Sermon
In the Moab wilderness – in modern
day Jordan – Moses stands on the edge of destiny. He can smell the salt air of the
Mediterranean. The freshness of grass
and tress drifts over the Great Jordan River Rift from the Promised Land. The long journey from Egypt to Palestine has
ended. The land to which God called
Abraham so many generations ago – before Joseph and slavery in Egypt – sits
ready for the people of Israel.
These
former slaves have been formed in the wilderness into the People of God. Their identity and covenant, their law and
their rituals have matured them into a people ready to serve as God’s light for
the nations.
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| Moab Wilderness. Modern day Jordan |
At 120 years young – Moses still
possesses he same power and charisma that he displayed growing up in the courts
of the pharaoh. “His
eyesight was sharp; he still walked with a spring in his step,” the
scripture tells us. Like an ancient
version of Blanche Bowen who died last year at 96, I bet Moses could still be
planting his own garden and mowing his own grass.
At the heart of Moses 120 years of
unparalleled life stands his relationship with Yahweh God. Yahweh saved Moses as a child and delivered
him to the promised land of Pharaoh’s court in the same way God would save the
People of Israel and deliver them to their own promised land. God called Moses out of exile in the
wilderness and declared his name for all the world – I am who I am, I was who I
was, I will be who I will be – simply – YHWH – Yahweh.
Then, when the plagues were done and
the People of Israel stood free at last at the base of Mount Sinai, God summed
Moses into the Presence of God – a terrifying experience of smoke, thunder and
noise to the top of Mt. Sinai. The
Scriptures say, Moses was the one prophet, to whom the Lord knew face to
face. Moses had experienced God and
lived. He confounded all things as they
were in order for God to create something new in the world.
Now, Moses stands in the place that
has only existed in his dreams – the Promised Land is so near he feels it
calling him. Yet, he knows the rest of
the story will be left for someone else.
Once, years before, recorded in Deuteronomy 34, Moses begged God to
allow him to complete the task before him – to lead the people into the
Promised Land. Like all great leaders,
Moses didn’t want to leave a task unfinished.
“GOD, my
Master,” Moses begged, “you let me in on the beginnings, you let me see your
greatness, you let me see your might—what god in Heaven or Earth can do
anything like what you’ve done! Please, let me in also on the endings, let me
cross the river and see the good land over the Jordan, the lush hills, the
Lebanon Mountains.”
God would have none of it,
though. The Lord wouldn’t listen to
Moses. Instead, God said, “Enough of that. Not another
word from you on this. Climb to the top of Mount Nebo and look around: look
west, north, south, east. Take in the land with your own eyes. Take a good look
because you’re not going to cross this Jordan River.”
Since this moment, Moses has spent
his waning moments in an eloquent filibuster – he keeps talking, hoping to wait
God out. Yet, death will wait no longer.
Now
- Moses withdraws from the Hebrew camp on the plains of Moab to a high place
for a climactic moment alone with the God he first met eighty years earlier on
another mountain. In the ancient worldview,
if you went up topographically, you were just a bit closer to God. Mountaintops
represented closeness to God.
Mount
Nebo as a mountain is not much to write home about. Today, it is located in the country of
Jordan, just to the East of the Dead Sea.
Rather than a mountain like Yonah or Curahee – standing high and regal for
all to see – Mt. Nebo sits more like high ridge line. Even its elevation doesn’t sound impressive –
it’s only 2,680 feet high. Today, a
modern road winds up and over it and you pass the summit without even realizing
where you are. Moses’ walk to the top of
Nebo carried none of the courage and stamina needed in those days of climbing
up and down Mt. Sinai.
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| Looking West over Dead Sea to Israel |
Yet,
first impressions of Mt. Nebo will fool us.
The top of Mount Nebo offers a breathtaking panorama of the Promised
Land of Palestine. Unlike any other mountain in the world, Mount Nebo offers
the best view of the Promised Land in the world. While only standing at 2,680 feet above sea
level, it soars over four thousand feet above the Dead Sea – the lowest point
on earth at 1,401 feet below sea level.
The northern tip of the Dead Sea washes against the mountain's
southwestern foot. A spot just across a small dip to the northwest of Mt. Nebo,
is usually identified as Pisgah. This
location affords the best view of the Jordan valley and the land beyond.
Ascent
Moses ascends Mt. Nebo driven by the
desire to see things differently. The
topography and promise of the land in front of this mountain has been carried
in the conscious memory of Moses’ people for over 400 years. Generation after generation from Joseph
through history have told their children and grandchildren stories about this
fertile place. The land of our ancestor
Abraham overflows with green mountains and trees, fresh water and produce. This is the exact opposite of the wilderness
with its dry, barren landscape. Moses
ascends Mt. Nebo to see the truth for himself – does the land live up to the
promises?
Moses has been living day by day for
40 years – now, he ascends to see the vision of what started him on this
odyssey.
The desires that drive Moses to
ascend Mt. Nebo – I would imagine – drives many of us to the mountain as
well. Caught in the daily crisis’ of
life – the next doctor’s visit, remembering which medication to take at what
time, where the kids need to be today, keeping the bills paid and the house
clean – we also yearn to see life and faith differently too.
Like Moses, we can forget the
motivations and visions which started us on our life journeys. We forget the love story that bought our
spouse into our lives. We forget the joy
of holding that new born baby when temper tantrums or adolescent indifference
claim all of our waking moments. We
forget the claim of Jesus on our lives when friends or co-workers invite us
into compromising positions. We forget
the joy of serving Jesus when we are exhausted from long days and nights at VBS
and Camp Agape.
