Why Could Moshe (Moses) Not Enter the Promised Land?
Before going into this subject, I want to say, Moshe was chosen by Elohim to lead Yisrael out of Mitsrayim (Egypt) over anyone else in the world. He is one of the greatest humans to ever lived, of course below Yahushua, who was a Prophet like Moshe but much greater. What is insinuated when this statement is made is the prophet like Moshe would be an intercessor between Elohim and men. We will in this article be looking at reasons why He could not enter the promise land. My purpose is not to degrade Moshe in anyway. The only reason I wanted to write about these matters was for our learning of what not to do, and the patterns involved in these actions so that we may recognize these patterns in the future. All the patriarchs and matriarchs had flaws; they were human. I firmly believe that in each case these failings were specifically allowed by Elohim to teach us of things to be aware of in these latter days so we will not do the same.
If you ask someone why Moshe could not go into the promise land they will always say because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it (Num. 20:10-13). He and Aaron took YHWH’s esteem. With a closer look we will see there is more to it than just hitting the rock.
If you look at Duet. 1:37 “And YHWH was enraged with me for your sakes, saying, ‘You do not go in there, either.'”
Moshe is told he will not enter the land at the sin of the spies. He was enraged with Moshe because the people did not believe YHWH would go before them as he did with Mitsrayim. Why would He blame Moshe for their doubt?
The answer is in Exodus 18:1 through 20:23, in one word: Yitro. You might say what does Yitro have to do with the sin of the spies? The answer is Moshe listened to his father-in-law who told him what he was doing was not good for various reasons, mainly that Moshe could not bear the burden of the people. Keep in mind Yitro is a priest who believes in multiple gods, witnessed when he says “now I can see that YHWH is greater than all the other gods” (Exo. 18:11).
Yitro throws a feast which included offerings to YHWH (Exo.18-12). All the elders, including Aaron, attended except Moshe. This most likely upset Yitro. He goes to Moshe and sees him standing before the people the next day judging matters according to the Words of Elohim. Yitro sees this as not a good thing because he sees Moshe as a man that is not capable of carrying this load. When in fact Moshe is the chosen vessel of Elohim to lead and intercede with Him for the people. Moshe was not operating in the power of the flesh but in the power of the Ruach (Spirit) of Elohim. There was no limit to what Moshe could do with Elohim flowing through him.
Yitro gives Moshe advice on how to take care of the matter and tells him to ask Elohim. Moshe follows his advice and appoints judges to take the load off of himself. It seems on the surface that this is a good thing but on a close examination it does not seem that Moshe asks Elohim.
Deu 1:9 “And I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am unable to bear you by myself.
Deu 1:10 YHWH your Elohim has increased you, and see, you are today as numerous as the stars of the heavens.
Deu 1:11 YHWH Elohim of your fathers is going to add to you a thousand times more than you are, and bless you as He has spoken to you!
Deu 1:12 How do I bear your pressure and your burden and your strife, by myself?
Deu 1:13 Choose men, wise and understanding, and known to your tribes, and let me appoint them as your heads.’
Deu 1:14 “And you answered me and said, ‘The word which you have spoken to us to do is good.'”
Notice that Moshe asks the people not Elohim. This is connected with the sin of the spies because at that time they ask Moshe if they could go and spy out the land. This time Moshe does ask Elohim if that was ok and, says let them go.
So, we have Moshe asking the people if it seems good to them (Duet. 1:14), after telling them he is not able to bare them. These people at this point are still not sure if Moshe is a demigod, or a good magician. He was definitely their Father figure. When Moshe acknowledges weakness and inability to do something then the seed was planted that Elohim is limited at some level. On a closer examination of how the people saw the man Moshe we need to look at the golden calf incident.
When Moshe was gone for a very long time, the people gathered against Aaron as follows.
Exo 32:1 And when the people saw that Moshe was so long in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aharon, and said to him, “Arise, make us elohim (gods) who go before us. For this Moshe, the man who brought us up out of the land of Mitsrayim, we do not know what has become of him.”
Exo 32:5 And Aharon saw and built a slaughter-place before it. And Aharon called out and said, “Tomorrow is a festival to YHWH.”
We can see two things here. First, they want a replacement for their intercessor with Elohim (God). Then what do they choose to replace him? Elohim (gods). Moshe was told that he would be an elohim to Aaron and to Pharoah. The base meaning of El is strong, but in most all cases it is associated with a strong leader. The word elohim can be used for leaders, judges, gods, even Our Father in Heaven. To be an elohim at the human level basically means, someone that Our Father in Heaven can flow through, which is what Moshe was.
The next thing we see in verse 5, “Aaron pronounces that tomorrow is a festival to YHWH”. So, these gods, including the golden calf are not to be the Supreme Being, but intercessors, to replace Moshe. The people were used to the Egyptian idea of multiple gods with images to represent the gods. They felt these images were a channel to the god they represented.
What we can see in all this, is that they considered Moshe a god at some level. This is very important in what follows.
