One Rewarded and One Punished

Deuteronomy 4:20-24

In 4th grade me and another boy were called to the principal's office. I had been jumped on by the boy at recess and did not fight back. Still, I was worried that I was going to be in trouble. While there I had to tell my side of the story. It matched what the teacher had written on the referral. I was told by the principal that I had handled the situation well. The other boy was punished. The same incident had two different outcomes for the two of us. Though this scripture is not of one incident, Moses does discuss the two outcomes of himself and the people.

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But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day. Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. But I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and possess that good land. Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 4:20-24

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To be factual with this, there are actually three groups discussed here. The first two Moses refers to as "You". One is the generation of Hebrews that came out of Egyptian slavery. The second is their children that were under 20 years old when God first told them to go into the promised land and they refused. The third was Moses himself.

The first generation was forbidden from entering the promised land. The only reason I bring them up is because it was mostly them that was brought out of the "iron furnace". It was also mostly them that rebelled and led to God being angry with Moses. This was a rebellious group of people who complained often and acted as though nothing was good enough for them. They viewed God as spiteful and hateful. Without cause or evidence, they constantly believed that God was leading them to their destruction.

The second group was their children and grandchildren. This generation learned from the mistakes of their parents and committed to living for God. It was them that God was leading into the promised land. Moses lumps them into the category, not because they are guilty of the same thing, but because they are capable of being guilty of the same thing. His message is a warning and admonition to serve God, or there will be consequences for their rebellion.

As proof of this, he reminds them that He himself is suffering punishment for being disobedient. Moses had been commanded to speak to the rock when Israel needed water for the second time. In his anger he hit the rock with his staff two times. As harmless as this seems, it was still an act of disobedience; an act of rebellion. That single act cost Moses his ability to enter the land that he had spent 4 decades leading them to. He used his life as a warning to this new generation to admonish them to obey God.

Rebellion against God has consequences. Obedience to God comes with blessings. It doesn't matter who we are. Moses is considered to be the greatest figure in the Old Testament other than God Himself. If he was punished for his rebellion, why would we expect anything different? I want to add that his consequences in no way indicated that God did not love him. When we face consequences in our lives, this does not mean God does not love us. It actually means the opposite. The writer of Hebrews wrote: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives'' (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Father, thank You that You love us and are not satisfied to leave us continuing to live in sin. You punish us to draw us closer to You. May we never lose sight of that. Help us to remember that actions have consequences before we make decisions that lead to those consequences. Help us to make Godly decisions because we love You and want to glorify Your holy Name!