Deuteronomy Chapter 34:4
“… I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."
Henry feels that this punishment is heartbreaking to Moses and that G-d is being too harsh, because G-d knows that Moses has wanted to go to the Promised Land. He walked and led the Israelites for 40 years in the desert and he doesn’t get to cross into Israel. Not only is he prohibited from going into Israel but G-d is showing him the land. It’s kind of like putting a bar of chocolate in front of a kid’s face.
The first thing that we noticed about this Parashah is that it’s the last chapter of the Torah. This Parashah is about Moses’ death. The Parashah gives us detailed information about Moses’ last events, his death, and his burial.
At the beginning of the Parashah Moses went up the mountain of Nebo. From the top of the mountain he could see the whole land of Israel; the final destination of the Israelites. Then G-d tells Moses that this was the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and told him that he will not cross the border to Israel.
The Parashah then tells us that Moses died on top of mountain Nebo and was buried in the valley. His burial location will never be known.
At the end of the Parashah it is very clear that Joshua will become the next leader of the people of Israel and therefore at the end of the Torah is the end of one leadership and sets up the beginning of a new leadership for the next part of the Tanakh. It is kind of a cliffhanger.
Question for Reflection:
-Would you agree that God's showing Moses the promised land but denying him entrance is unfair? Why or why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment