Good morning, folks from a sunny town in Scotland. As I was reading through Deuteronomy and in the last chapter, 34, in my Bible, my heart was really touched by the story of Moses.

Here was this great man of God who had led the children of Israel for forty long years through the wilderness. He had seen the Red Sea part, he had received the Law on Mount Sinai, and yet because of that one moment of disobedience at Meribah, the Lord said he could not enter the Promised Land. But oh, how gracious our God is!

Here is what the Scripture tells us:

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” (Deuteronomy 34:1-4 NKJV)

Hebrew Gems That Give Us Real Meat in these verses:

Now, if you dig just a little into the original Hebrew (and you can do that easily on Blue Letter Bible with the Strong’s numbers), there are some beautiful gems here that really feed your soul.

• “Went up” (Hebrew: עָלָה – alah, Strong’s H5927)

Moses willingly ascended that mountain in simple obedience to the Lord.

• “Top of Pisgah” (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַפִּסְגָּה – rosh ha-pisgah)

Pisgah speaks of a cleft or divided ridge. Moses stood right on the highest point, getting a clear view of all that God had promised, yet he himself would not enter it in this life.

• “The LORD showed him” and “I have caused you to see it with your eyes” (Hebrew: רָאָה – ra’ah, Strong’s H7200, in the Hiphil form)

This wasn’t ordinary eyesight; God intentionally granted Moses supernatural clarity of vision, even at 120 years old. I think I need this kind of eyesight for my mountain hikes.

• “But you shall not cross over there” (Hebrew: עָבַר – avar)

Moses received the vision, but he was not permitted to cross over and possess the land in his lifetime.

In one brief sentence, the Lord brings together both His holiness and His amazing grace: “I caused you to see it with your eyes … but you shall not cross over there.”

Moses got the vision but not the possession in his lifetime.

The Bigger Land Promise

You see, the land the Lord showed Moses from Mount Nebo was the great unconditional covenant promise He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a land stretching “from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). In modern terms that would include all of Israel, Lebanon, large portions of Syria and Jordan, and reaching over toward the Euphrates.

Now, Israel has never in all of history fully possessed and settled that entire vast territory. Even in the days of David and Solomon, the kingdom grew large, but it was never the complete, permanent possession with every tribe dwelling securely in every part of the promise.

What the Future Land Borders Will Look Like

Folks, I believe with all my heart that the complete fulfilment of this wonderful land promise will take place in the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus Christ returns and reigns as King from Jerusalem for a thousand years, just as Revelation 20 describes.

The Lord gives us the detailed borders for that future time in Ezekiel 47:13-20. They are very similar to the borders He gave in Numbers 34, but with some important distinctions that show God’s perfect and righteous plan.

• The land will be divided equally among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each get a portion so that every tribe shares fairly.
• The divisions will run in east-west strips from the Mediterranean Sea across to the Jordan area.
• And the Lord declares, “You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance.” (Ezekiel 47:14)

The four sides are described like this:

• North side: From the Great Sea (Mediterranean) by the road to Hethlon toward Hamath and as far as the border near Damascus.
• East side: Along the Jordan River from the area of Hauran and Damascus down toward the Dead Sea.
• South side: From Tamar by the waters of Meribah at Kadesh, along the brook of Egypt to the Great Sea.
• West side: The Mediterranean Sea itself.

In that glorious day the land will blossom like the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35), and a pure river of life will flow out from the temple in Jerusalem, bringing healing and fruitfulness wherever it goes (Ezekiel 47:1-12).

Even the strangers who sojourn among the people of Israel will receive an inheritance (Ezekiel 47:21-23). Israel will dwell in safety, and the Lord Himself will be in their midst.

This all ties in beautifully with Zechariah 12–14, where the Lord defends Jerusalem, His people look upon the One they have pierced, and the Scripture declares, “The LORD shall be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9).

Will Moses Return as One of the Two Witnesses?

Even though Moses did not enter the land in his earthly lifetime, we see him again in the New Testament, alive and glorified! At the Transfiguration on the mount, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in glory, talking with Him about His coming death (Matthew 17:1-3).

Many Bible teachers feel that Moses and Elijah may very well be the two witnesses described in Revelation 11, because the miracles they will perform so closely match the ministries of these two great servants of God.

Whether it is literally them or two others empowered by the same Spirit, the lesson is the same: our God is a God of resurrection power, and He can still use His servants mightily even after past failures.

A Message of Hope for Us

Oh, what a beautiful picture of God’s grace we see in Moses on Mount Nebo! The Lord is holy and He must deal with sin, but He is also so very gracious. He lifted Moses up, opened his eyes to the promise, and reminded him that the covenant would stand forever.

If you sometimes feel that you have only been given a vision of certain blessings in this life but not yet the full possession, take heart, child of God.

The same Lord who was so kind to Moses is kind to you today. And one glorious day, when Jesus comes back to reign as King of kings, every promise, including the full inheritance of the land, will be fulfilled perfectly and completely.

So, let’s continue steadfastly in the Word, let’s pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), and let’s keep our eyes on the blessed hope of our Lord’s soon return.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)