We thank the Lord for giving us another chance to come before Him together. It is truly by God’s grace that we can gather together, especially as we look toward the end times.
There are many places on this earth where God’s children want to meet together, yet they do not have this opportunity. But God is still patient, still giving us this chance. On the one hand, we have to thank God; on the other hand, we feel that our responsibility is really great.
Since God has given us such grace, we should not take it lightly. We hope that deep in our hearts we will pray to the Lord and ask Him to use this opportunity to lay hold of every one of us and to change us.
This time we are sharing before the Lord concerning the vision of Moses. We hope that the vision God allowed Moses to see may also be seen by us. I believe that this is God’s purpose in recording the matter of Moses in the Bible.
When we read the Bible, we are not merely reading history. We should have a learning heart. We are reading God’s Word, and we hope that His words can speak to all of us so that we may experience the works of God ourselves.
The vision God wants every one of us to see is not merely something we have heard about. The Bible tells us that we can hear and yet not hear; we can see and yet not truly see. Sometimes what we hear is merely a sound, a noise that passes by. What we see is merely something that passes away.
We need to hear God’s voice in the depths of our hearts and spirits, and we need to see what God wants us to see. Therefore, we really need to pray.
Remember Paul’s prayer in his letter to the Ephesians. He prayed that God would give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that they might truly know God. When we consider spiritual matters, our own intelligence is not enough. God must open our hearts. Then we can really see what God wants us to see.
We hope that in our hearts and spirits we will have this prayer. As we fellowship, may the Holy Spirit enlighten us.
Moses saw many visions, and, in a strict sense, all these visions are related to one another. Initially, he saw a burning bush. The bush was burning, but it was not consumed. This was a miracle.
Normally, if a bush is burning, it will be consumed very quickly. But when Moses saw this miraculous sign, he went over to look. The Angel of the Lord spoke to him from the midst of the burning bush.
God’s miraculous work is seen in this: people on earth are like burning bushes. Because we have all sinned and are under the judgment of God, we should be consumed. But thank God, because the Angel of the Lord is in the midst of the burning bush, the bush is not consumed.
The fire cleansed the bush and made it glow. Today, because Christ Jesus lives in us, we have a glorious hope. This is the mystery of the gospel. People like us should perish, but because Christ lives in us, we have a glorious hope. This is the amazing salvation of God.
Moses also went up Mount Sinai, where God gave him the Ten Commandments and revealed the tabernacle to him. God’s purpose is to dwell among us.
People like us are not worthy to have God dwell among us. Therefore, we need the tabernacle. This tabernacle represents our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Lord is the true tabernacle. In becoming flesh, He set His tent among people, and we beheld His glory. When our Lord was on earth, God dwelt in Him.
Although there was a temple in Jerusalem, there was no ark and no mercy seat in the Most Holy Place. God’s glory did not fill that place. But when our Lord was on earth, He was the true tabernacle, because God dwelt in Him.
He said, “I am in the Father, and the Father in Me.” If you see Me, you have seen the Father, because I and the Father are one. Our Lord is the true tabernacle. Because of the Lord’s work, God can dwell within us.
The church also becomes a tabernacle because the Lord lives within it. Jesus said:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life:
no one cometh unto the Father, but by Me.
Because of the precious blood of our Lord Jesus and because of the new and living way He has opened for us, He has become our great High Priest. Therefore, we may come confidently before the Lord. This is truly God’s grace.
Moses had a prayer before the Lord. He was willing to see the glory of God. Even though God had revealed Himself to Moses many times, Moses still longed to know God Himself.
God allowed him to see His back and allowed him to know His name:
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth;
keeping lovingkindness for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin;
and that will by no means clear the guilty.
This is our God. Thank and praise God. Moses saw God’s back and came to know His name. But in New Testament times, because the Lord Jesus has completed redemption, we can see God’s face.
God, who said that light should shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts. Through the face of Jesus Christ, we see the glory of God. With unveiled face, we behold the Lord, and the Holy Spirit performs a work of transformation in us.
This morning we are going to consider the fourth vision. When God called Moses in Exodus 3, He called him from the midst of the burning bush and commissioned him to save the Israelites, His people, out of Egypt.
God said to Moses, “I have heard the cry of My people. Now I will send you to bring them out of Egypt and bring them into a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Moses had never seen the land of Canaan, but God told him it was a good, broad, and beautiful land. It was a land flowing with milk and honey—abundant enough to provide for daily life, and sweet enough to be enjoyed.
Moses believed God’s Word. Although he had never seen the land of Canaan, he led the Israelites out of Egypt. At the foot of Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with His people. They were His special people, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.
The Israelites came to Kadesh-barnea. They asked to send men into the land of Canaan to spy out the land. In reality, God had already told them that it was a good and broad land, flowing with milk and honey. They only needed to believe and enter.
Moses sent twelve spies into the land of Canaan. They spent forty days there and then returned. In Numbers 13, they reported that the land truly was as God had said: a land flowing with milk and honey.
They brought back a cluster of grapes so large that two men had to carry it on a pole. The fruit testified that it was indeed a very good land. This should have been good news. God’s promise was true, and because God is faithful, what He promises He will do.
However, ten of the twelve spies said, “Yes, this is a beautiful and abundant land. But the cities are fortified and very great, and we saw the sons of Anak there. They are giants. We were like grasshoppers in our own sight.”
They said that they could not go into the land, that they would be devoured there. Unfortunately, when the people heard this report, they began to cry. They became angry with Moses and asked why he had led them to such a place.
They said, “Would it not have been better for us to die in Egypt? We do not want to be killed in the land of Canaan.” They did not believe God.
Only Joshua and Caleb sought to calm the people. They said, “Do not fear. The land is truly a good and beautiful place. We can go forward and receive it as our inheritance. The giants will be our bread.”
But the people did not believe. Because of their unbelief, God declared that the generation which had refused to believe Him would not enter into Canaan. They feared that their wives and children would become captives, but God said that those very children would enter the land.
The Israelites could not enter the land of Canaan because of unbelief. From Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea was only an eleven-day journey, and they had spent about one year at Mount Sinai. Within two years they could have entered into their inheritance.
But because of their unbelief, they wandered for forty years until that generation had died. Then they turned toward the eastern side of the Jordan River.
After forty years, Israel came to the eastern side of the Jordan. Only the Jordan River separated them from the promised land. At that time Moses prayed before God, as recorded in Deuteronomy 3.
Moses said, in effect, “Lord, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand. Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good and beautiful land flowing with milk and honey.”
The generation of Israel did not want to enter because they did not believe God’s promise. But Moses always believed. From the time God called him and told him about this good land, Moses believed. When the spies returned and confirmed that the land was good, Moses believed all the more.
Moses truly longed to enter the promised land. However, because of an event during Israel’s wilderness journey, God told Moses that he would not enter into Canaan.
As Israel journeyed in the wilderness, they came to Kadesh. Once again, the people complained because they had no water to drink. They said to Moses, “Why have you brought us here? There is no water. We and our children will die of thirst.”
This was not the first time. In Exodus 17, the people also complained because there was no water. God told Moses to take the elders of Israel and strike the rock at Horeb. God said, “I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it.”
The rock was struck, and water flowed out like a river. In the wilderness, where there was no water, God provided a river of life for His people. He wanted them to know how much He loved them.
But more than thirty years later, when they came to the same area again, there was no water. The people complained again, and God told Moses and Aaron to stand before the tabernacle.
This time God’s command was different. At the first occurrence, Moses had taken his shepherd’s rod and struck the rock. But now God told him to take Aaron’s rod.
What was Aaron’s rod? At one time, the people of Israel had disputed Aaron’s priesthood. Every tribe brought a rod, a dead piece of wood taken from a tree. But Aaron’s rod budded, blossomed, and bore fruit, while all the other rods remained dead.
God showed Israel that only in the power of resurrection can anyone serve Him. In ourselves, and through our own natural strength, we cannot serve God. Aaron’s rod was a priestly rod, a rod marked by resurrection life.
