The story of Moses’ death in Deuteronomy 32 always vexed me. It reads,

On that same day the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go up Mount Nebo in the Abrarim range in the land of Moab, across from Jericho and view the land of Canaan I am giving the Israelites as a possession. Then you will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence. Although from a distance you will view the land that I am giving the Israelites, you will not go there.”
Deuteronomy 32:48-52

Doesn’t that passage make God sound needlessly punitive? It used to sound that way to me. But what’s fascinating is that I don’t think it sounded that way to Moses. After God told him what was to come, instead of pouting or pleading, Moses responds with a blessing upon the tribes of Israel. Here are his final words:

There is none like the God of the upright one, who rides the heavens to your aid, the clouds in his majesty. The God of old is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He drives out the enemy before you and commands, “Destroy!” So Israel, dwell securely; Jacob, lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine; even his skies drip with dew. How happy you are Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD?
Deut. 33:26-29a

That doesn’t sound like a man who feels like he got the short end of the stick, does it? The next chapter records his death. Just as God said, Moses died with his toes on the threshold of the promised land. The fallible leader of the fickle people died without entering the land. And yet, he didn’t die disappointed.

The prophet Isaiah says that those who hope in God will not be disappointed (Isaiah 49:23). What does that mean? Because, if you remember the silver bracelet incident, you know I’ve experienced disappointment. You have, too. In fact, so had Isaiah.

So, how could he say that those who hope in God will not be disappointed? Was he lying? Was he one of those prosperity preachers peddling a gospel that if one follows God all their troubles will be over?

No.

Isaiah was a man who, in a really disappointing circumstance, had a vision that turned him upside down.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies;
his glory fills the whole earth!
The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke.
Isaiah 6:1-4

Isaiah saw the Lord seated on his throne. The curtain of the disappointment of this life was temporarily pulled back, and Isaiah saw the reality of God in heaven. My guess is that vision was the lens through which he viewed everything else for the rest of his life and was the reason he could say, “You guys, hope in the Lord! I promise you won’t be disappointed."

With that in mind, in the middle of your disappointments and sorrow, imagine yourself gazing into the manger. Jesus, the embodied God, is the peeled back curtain into the reality of realities. I wonder if you and I had held him that night and pressed our noses into the soft folds under His chin if we could ever after convince ourselves that God would ultimately disappoint us.

You guys, hope in the LORD! I promise you won’t be disappointed!

Pray: Son of God, there are days when all I see around me is sorrow and sadness. There are times when tears are my food, but today, Spirit, teach my heart to believe that you will not disappoint those who have entrusted their hope in God.