Appointing judges
Appointing judges was what was to happen just before they enter the land but not before. For Israel to see that all Moshe and Aaron had done was only by the Ruach of Elohim flowing through them, and to know they were only human, required the death of Aaron and Moshe. The first time we see that Israel began to understand this is after Aaron’s death. At that time Israel made a vow to YHWH and said, “if You deliver this people (Arad) into my hand, then we shall put their cities under the ban” (Num. 21:2). This was the first time they inquired of YHWH instead of Moshe and Aaron. Before they just ask Moshe and Aaron and then Moshe went to Elohim. This was forty years after the sin of the spies. They were beginning to see that Moshe and Aaron were just people that Elohim could flow through. The pashat, literal, level of understanding what an elohim below Eloah (Our Father in Heaven) is, would be some being, heavenly or human, that Avinu can flow through, as said above. Such a person is someone that realizes that Avinu ba-shamayim (our Father in Heaven) is in 100% control of His creation 100% of the time, so they wait to hear from Him and then act. They have to believe completely that if He flows through them there is nothing they can not do. This was and is so difficult that we can see Elijah fleeing from a woman immediately after seeing the great power of Elohim when he confronted the pagan prophets. We have to keep in mind Moshe was human, subject to all the weaknesses of the flesh. Avinu picked him to lead Yisrael above all men living at that time, but as all the patriarchs they were not perfect, but The One leading them was. We are to learn from their weaknesses, so we know not to do those type things. The most destructive of all is putting our faith in a man or nation to care for us, instead of YHWH.
What we have seen so far is Moshe took the advice of a pagan priest and inquired of the people not Elohim. Which planted a seed of doubt as to whether Elohim’s power was unlimited or was limited.
Something else that was just brought to my attention, is Moshe begging Hobab (his brother in-law) to lead them in the wilderness as follows.
Num 10:28 Such was the order of setting out of the children of Yisrael, according to their divisions, when they departed.
Num 10:29 And Moshe said to Hobab, the son of Reuel the Midyanite, Moshe’s father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which YHWH said, ‘I give it to you.’ Come with us, and we shall do good to you, for YHWH has spoken good concerning Yisrael.”
Num 10:30 And Hobab replied to him, “I am not going, but I am going to my own land and to my relatives.”
Num 10:31 Then he said, “Please do not leave us, because you know how we are to camp in the wilderness, and you shall be our eyes.
Num 10:32 “And it shall be, when you go with us, then it shall be that whatever good YHWH does to us, the same we shall do to you.”
Num 10:33 So they set out from the mountain of YHWH on a journey of three days. And the ark of the covenant of YHWH went before them for the three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them.
Num 10:34 And the cloud of YHWH was above them by day when they went out from the camp.
Num 10:35 And it came to be, whenever the ark set out, that Moshe said, “Rise up, O YHWH! And let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.”
Num 10:36 And when it rested, he said, “Return, O YHWH, to the countless thousands of Yisrael.”
Why would Moshe be begging Hobab to lead them when YHWH is leading them in cloud? Once again it seems to be a weakness of total reliance on YHWH. Knowing these things is so important for us in what we are about to enter into. We know the flesh is weak, but the Spirit is unlimited in what it can do through us. Avinu give us the strength to endure, Amen.
Sin of the spies
Now comes the time of the spies. Israel inquires of Moshe not Elohim as to whether to spy the land out or not. Moshe does inquire of Elohim, who says, let them go. The spies doubted that Elohim could drive these people out before them. Obviously Avinu blamed Moshe for the having doubt because He was enraged with Moshe and forbade him to enter the land also. Deu 1:37 And YHWH was enraged with me for your sakes, saying, “You do not go in there, either”.
The chaos that follows
Shortly after the death sentence on those men twenty years old and older comes the rebellion of Korach (Num. Chapter 16). Israel was grieving their own deaths sentence and they launch an assault against Moshe who was their head.
There is an interesting parallel here with Lev. 21:1-5. The word for making bald the head is Korchah. This comes right after not defiling yourself for the dead.
This might seem trivial but actually it can be an especially important sod level thing. Korach and his followers are grieving their deaths and who are they attacking? The head, Moshe. This still might not seem that big of a deal until we look into the future.
When Mariam died the living, water stopped. The people rebelled against Aaron and Moshe. Moshe was very angry about their rebellion. At the same time, he was grieving the loss of Mariam (look at the parallels with the rebellion of Korach).
Israel still did not fall on their faces and ask Elohim to give them water, they blamed Aaron and Moshe.
Who is that Rock that brought forth the living water? Yahushua of course (1 Cor. 10:4, Isa. 26:4, 30:29 & 44:8).
What we see next is Moshe and Aaron (because he did not stop Moshe) take credit for the living water returning by striking the rock instead of speaking to it. Yahushua was struck at His first coming but is not to be struck again. Basically, Moshe, the leader of the people, and Aaron, the priest, struck YHWH twice. Once for the leader and once for the priest. Moshe was the leader of the people and Aaron the priest.
Once again, we see the Head being struck while they are grieving for the dead (Mariam).
Is this preparing us for future understandings?
Will the Jews and the church (descendants of Ephraim) strike the Rock in the later days when the Living Water seems to have stopped? Is this prophetic in some way?