God told Moses to take Aaron’s rod and speak to the rock. He was not to strike it. He only had to speak to the rock, and water would flow forth.
But Moses was provoked by the people. He became angry and said, “Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?” Then he took the rod and struck the rock twice.
Water still came forth, because God is full of mercy and grace. But Moses had disobeyed God’s command. Therefore, God said that Moses and Aaron would not enter into the land of Canaan.
Brothers and sisters, what is the reason? The rock represents our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ was struck by God for our sake. On the cross, His body was broken, and blood and water flowed forth.
His blood cleanses us from sin, and the water is like the river of life, so that those who thirst may thirst no more. How great and precious this representation is.
Our Lord Jesus has already been broken for us. He cannot be struck twice. That is why God told Moses to take Aaron’s rod, the priestly rod, and only speak to the rock.
Because of the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, the priestly work applies that finished redemption to us. Christ completed eternal redemption once for all. He does not need to be struck again. By faith, we speak to Him, and living water flows forth.
Moses and Aaron committed a grave sin. They disobeyed God’s command, and they misrepresented God before the people.
People like to see something concrete that they can touch. God has no visible form, so when the Israelites saw Moses, they regarded him as God’s representative. Moses represented God before Israel.
But in his anger, Moses represented God wrongly. He gave the Israelites the impression that God was harsh and easily angered. This was a serious misrepresentation.
The sin of misrepresenting God is a very serious sin. The closer a person is to God and the more that person represents God, the stronger God’s discipline may be.
The Israelites continued to sin, complain, and test God, yet God forgave them again and again. Moses committed this sin once, but because he represented God before the people, God said that he could not enter Canaan.
Yet Moses truly longed for the promised land. He wanted what God wanted to give. Many people do not appreciate what God desires to give them; they want something else. But Moses was not like that.
Whatever God wanted to give, Moses desired to receive. Whatever God wanted him to be, Moses desired to be. When he came to the boundary of the land and saw the river separating him from it, he prayed, “Lord, let me go over.”
But God answered, “Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto Me of this matter.” God’s sovereign will was that Moses should not enter.
God’s heart is soft, but we should not press Him to grant something outside His sovereign will. Consider Hezekiah. God told him to prepare his house because he would die. But Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and wept.
God gave Hezekiah another fifteen years. Yet those fifteen years brought many problems. During those years Manasseh was born, and he became one of the most sinful kings of Judah. Hezekiah also showed all his treasures to the Babylonian ambassadors, and later those treasures were carried away.
It is best to live under the sovereign will of God. If we insist on living under God’s permissive will, we may bring trouble upon ourselves. God’s heart is tender, but we should not push Him.
Margaret E. Barber had a strong will. Sometimes she would contend with God because she wanted one thing while God seemed to lead another way. But she had something good in her heart. Every day she prayed, “Lord, even though I want this, if I cannot follow Your will, do not listen to me. Be patient with me until Your will is completed.”
Brothers and sisters, this is right. We also need to learn this lesson. God told Moses, “Enough. Do not speak to Me about this matter any longer.” Moses could not enter, but God allowed him to see the land.
Before Moses died, God brought him to the top of Mount Pisgah and showed him all the good land of Canaan. Then Moses died, and the Lord buried him.
How glorious it is that God Himself would bury a person. Of course, to be alive when the Lord returns would be even better, but there is something very precious here.
When reading Deuteronomy, we find that Moses could describe the land of Canaan in remarkable detail, even though he had never entered it. He had heard about it from the spies, but God gave him a vision of it.
Because Moses had such a longing in his heart, God gave him a clear picture of the land of Canaan. God revealed its character and its richness to him.
It was like David. David longed for God and desired to build a temple for Him. But because David had shed much blood, God did not allow him to build the temple. Yet God gave David the pattern and description of the temple.
I believe God dealt with Moses in a similar way. Thank God. If you have a heart that longs for God, and if you have a believing heart, God will reveal His mysteries to you.
The Bible tells us that He will not hide His mystery from those who are intimate with Him. In his spirit, Moses had already seen the land of Canaan.
Let us read Deuteronomy 6:10-11.
And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee, great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and cisterns hewn out, which thou hewedst not, vineyards and olive-trees, which thou plantedst not, and thou shalt eat and be full.
Before explaining this passage, I want to point out that Israel was God’s earthly people. Therefore, God’s promises to them were earthly promises. He promised them the literal land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.
But for us today, Canaan is a type. We are God’s heavenly and spiritual people. Therefore, God’s promises to us are spiritual and heavenly. How much better are the heavenly and spiritual things than the earthly things.
Today God wants to bring every one of us into a heavenly Canaan. What is this heavenly Canaan? The Bible tells us that this heavenly Canaan is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is God’s promise and our inheritance. God has given His Son, and His Son has become our inheritance. Our inheritance and possession is the good land.
Our God is so abundant. Everything that belongs to Christ is ours. Think about it, brothers and sisters. This is God’s heart toward every one of us.
What kind of land is Canaan? There are great and goodly cities there. What does this represent for us? It represents the New Jerusalem.
The spies said that the cities of Canaan were so high that they reached heaven. But if you read the last chapters of Revelation, you see how great and high the city of the New Jerusalem is. It truly reaches heaven.
The cities in Canaan had already been built. When the Israelites entered, they had cities to live in; they did not need to build them by their own strength. Who built the New Jerusalem?
Hebrews tells us that Abraham was looking for the city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God. Our Lord said, “I will build My church.” The church is related to the New Jerusalem. God Himself is building it.
We simply enter into what He has prepared. There are cities, houses, and many good things. Everything is already provided.
Brothers and sisters, are we not the eternal house of God? We are being built by God. How beautiful it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity.
It is like the precious oil upon Aaron’s head, running down upon his beard. It is also like the dew of Hermon that comes down upon the mountains of Zion. There the Lord commands the blessing, even life forevermore.
Do not worry that you have no place to live. The Lord said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” In the Father’s house are many abiding places. Perhaps you live in a small home today, but what God has prepared for us is far more beautiful than anything on this earth.
The riches of Christ are unsearchable. Many people live in large houses yet are empty inside. They cannot sleep peacefully. But what God has prepared for us is full of His life and peace.
All the fullness of God dwells in Christ. His abundance is infinite. Can you measure His love? Can you measure His holiness? You cannot measure anything about God’s abundance.
Everything God is has been placed in Christ. Everything is in Christ. In Christ there is nothing lacking. If you ask God for something outside of Christ, there is nothing more for Him to give, because everything is in Christ.
Brothers and sisters, our God is so abundant. Christ is our Canaan. The wells have already been dug; in other words, living water is already flowing.
Today in Christ, the Holy Spirit fills us. We do not need to dig another well. The wellspring flows forth unto eternity.
There are also vineyards and olive trees in the good land. They provide not only food to eat, but also anointing oil. Everything God provides is found in Christ.
God told the Israelites that they would eat and be full, though they had not prepared these things themselves. Thank and praise God: all the abundance is within Christ, and we have been made complete in Him.
This is Colossians 2:9-10:
For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,
and in Him ye are made full,
Who is the head of all principality and power.
Let us also turn to Deuteronomy 8:7-10.
For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land,
a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths,
springing forth in valleys and hills;
a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates;
a land of olive-trees and honey;
a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness,
thou shalt not lack anything in it;
a land whose stones are iron,
and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper.
How did Moses know all these things? In his spirit, God had given him this picture. What kind of land was it? It had springs, fountains, wells, and deep waters flowing forth in valleys and hills.
Remember what our Lord Jesus said in John 7:38-39:
He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said,
from within him shall flow rivers of living water.
This He spoke concerning the Holy Spirit. Today, the Holy Spirit is like living water flowing out from within us.
There is also the well in John 4. The Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman:
Every one that drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst;
but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water
springing up unto eternal life.
Earthly water will leave you thirsty again, but the water Christ gives will satisfy forever. The Holy Spirit is our water, and He satisfies our thirst.
In Christ, there are springs and deep waters. There is a fullness of life. It is like the wise virgins: they had not only oil in their lamps but oil in their vessels. This is what our Lord has provided for us.
