain that leading the congregation of Israel into the promised land was not his to do. The wilderness was his sphere of action. His ministry was tied to man's responsibility under law and the government of God. So it could never bring the people into the enjoyment of the promise. That was left to his successor. Joshua pictures the risen Saviour, and he was God's chosen instrument to lead His people across the Jordan and plant them in the inheritance God gave them.
The refusal was real. God's discipline did not cool His love by a degree, and what Moses saw from the mountain was better than what he lost.
There was surely righteousness in the ways of God. But it did not hinder the perfectness of His love to Moses in the smallest degree. It was part of His government to chasten his fault: His grace to Moses remained entire. Suppose Moses had entered the land, which the ways of God made impossible. What grief it would have been to see the unfaithfulness of His people, their slighting of His law, their incomplete conquest of the enemy, their readiness to turn back to wrongdoing and idolatry even in that land! Can that be compared with the blessedness of looking down on the land beside Jehovah? He did not see it in the hands of man, only partly rescued from the Canaanites. He saw God Himself already calling it the land of this tribe and of that.
This is not only Moses' story. Believers today live under the same government.
We should always remember that we too, though under grace, are also the subjects of divine government. We are here on this earth, in the place of solemn responsibility, under a government which cannot be trifled with. Let us beware of one-sided and harmful ideas of grace.
The land Moses saw rests on an oath God swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Not one bit of what God has promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will fail. He will do it all... The land of Canaan is for the seed of Abraham, and the seed of Abraham for the land of Canaan; nor can any power of earth or hell ever reverse this divine order. The eternal God has pledged His word, and the blood of the everlasting covenant has flowed to ratify that word.
The refusal was not God's last word to him. Long afterwards Moses stood inside that land, on the mountain where Jesus appeared in glory.
His earnest prayer was not granted... But do you not remember what we read in the New Testament? When the Lord Jesus Christ appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses stood there with Him. There he stood in the land; he saw it in the company of Christ in glory. Was that not far better than if in Israel's days he had crossed the Jordan? He did not say one word about it now; he could only speak about Christ. He got a far better thing than his heart could have conceived or his lips uttered. And it is just the same principle with God and His people now.
- Cause. One hasty moment at Meribah cost Moses the land. God's government holds even for those closest to Him.
- Position. In grace Moses held the highest place. In government he took the lowest. Neither cancels the other.
- Office. Law brought Israel to the border; only Joshua, picturing the risen Saviour, could bring them in.
- Gift. God showed him the land "with your eyes" as kindness, not cruelty. Moses saw it as God gives it, not as men would spoil it.
- Ending. God refused him the Jordan. Later he stood in that land on the mountain with Christ. God's refusals can open a door to something better.