The descendants of Yahudah are to be the leaders of the people (Gen. 49:10). Ephrayim received the first born, double fruit blessing (Gen. 48:19 & Jer. 31:9), which is the priestly portion of the first-born blessing.
There is an interesting parallel in Isaiah 8:1-8. Avinu is telling the history that led to destruction or near destruction because Israel put their faith in a man instead of YHWH. The rest of chapter eight is remarkably interesting.
Isa 8:9 “Be shattered, O you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Give ear, all you from the far places of the earth. Gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, but be broken in pieces.”
YHWH says be broken in pieces three times in this one verse.
Here is the remainder of the Chapter 8.
Isa 8:10 “Take counsel, and it comes to naught; speak a word, and it does not stand, for El is with us.”
Fear Avinu and Wait for YHWH
Isa 8:11 For YHWH spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people, saying,
Isa 8:12 “Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. (This certainly speaks of today. If you say conspiracy, you are saying YHWH is not in total control of His creation).
Isa 8:13 “YHWH of hosts, Him you shall set apart. Let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.
Isa 8:14 “And He shall be for a set-apart place, but a stone of stumbling (Isa. 28:16, Psalms 91:12 & 118:22) and a rock that makes for falling to both the houses of Yisrael, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
Isa 8:15 “And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken and snared and taken.”
Isa 8:16 Bind up the witness, seal the Torah among my taught ones.
Isa 8:17 And I shall wait on YHWH, who hides His face from the house of Yaaqob. And I shall look for Him.
Isa 8:18 Look, I and the children whom YHWH has given me – for signs and wonders in Yisrael from YHWH of hosts, who dwells in Mount Tsiyon (the 144,000 possibly?).
Isa 8:19 And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their Elohim? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?
Isa 8:20 To the Torah and to the witness! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because they have no daybreak.a Footnote: aOr light.
Isa 8:21 And they shall pass through it hard pressed and hungry. And it shall be, when they are hungry, that they shall be angry and curse their sovereign and their Elohim , looking upward.
Isa 8:22 And they shall look to the earth and see distress and darkness, gloom of hard times, and be driven into thick darkness.
Both houses of Israel are going to curse their sovereign and their Elohim when they pass through the darkness to come. Just as Moshe and Aaron struck the Rock.
There is hope and restoration in Chapter nine for those in darkness.
Isa 9:1 But there is no gloom upon her who is distressed, as when at first He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Yarden, in Galil of the nations.
Isa 9:2 The people who were walking in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death a light has shone.
If Moshe and Aaron took Yahushua’s esteem when they struck the rock, how would the Jews and the Church be doing the same now? Yahushua is our intercessor with Avinu (1 Jon. 2:1, Heb. 8:6, 9:15 & 12:24). He is the prophet like Moshe (Duet. 18:15-19). Are they taking His esteem by claiming to be your intercessors? I can think of many ways the leaders of both could be taking credit for miracles that are not by power or might but by the Ruach (Spirit) of YHWH (Zec. 4:6).
Another witness of a latter-day prophecy that shows Israel being broken to pieces is as follows.
A Rebellious People
Isa 30:8 And go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it on a scroll, that it is for a latter day, a witness forever:
Isa 30:9 that this is a rebellious people, lying children, children who refuse to hear the Torah of YHWH,
Isa 30:10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right. Speak to us what is smooth, prophesy deceits (2 Tim. 4:3 & Rom. 16:18).
Isa 30:11 “Turn aside from the way, swerve from the path, cause the Set-apart One of Yisrael to cease from before us.”
Isa 30:12 Therefore thus said the Set-apart One of Yisrael, “Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on them,
Isa 30:13 therefore this crookedness is to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, swiftly.”
Isa 30:14 And He shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, which is broken in pieces, without sparing, so that there is not found among its fragments a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water from the cistern.
Isa 30:15 For thus said the Master YHWH, the Set-apart One of Yisrael, “In returning and rest you are saved, in stillness and trust is your strength.” But you would not.
There is much more depth in all this, but I just wanted to share a few thoughts without making it a book. The root level of what caused Moshe to not be able to enter the promised land was two-fold. First, he decided to follow the advice of a priest that believed in multiple gods without inquiring of Elohim to get approval. To the credit of Yithro, he told Moshe to enquire of Elohim. Also, on the surface the advice seemed good. It was not that the advice was bad, it was the timing. Then Moshe inquired of the people to see if they thought it was good to them to appoint judges because they were to much for him. The people held Moshe at the level of a demigod, so this sign of weakness on the part of Moshe planted a seed of doubt as to the weather power of Elohim was unlimited or limited.
Second, Moshe and Aaron took credit for bringing forth water from the rock, they took YHWH’s Esteem. This would infer to Israel that they were gods because they had the power to bring forth water from the rock. This potentially could have again caused Israel to doubt, because he showed weakness before at the Yithro incident.
I do not think YHWH was surprised by any of this. If Moshe and Aaron had not died before Israel went into the land, they would still have been going to them instead of going to YHWH.
Shalom Shalom
Conner
sevenmoedim@outlook.com