A person who lives in Christ is filled by the Holy Spirit. As Ephesians teaches:
And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot,
but be filled with the Spirit.
To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that the Holy Spirit governs us. Continually, we allow the Holy Spirit to govern over us.
In Christ all has been given to us. The good land had both wheat and barley. In those days, barley was often the food of the poor, while wheat was associated with greater abundance. God’s provision is rich and abundant.
There are vines, pomegranates, and fig trees. Everything bears fruit, and we can enjoy it. There is honey. There is lack of nothing.
As long as we remain in Christ and love Christ, we will realize that there is nothing lacking. If you think something is lacking, perhaps you are not living in Christ. You have gone outside of Christ and are looking elsewhere.
But if you live in Christ, you will lack nothing. Thank God.
The good land also contained iron and copper. These speak of strength and endurance. In Christ, we can overcome the temptations of Satan. Therefore, we need to be strong in the Lord.
Let us turn to Deuteronomy 11:10-12.
For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs;
but the land, whither ye go over to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven,
a land which the Lord thy God careth for:
the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it,
from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
Originally, the Israelites lived in Egypt. Egypt was a flat land beside the Nile River. The people depended upon irrigation, drawing water from the river and laboring continually to water their crops.
They had to pedal constantly. If they did not work in this way, they had no water. It was hard labor.
But God said that the land He would give them was different. It was a land of mountains and valleys, drinking water from the rain of heaven. They did not need to depend on their own strength. God’s eyes were upon that land from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
God loved the land and sent rain upon it. He caused it to be fruitful. This land was different from Egypt.
Brothers and sisters, in Christ today, we are different from the world. In the world, there is hard labor. If you do not keep pedaling with your feet, you fear that you will have nothing.
The world demands your best years. The ruler of this world is harsh, and it is hard to serve him. But serving God is altogether different. We do not need to pedal with our feet any longer.
How blessed it is when God sends rain. These days we have seen showers of blessing. God’s heart is to bless us. He truly loves His people.
Moses had vision, and he also had hope. Even though he sinned and was not allowed to enter Canaan during his earthly life, he eventually entered it.
If you read Matthew 17, you see Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses was there. Although God did not allow him to enter Canaan while he was alive, in resurrection he entered into it. Thank and praise God.
If you have a longing heart for God, God will fulfill His promise. Moses also entered into it.
Brothers and sisters, what God has given us today is far better than what He gave the Israelites. There is no comparison. What they had was a shadow; we have the reality. They had earthly blessings; we have heavenly blessings. Their inheritance was temporary; ours is eternal.
What do we need today? First, we must have vision. We ask God to open the eyes of our hearts so that we may see how beautiful our inheritance is.
We need to see the abundance of our Lord Jesus Christ. All the things of God are in Him. We should not seek outside of Him.
The church in Colossae had a good beginning and a genuine pursuit, but the path of their pursuit became wrong. They thought that Christ was not enough, so they wanted to add things outside of Christ.
They turned to worldly philosophy, mysteries, Gnosticism, speculation, and ritualism. But Paul told them to see Christ. Everything necessary for perfection is in Christ.
Do not seek outside of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then you may grow into spiritual maturity. May God open and enlighten our hearts so that we may see our inheritance and see how abundant Christ is.
Secondly, once we have vision, we must have hope and desire within us. It is not enough merely to see the inheritance. The Israelites had to enter the land.
Wherever they placed the sole of their foot became theirs. In the same way, we must not only see the vision; we must enter into it. We must step upon it by faith. Then it becomes our experience and our possession.
May God be gracious to us, that we may enter into this rich inheritance, worship God, and serve Him.
Our God, please open the eyes of our hearts so that we can see that Your inheritance for us is so perfect and so abundant.
Many times, because we cannot see You, we think that You are not enough, and we pursue other things. Lord, forgive us.
Whom have we in heaven but You? On earth there is nothing we desire besides You, because You are everything. You are unique. You are complete.
Give us faith to enter into Your inheritance. With all the saints in the light, may we receive this inheritance so that You may receive glory.
In Your name we pray. Amen.