Day 51: Holy Moses

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves to be alone. He was transfigured in front of them, and his clothes became dazzling—extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them. Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Mark 9:2–4

Throughout all my childhood years in Sunday school, high school years in youth group, college years in Campus Life and Fellowship of Christian Athletes meetings, and early adult years in women’s Bible studies, it secretly bugged me that God didn’t allow Moses to enter Canaan. I know Isaiah says that we can’t fully comprehend God’s sovereign actions because His ways are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth (Isa. 55:8–9), and I know Moses deserved some kind of time-out after losing his temper and whacking that rock and all (Num. 20). But revoking his Promised Land ticket seemed way too harsh to me.

I mean, good night, didn’t it count for something that the poor dude had risked his life to confront that cruelly oppressive Pharaoh, then had bravely led the Israelites out of slavery, and had worked his tail off leading all those rebellious, prone-to-grumble ragamuffins for forty years in the wilderness? Of course, I didn’t confess my covert grudge in small group or anything because I didn’t want to be judged, but I sure chafed at the fact that poor Moe got buried on Mt. Nebo and didn’t get to set one foot in the land of promise he’d worked so hard to get to.

But then one day about twenty years ago, I was studying Mark chapter 9 and it hit me like a ton of beautiful bricks: the transfiguration took place on one of the mountains on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Some New Testament scholars think this glowing miracle took place on Mt. Hermon, but regardless of whether it happened on the top of Mt. Hermon or an adjacent hill, what’s definite is that the transfiguration took place on a scenic point smack-dab in the middle of Canaan! Which means, Moses did make it to the land of milk and honey after all! Even though he didn’t get to make his entrance marching through the Jordan on dry ground with Joshua and the second generation of wilderness sojourners, a few centuries later—long after his physical death—good old Moe still got to stand in the Promised Land, wearing his glorified body and surely grinning from ear to ear because he was standing right next to the illuminated Messiah! He didn’t just get to see it. He got to see it with Jesus beside him. God wanted to stand next to him, right there in the flesh, and take it in with him.

Wowzaroonie—what a jaw-drop-inducing, biblical reminder that our Creator-Redeemer is not bound by time and space! That when it feels like He’s not hearing our prayers because we aren’t getting immediate answers, He’s still moving mountains on our behalf.

Romans 8:28 isn’t hyperbolic . . . everything will work out for our good and His glory ultimately. It just might not coincide with where we’ve currently got it scheduled on our calendar.

• What request have you made to God that He seems to be taking an especially long time responding to?
• Do you think waiting has made you bitter or better? Why?
• How does Moses’ story here encourage you in the waiting?