So – like Moses – God invites us up
to the mountain as well. God invites us
up to gain a new perspective on our life and faith and ministry and job and
family. What drives you up the mountain
today?
Looking
Around
When Moses gets to the top of Mt.
Nebo – the whole Promised Land spreads out before him in a glorious
panorama. On a crystal blue sky day –
with no smog or pollution or cataracts to hinder him – Moses sees all that God
promised.
In the scripture passage that
summarizes this moment – the writer records all that can been seen. In a zig zag manner – he follows Moses gave
from one landmark to another. If you
have a map in your Bible let me invite to turn over to it to get an idea of all
Moses saw that day.
Immediately across the valley on the
Western slope of the Jordan rift valley stood the city of Jericho, one of the
oldest human settlements in the world.
It is still known as a city of Palm trees. God then showed Moses all the land from
Gilead in the south to Dan – all the way in the North near today’s Lebonan
border. Dan was the first place Abraham
had entered into the Promised Land. Then God showed him all of Naphtali – the
Northern Galilee, Ephraim and Manasseh – the central highlands with their
rolling hills and valleys; all Judah reaching to the Mediterranean Sea –
including the mountains that would one day hold Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives
and Bethlehem; the Negev – the southern desert wilderness and the plains which
encircle Jericho, City of Palms, as far south as Zoar.
Moses came up to see the Promised
Land – and it was even grander than he could ever have imagined. It was more spectacular than any family myth had
remembered. From the perspective of Mt.
Nebo – Moses regained God’s vision for the people of Israel. The Promised Land was no long a myth or a
promise – it was here in front of Moses, ready to be received.
Mountaintop experiences help us to re-orient
our lives around God’s vision for us as well.
The mountaintop is the place we can go to get perspective on what we are
doing. On the mountaintop, we can
transcend ourselves to ask the important questions about ourselves and
others. It’s a place we can see the
patterns of the life.
Like Moses, our mountaintop
experiences allow us to get a panoramic view of our lives – we can see better
what we are doing, where we are going, and what stands in our way.
When we stand on the mountaintop, we
see our family more completely. We see
the joy that lies at the foundation of the daily chores and challenges – we
remember the laughter we share and the love that bonds us.
When we stand on the mountaintop –
we get a glimpse of our vocation – the passion and experiences that brought us
to where we are. We rekindle the joy
that started us on this journey.
When we stand on the mountaintop, we
see the daily medical challenges that confront us differently. We see God molding us into the image of his
son, as we walk each new day. We see
more clearly our ultimate destination and the fear of death and dying slowly
slip away.
Mountaintops reorient our lives and
force us to look up off the sidewalk and catch God’s vision for our lives.
Like Moses, we must intentionally
seek these mountaintop experiences. They
begin in prayer as we meditate on scripture.
They become intentional retreats at home or away from home. Our mountaintop experience may be a mission
trip or Camp Agape, a spiritual get away or a morning at home with the Bible.
We must be willing to allow the
presence of God to meet us in these moments for this re-orientation to take
place. We can all climb a mountain of
some fashion – but we have to be willing to see with the vision of God for that
re-orientation to occur.
Descent
Finally, Moses doesn’t stay on top
of Mt. Nebo. At some point, he has seen
all that he can see and it’s time to return to the valley. If Mountaintops give us vision, the valleys
give us life.
When the Cherokee and the old time
pioneers first settled these Georgia Mountains, they didn’t build mountaintop
cabins like we see today. They settled
in the lowlands, the valleys and the river bottoms were the places that
produced crops and offered constant water.
Mountaintops offer vision, but we can never live there.
Moses returned to his tribe and his
people and then died. He was full of
vigor and vision till the very end.
I love the Oswald Chambers quote on
the front of our Order of Worship.
“The
mountaintop is an exceptional type of experience; we have to live down in the
valley. After every time of exaltation
we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are, where things
are neither beautiful nor poetic nor spiritual nor thrilling. The height of the
mountaintop is measured by the drab drudgery of the valley. We never live for the glory of God on the
mount; we see His glory there, but we
do not live for his glory there; it is in the valley that we live for the glory
of God.” We descend the mountain to live
for Jesus with a new vision
Conclusion
This is the Gospel for
us today: From the mountaintop, God reorients our
vision for our life in the valleys.
God
has a path for you and your life. Roadblocks
and barriers block our paths. On the
mountain top, we begin to see with God’s eyes the direction and purpose of this
path before us – with God’s vision these the barriers no longer seem as big,
the path no longer feels as long, and joy suddenly descends into our lives
again.
What
part of your life does God need to re-orient today to help you begin walking
God’s path and faith purpose again?
Over
the past year, I have hike Mt. Yonah through every season. I love the Mount Yonah hike because it is a
high reward hike. From the mountaintop,
the whole Georgia Blue Ridge opens up before you – like a panorama of God’s
handiwork. From the backside of Yonah I
can look across the valleys and fields of white and Habersham Counties to see
Chenocetah rise up on the horizon. All
of the struggles and challenges of my life live in those valleys – but from the
mountaintop, they no longer look imposing or impossible. Instead, they look small, feeble and
doable. God meets me every time I
struggle up that steep road on Yonah and re-orients again with a vision for
life in the valley. He wants to do the
same in your life today. Will you let
him? Thanks be the God. Amen.
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| Early Spring from Mt. Yonah |
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