Saturday, May 8, 2004
Christ is Risen!
Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian
Kellia: Deuteronomy 3:21-29 Epistle: 1 John 1:1-7 Gospel: St. John 19:25-27; 21:24-25
Deuteronomy 3:21-29, especially vs. 27 RSV: "...lift up your eyes westward and northward and
southward and eastward, and behold it with your eyes; for you shall not go over this Jordan." Being children who know
God as a loving Father (Eph. 4:6), and being those unique creatures who are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), we
human beings most naturally beseech God to permit us to have some small share in His great work in this fallen world.
Furthermore, God the Incarnate Word Himself encourages us to pray to our Father in Heaven: "I say to you, whatever
things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (Mk. 11:24). Still, even this
assurance from the Lord Jesus Himself is no "carte blanche," no magic credit card to be run through prayer like a scanner
where approval is certain. Who has not had a heartfelt prayer denied? The Prophet and King David besought the Lord for
the child that Uriah's wife bore to him in the face of the Lord's judgment that "the child that is born to you shall die" (2
Sam. 12:14). Nevertheless, David prayed and "fasted, and went in and lay all night upon the ground" for a week, opening
his heart's desire before the Lord (2 Sam. 12:16); and still "on the seventh day the child died" (2 Sam. 12:18). How many
of us have prayed so stringently and been denied? Let us add that the message of God in refusing David reveals why the
great Moses, after years of service to God, could be denied his heartfelt petition. Read how Moses' prayer was denied.
Indeed, it is encouraging to take the Lord Jesus at His word: to pray to God fully anticipating that He will "hearken and
have mercy," even when already there are strong contraindications. The reading discloses, in addition, that when God
refuses our prayers, He does so graciously, assuring us that our lives and service for Him are not wasted nor fruitless. We
also learn that when God denies a petition, He may still reserve another portion for us, fulfilling later the very vision He
originally awakened within us.
The great majority of Moses' prayers were heard and answered by God, even when there were contraindications. The Lord
announced His intention to strike the Israelites "with pestilence and disinherit them" at Kadesh-barnea for their refusal to
advance into the Land (Num. 14:12). At this, Moses besought the Lord: "Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray Thee,
according to the greatness of Thy steadfast love, and according as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until
now" (Num. 14:19); and the Lord pardoned them (Num. 14:20). Let us be assured even in the face of discouraging
evidence, and place our heart's desire before God.
Moses' specific request was denied (Deut.3:25), yet the Lord did not refuse him callously. Instead, God instructed His
Prophet to ascend Mount Pisgah and survey the whole of the land (vs. 27). Then, he was to "charge Joshua, and encourage
and strengthen him; for he shall go over at the head of this people" (vs. 28). In effect, the Lord affirmed His promise that
the People would inherit the land and that the years of Moses' struggle had not been in vain. The desire of the prayer, "to
see the land," was correct, but the time had come for Israel's leadership to pass to Joshua. And already, east of Jordan, the
Lord had given Moses a foretaste of Israel's success in the land to the west - the defeat of the two kings (Deut. 2:32,33;
3:3).
Most significantly, as we have just noted, the Lord gave Moses a most important role in the conquest that lay ahead. He
was to "charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him" (Deut. 3:28). The wisdom of Moses' years was to be
transmitted to the next generation, so that Joshua's leadership would be able to put the People of God "in possession of the
land" (vs. 3:28). O Compassionate God, Thou knowest our necessities before we ask: mercifully give us those things,
which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot, ask.
