ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 58 - Deuteronomy 1-3 (God Forgives Sins But Does Not Always Remove Sin’s Consequences)
‘"Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying:... I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.'..."But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: "Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.'” (Deuteronomy 3:23-28)
In recounting their history in the wilderness for forty years as they were getting ready to cross the land of Canaan, Moses recalls the time when he pleaded with God to changed His mind about not allowing him to enter the promised land as his punishment for not honoring God when he broke the tablets containing the ten commandments. As we read from our text, despite Moses’ closeness to God which no other human being ever had, God said, “No way, Jose.” (pardon the paraphrase) The people needed to see that Moses cannot get away with the sin he committed so that they will fear God.
Herein lies a very important truth for all of us to learn: Although God always forgives sins when we come to Him in repentance through Jesus Christ, He does not always remove sin’s consequences. A woman may become pregnant out of wedlock if she sleeps with her boyfriend. A wife could be divorced by her husband if she becomes unfaithful to him. A criminal will receive sentence when he faces a judge in court. A person will die if he jumps from the top the Empire State building. Every action is followed by a reaction just as every sin has a consequence.
All of us have committed some sin or sins in which we had to pay its consequences. You may have lost a child through abortion; or you may have lost a spouse to divorce; or you may have lost your house from foreclosure; but the good news is that there is forgiveness in Christ for any and all sin and that He can restore the years that the locust have eaten (Joel 2:25).
Even though Moses was not able to enter the promised land, God still allowed him to live long enough to see the next generation of the nation of Israel that God raised to possess it up to the time when the people were just about to receive the go signal from God to cross over the Jordan and conquer the land. God even brought Moses up on a high mountain and let him see the breadth of the land He was about to give them. Despite Moses’ failure to honor God in the incident of the tablets, God was still gracious to Moses to the fullest extent possible.
God is the same God who showed Himself gracious and merciful to Moses and He will show Himself gracious and merciful to you and me as well if we remain faithful to Him. Let us lay aside whatever consequences our sins may have brought upon us and let us move forward to a life of victory in Christ. The best is yet to come.
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