Unimpaired eyesight

GUIDING SCRIPTURES

Deuteronomy 34:7 (NRSV)

Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.

Psalm 90:1-2 (NRSV)

Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

DAILY BYTE

If you feel in any way that you are like Moses - on the edge of the Promised Land but denied entry – feeling let down at the end of a long journey or feeling as though the vision cast for your life was a lie, remember one thing about this story.

Moses did not die before the “LORD showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain - that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees - as far as Zoar. The LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes.”

Moses knew before he died that his struggle, mission, and vision for the future hope of the people he loved had not been a lie. There it was – right before him – he could see it with his own eyes. The promise that God had given was not empty. It was real. The scripture says when he died, Moses had “unimpaired eyesight” – but I believe this is talking about more than his physical sight. I believe the scripture is saying that Moses died with vision that faith in God was not in vain.

The scriptures say he was 120 years old. We don’t know how that was humanly possible, but you get the idea – he had reached the end of his physical life, just like we all will someday – he’d been on a long journey, and it was time for someone else to take over, but he died with trust and hope that God would continue the work that he had begun through him.

As we stand at the edge of both physical death and many other endings in our lives, we find hope in this vision that God gave Moses. Throughout all our disappointments, we know that God is still leading us all to the Promised Land.

Does Moses’ vision offer you any hope today? What is the “Promised Land” in your life?