What Moses Asked For

I heard a preacher on the radio recently talking about how many funerals Moses must have seen in his lifetime. Think about it. The Bible tells us that he led 600,000 adult men out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, and toward the Promised Land. Counting women and kids, that number probably gets close to 2 million people.

But the vast majority of those people did not make it into the Land. When they had the chance to go in, they believed the report of the 10 spies that it would be impossible to take the land from those who lived there. That means they did not believe the God who had freed them from Egypt, who had parted the Red Sea, who had provided for them in the wilderness. So God announced that every one of them over age 20 would die while wandering in the wilderness for another 40 years. Only the two faithful spies -- Joshua and Caleb -- would make it in, along with all the grown kids, then 19 and under.

As Israel’s leader and God’s man, Moses lived through the full 40 years of wandering. He must have endured somewhere around a million funerals during that time, as all those unfaithful followers of God aged and died in the desert.

It’s no wonder Moses wrote this in the one psalm with his name on it:

“You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning -- though in the morning it springs up new, by evening it is dry and withered. We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.” (Psalm 90: 5-9)

And though most of us won’t spend our 70 or 80 years wandering in a desert, sometimes our lives feel just as futile. And our days come and go just as quickly. This life is still 100 percent fatal.

Moses couldn’t escape that fact, with a possible average of 68 funerals a day for 40 years -- and every lost one buried outside of the Promised Land. But he could not accept the fact that life was not worth living. With God’s help, he hoped, our few years on this planet could mean something, could really matter. With that in mind, he asked God for at least four things in his psalm:

1) “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (v. 12)
Without God’s wisdom guiding our choices, we’ve got no shot at finding the path to a meaningful life.

2) “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (v. 14)
Satisfaction in this brief life comes from understanding that the God of the universe loves us and choosing to find joy in that. We know that His love led to the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus’ death and resurrection. We know that when this quick life is past, as believers in Jesus we’ll be with Him as we were meant to be from the beginning.

3) “May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.” (v. 16)
Moses longed to be reminded of God’s power and goodness and love. He asked God to reveal his splendorous works to them and their kids. Of course, God’s amazing works are all around us every day. We can ask Him to give us the eyes to notice them happening right in front of us.

4) “. . . establish the work of our hands for us -- yes, establish the work of our hands.” (v. 17)
Finally, Moses begged God to allow them to do something that would matter after this life has ended. We’re promised in the New Testament that we can invest our lives in such a way as to store up worthwhile treasure for eternity.

If you ever feel discouraged about life, why not ask God for these four things, as Moses did. The good God always provides wisdom, the courage to be glad, evidence of His power, and lasting purpose to those who ask and are willing to follow Jesus.