Deuteronomy: A Complete Surprise

It was said to me and I have passed it along many times to people leaving a job, “People will remember how you leave as much or more than what you did while you were there. Leave well.” There are several farewells in Scripture with the most memorable being Elijah’s departure in the fiery chariot but the longest is the parting song and speech of Moses. The whole book of Deuteronomy is a long farewell.

I have often wondered why Moses bothered to take one last opportunity at the end of his life to instruct the Israelites. After all, for forty years they had been rebellious and stiff-necked. They had repeatedly disobeyed, complained, grumbled, and gone their own way. Not only that but as he says, “The Lord was angry with me because of you and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.”  

While it could be the embarrassed farewell of a failed leader or even one who is bitter and angry, it is not. It could have been the aggrieved outburst of a man who had been deprived of what was his rightful legacy due to a momentary lapse of temper. Instead, it is the final gesture of a man whose life was, for better and worse, tied to these people and their future. Yet, the central message is not a reflection of his complicated relationship with them but impressing on them they are now the carriers of God’s name and whatever they have been through has been for the purpose of preparing them for that. He is leaving the honor of God’s name in their hands. In equal parts both promises and warnings, Moses binds them to their inescapable responsibility. There is no going away gift from the people to him. There is no celebration for his years of service and leadership. He is, instead, putting the burden on them.

It must have been hard to face at the end of his life. The first 40 years were spent blissfully ignorant of who he was. The second 40 years were in exile. The final forty years were spent wrestling stubborn, rebellious, complaining and stiff-necked people through the desert.  

In a sense, his life’s work was something of a failure. He didn’t accomplish the one thing he had been commissioned to do – to get the people from Egypt to the Promised Land. He was at the end of his life and for all he knew the people for whom he had been given responsibility were only going to rebel and become corrupt the moment he dies. Jesus left behind beloved disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit. Paul left Ephesus with tears and their begging him not to go to Jerusalem. Moses seems to be leaving with regrets, disappointment and failure.

However, two things stand out to me in his final words:

First, all his chronic anger is gone in the end. He genuinely blesses the people. The whole of the closing chapters are gracious and kind. He speaks about a future filled with blessings and all the things God has desired for them.

 Let my teaching fall like rain
  and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
  like abundant rain on tender plants.

The eternal God is your refuge,
  and underneath are the everlasting arms.

Finally, even Moses could not see the eventual influence of his life. He could see the Promised Land and even 800 years ahead to the destruction of Jerusalem but he could not see 1,500 or 2,500 years ahead. How could he have known what he did would become the bedrock of whole civilizations and the people he led from slavery would change the world. His unfinished work will last forever. Along with the hardship and the struggle God gave him in ways he could not predict what he had promised: fame, praise and honor.

Sometimes we are too quick to judge our own lives in the short term. We cannot see that far ahead to know. What we think of as unfinished or failed may well turn out to be remarkable if we live life in faithfulness and if we practice fidelity. What we accomplish in our lives is often, like blessings, a complete surprise.

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Art by Joseph Ducreux

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