Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read Deuteronomy 33 and 34 today, as well as Jeremiah 25 and 2 Corinthians 9. This devotional is about Deuteronomy 34, but let's read Deuteronomy 33 and 34 at this time. This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, pronounced upon the Israelites before his death. He said, The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned upon us from Seir. He shone forth from Mount Paran, and came with myriads of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand. Surely you love the people. All the holy ones are in your hand, and they sit down at your feet. Each receives your words. The law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob. So the Lord became king in Jeshurun, when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together. Let Reuben live and not die, nor let his men be few. And concerning Judah he said, O Lord, hear the cry of Judah, and bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause, but may you be a help against his foes. Concerning Levi, he said, Give your thummim to Levi, and your urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Massah, and contested at the waters of Meribah. He said of his father and mother, I do not consider them. He disregarded his brothers, and did not know his own sons, for he kept your word, and maintained your covenant. He will teach your ordinances to Jacob, and your law to Israel. He will set incense before you, and hold burnt offerings on your altar. Bless his substance, O Lord, and accept the work of his hands. Smash the loins of those who rise against him, and of his foes, so they can rise no more. Concerning Benjamin, he said, may the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him. God shields him all day long, and upon his shoulders he rests. Concerning Joseph, he said, May his land be blessed by the Lord, With the precious dew from heaven above, And the deep waters that lie beneath, With the bountiful harvest from the sun, And the abundant yield of the seasons, With the best of the ancient mountains, And the bounty of the everlasting hills. with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers. His majesty is like a first-born bull, And his horns are like those of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, Even to the ends of the earth. Such are the myriads of Ephraim, And such are the thousands of Manasseh. Concerning Zebulun, he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in your journeys, and Issachar in your tents. They will call the peoples to a mountain. There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they will feast on the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand. Concerning Gad, he said, Blessed is he who enlarges the domain of Gad. He lies down like a lion, and tears off an arm or a head. He chose the best land for himself, because a ruler's portion was reserved for him there. He came with the leaders of the people, he administered the Lord's justice, and his ordinances for Israel. Concerning Dan, he said, Dan is a lion's cub, leaping out of Bashan. Concerning Naphtali, he said, Naphtali is abounding with favor, full of the blessing of the Lord. He shall take possession of the sea and the south. And concerning Asher, he said, May Asher be the most blessed of sons. May he be the most favored among his brothers, and dip his foot in oil. May the bolts of your gate be iron and bronze, and may your strength match your days. There is none like the God of Jeshurun, who rides the heavens to your aid and the clouds in his majesty. The Eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you, giving the command, Destroy him! So Israel dwells securely. The fountain of Jacob lives untroubled In a land of grain and new wine, Where even the heavens drip with dew. Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you? A people saved by the Lord. He is the shield that protects you, the sword in which you boast. Your enemies will cower before you, and you shall trample their high places. Deuteronomy 34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which faces Jericho. And the Lord showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan, all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev, and the region from the valley of Jericho, the city of Palms, all the way to Zor. And the LORD said to him, This is the land that I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when I said, I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross into it. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, facing Beth Peor. And no one, to this day, knows the location of his grave. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. Yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end. Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. No prophet who did all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent Moses to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his officials and all his land. And no prophet who performed all the mighty acts of power and awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. This is God's Word. Let me re-read the end of Deuteronomy 34, which this time from the NIV says, Since then no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his officials, and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. That's Deuteronomy 34, 10-12, again from the NIV. How do you replace a man like Moses? In a real sense, you don't because you can't. Moses was a unique man, a servant of the Lord. He is rightfully revered by all believers in God because God used him in extraordinary ways. Yet, it was God's work in his life, not his own personal greatness, that made him the man that he was. In addition to his great faith and the amazing works God did through him, we've seen a man who ran ahead of God's timing and killed an Egyptian in his impatience to deliver God's people. We've seen him become angry that he spoke and acted independently of the Lord, in fact. It was this sin, his sin of anger, that caused the Lord to exclude him from entering the land, as we saw in verse 4b, even though he was healthy and strong on the day of his death, as we saw in verse 7. Although Moses was a great man, he was also a man for his times. God chose him, prepared him, both sovereignly and through direct revelation, to be the leader that Israel needed. However, Moses was only a man. His greatness lay in the power of God, not in his strength or intelligence or any innate ability. the same God who prepared and used Moses, did the same for Joshua, we saw that in verse nine, so that God's people would have the leadership they needed to receive God's promises. When someone you love, whom God has used powerfully in your life, dies, or retires, or leaves for another ministry, all is not lost, far from it. It is idolatry to think that only one servant of God can be used powerfully by God. Spiritual leaders are important, but only because God uses them. When God decides that any leader's time is up, God will remove and replace that leader in his sovereign will. Trust that. If you're a spiritual leader, think about all the weaknesses and failings Moses reported about himself in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He was far from perfect, yet God used him. Will you trust God to use you too, despite your weaknesses? 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May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.