4:21-22 - 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.
Moses turns for the third time1 to his denial from the land. Even though the use of the noun 'inheritance' in v20 and v21 serves as a link between the previous and the present unit, nothing in the former prepares us for this subject being brought up here. In its present form, however, it serves a potent reminder to his audience of the perils of disobedience.
The transition from the previous part of his speech is abrupt, opening with an emphatic note on Yahweh's anger with Moses. "Because of you" discloses nothing new about Moses' perception of how the Israelites contributed to his denial from the land than what has been said previously (1:37 & 3:26; see Excursus on Moses' Denial from the Land later). "Swore" (shaba') is the strongest verb Moses has so far used to describe Yahweh's decision concerning his bar from the land.2 For the first time also, Moses acknowledges the fact that he would die outside the land. The twice-repeated avowal, "I will not be crossing the Jordan," adds finality to his admission. This recognition of his fate, however, does not colour this recall with despair or despondency, even if it lines it with tension. He seems to be coming to terms with his denial from the land. For, on the one hand, the passage is marked by the sharp contrast between "I will not cross over" and "you are the ones crossing over." On the other hand, the solemnity of the implied warning in his exclusion from the land and the forfeiture of his portion of the inheritance (if a person of the stature of Moses has to pay such a price for his transgression, then who is exempted?) is balanced by the affirmation of Yahweh's gift of the good land to Israel as an inheritance3 (the gift that only a son can receive) and highlighted here by being sandwiched between Moses' acknowledgement of his denial from the land:
Z. Yahweh was angry with me, and he solemnly swore that . . .
Aa. I would not cross the Jordan,
Ab. I will not enter the good land
Ba. Yahweh your God is giving you as your inheritance
Ab'. I will die in this land,
Aa'. I will not cross the Jordan
Bb. You are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.
It is never easy to come to terms with one's failure and loss. It is even more difficult to acknowledge them before one's peer, and especially so for leaders with high public profiles like Moses. Yet, here Moses sets his failure at the core of the chiasm that holds his call to decision together (click here to review the structure of this section), and in so doing, makes his failure and resulting loss a glaring object lesson in obedience. This takes the rare and raw courage and humility that can only come from a person who has resolved his walk with God. Yet in doing so, Moses infuses his challenge to Israel to walk faithfully before Yahweh with the power of authenticity and passion that makes Deuteronomy so compelling. Effective ministry is always the result of men who are prepared to put everything they have—not just their strengths and wisdom, but also their brokenness and weaknesses—before God, and hence to die to themselves, as Moses would die bereft of his inheritance.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2017