Other comments on this day's readings can be found here.
Reading 1 - Deu 3:27
"Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south
and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross
this Jordan" (Deu 3:27).
The Law -- typified by Moses its giver -- had to be crucified,
or put to death, before "Joshua" (or "Jesus", as in the New Testament) could
enter the Promised Land. But, like Abraham, Moses the faithful man was shown the
land he would later possess (Gen 13:14,15). It was wonderfully merciful of
Yahweh that Moses -- his eye undimmed -- might be allowed such a vision of what
will surely be his future glory with his Saviour and ours: an eternal
inheritance in the Land of Promise, after his resurrection from the
dead.
Reading 2 - Pro 30:8
"Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily
bread" (Pro 30:8).
In the materialistic age in which we sojourn, we see all
around us both men and women striving for greater things, seeking better work
conditions, better pay, a better position in society. And even for Christ's
brethren, there is immense pressure for them to "succeed" in the things of this
life -- a success which is measured purely in terms of social advantages, and
material possessions. Yet when measured against the standards of Divine Wisdom,
this "success" proves to be nothing short of failure.
"Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luk 12:15).
This was the exhortation of the Lord Jesus, introducing his parable of the man
seeking to build bigger and better barns in which to store his accumulation of
wealth.
But although riches are not to be sought after; neither is
there any virtue in poverty. There are those who suppose that there is
righteousness in becoming poor for poverty's sake, and so give up all to live on
the goodwill of others. But there can be no virtue in making ourselves
burdensome to others, or even worse, looking to the state as a provider. Indeed,
scripturally, poverty is associated with shame: "Poverty and shame shall be to
him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured"
(Pro 13:18).
There is no intrinsic virtue to poverty, for it merely
cultivates covetousness, and in many cases, theft to obtain that which is
desired, yet beyond lawful means to obtain.
Reading 3 - John 13:17
"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do
them" (John 13:17).
"Happiness is not in catering to desire, but in putting desire
away. Happiness is not in seeking pleasure, but in recognizing and thankfully
enjoying the myriad of pleasures that God showers bountifully on us every
moment: in His love, in His Word, in His Purpose, in His marvelous Creation:
from the infinitely small to the infinitely great -- all infinitely beautiful.
Happiness is not in getting, but in giving: not in being served, but in serving
(though truly there is happiness in being served -- if the service is of need
beyond our own capacity to fill, and if the service is in love). Christ tells us
where happiness is: in pureness of heart, in meekness, in mercifulness, in
hungering and thirsting after righteousness. Don't look for it anywhere else. It
isn't there. It must be created within ourselves. Its source is of God"
(GVG).