Bible Study with Jairus - Deuteronomy 32:48-52
The Nature of God and the Leading of God
Scripture Reading
“That very day the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.’”
(Deuteronomy 32:48–52 ESV)
Moses’s Death Reviews the Nature and the Leading of God
Deuteronomy 32:48–52 records one of the most sobering moments in Scripture: Moses is called to ascend Mount Nebo, to see the Promised Land from a distance, and to die without entering it. This moment is not merely about judgment; it is a revelation of something deeper — the distinction between the nature of God and the leading of God.
Moses knew God. Scripture affirms this. He knew God’s ways, His holiness, His righteousness, and His standards. Yet in this final act of his ministry, Moses missed something crucial: not only the nature of God, but the leading of God for that specific moment.
This tension forms the heart of this message.
The death of Moses sits within a larger redemptive context. The first generation of Israelites was promised entry into Canaan, yet they died in the wilderness. Scripture is clear that this was not because God failed to keep His word but because the people hardened their hearts in unbelief.
God remained faithful and unchanged. He is immutable, constant in His nature and purpose. Humanity however is mutable, living in time and subject to change. God who stands both within and beyond time relates to humanity progressively, which often makes His dealings appear unpredictable to finite minds.
To assume we can fully comprehend the ways of an infinite God is itself a form of pride. His nature is revealed, but His leading must continually be discerned.
Understanding God’s nature guards us from rebellion. Understanding God’s leading guards us from presumption.
God’s attributes do not change. His holiness, faithfulness, mercy, and justice remain constant. Yet the way He leads His people may differ across seasons and generations. If we assume that God must move tomorrow exactly as He did yesterday, we risk resisting His present work.
At the same time, assuming we can always predict or interpret God’s leading apart from humility is equally dangerous. The balance is found in continual dependence on the Spirit of God.
Moses, the Rock, and the Two Generations
The background is familiar. In the wilderness of Zin, Israel lacked water. The first time this occurred, God commanded Moses to strike the rock. Moses obeyed. Water flowed.
This act was deeply symbolic. The rock represented Christ, the spiritual Rock who was struck once to bear God’s righteous judgment on behalf of sinful humanity. The anger was not released upon the people, but upon the Rock. This prefigured the cross.
Years later, the same situation arose. Another generation. Another moment of thirst. But this time, God’s command was different. Moses was instructed to speak to the rock, not strike it.
Instead, Moses struck the rock again.
This was not merely disobedience. It was a failure to discern that God’s leading had changed, even though His nature had not.
God’s rebuke of Moses was severe because Moses was not merely an individual. He was a representative. His actions shaped Israel’s understanding of who God was.
At Meribah, Moses struck the rock in anger when God had commanded him to speak to it. That act mattered not only because of disobedience but because it misrepresented God’s holiness before the people.
Scripture later reveals the typological meaning of the rock.
“For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”
The rock was struck once. It was not to be struck again. Moses’ second strike disrupted the divine picture God was communicating. Christ would suffer once, not repeatedly.
Moses’ Plea and the Larger Redemptive Picture
Moses pleaded with the Lord to enter the Promised Land, but God refused. This refusal was not rooted in cruelty but in revelation.
Moses functioned as the mediator of the Law. The Law reveals God’s holy standard and exposes human inability, but it does not grant inheritance. Scripture later makes this distinction clear.
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Entrance into God’s promise is ultimately by grace, not works.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Moses was allowed to see the land, but Joshua led the people into it. Joshua’s name shares the same Hebrew root as Jesus and functions as a typological pointer. The Law reveals. Grace brings in.
Joshua’s name means “Jehovah becomes our salvation.” The purpose of Moses’s ministry was to prepare for the ministry of Joshua. The purpose of the law was to set up God’s standard and reveal His nature. The ten commandments reveal who God is in His holiness and how God wants people to interact with Him and their fellow human beings. He gives us a standard regarding our dealings with God and people. Another function of law is to point to Jesus Christ, who is “the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).
The First and Second Generation: Law and Grace
To understand this, we must distinguish between the two generations of Israelites.
The first generation represented the old man — rebellious, unbelieving, and unable to enter God’s rest. God’s leading toward them was severe because the purpose was death to the flesh. That generation had to die in the wilderness.
The second generation represented something different. They still complained. They still struggled. But they represented the weakness of the flesh in the regenerated man. God’s leading toward them was not to destroy, but to sustain, nurture, and bring them into the Promised Land by grace.
Moses treated the second generation the same way God treated the first. That was the mistake.
He understood God’s nature, but he missed God’s leading. We can see the same thing happening in the modern church. When I was a new believer, the more mature believers in the church were very patient with me and showed me a lot of grace. I was zealous to serve God but also lived according to my fleshly nature. But these believers understood that transformation takes time, and they gave me space to grow. Likewise, God understood that it would take time for the second generation of Israelites to be transformed. On the outside, they often acted the same as their fathers had. But inwardly, they had already experienced circumcision of the heart. This is similar to the experience of New Testament believers. Our sin has been dealt with on the cross, but it takes time to overcome the habit of living in sin.
The Locomotive Illustration: Position vs Practice
This distinction can be illustrated with the image of a locomotive.
When a train’s engine is shut off, the train does not stop immediately. It continues to move because of momentum. In the same way, when a believer is crucified with Christ, sin is dealt with positionally. Yet habits, patterns, and practices may continue for a time.
Spiritually, the believer is dead to sin. Practically, the flesh still needs to be put to death through the Spirit. This is why Scripture teaches that believers must walk by the Spirit, even though they already live by the Spirit. Paul mentions that we need to put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit (Romans 6:13). In other words, sin has lost its power in the spiritual realm because Jesus Christ already took care of it on the cross. But in our everyday lives, the deeds of the body and the habits of the flesh are still strong. The locomotive’s engine has already shut off, but it will take a while for it to come to a complete stop.
This is why God’s leading for a believer is different from His leading for a nonbeliever. But Moses failed to recognize this distinction.
God dealt with sin by putting it on the cross, where Jesus bore the wrath of God in our place. There is no room for negotiation. This is why God told Moses to strike the rock. Paul clearly states that the spiritual rock accompanying the Israelites was Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).
But God’s approach toward the second generation of Israelites—and toward believers who have found new life in Christ—is much gentler. He asks Moses to speak to the Rock, which symbolizes applying Christ’s work on the cross to our lives. It takes time and repetition. It requires the patience of a father or a nursing mother. When I had my child, a seasoned parent from my Bible study shared some parenting advice with me. He said, “Children won’t absorb your advice or instructions the first time you tell them. They will forget what you say, and you will have to keep reminding them. But don’t get upset. Just keep repeating yourself. Eventually, they will internalize what you are saying.” This is so true. God knows that our flesh is strong, but He is willing to patiently guide us into the abundant life of Jesus Christ.
Sabbath: Nature and Leading Together
The Sabbath perfectly illustrates the principle of God’s nature and leading.
The Sabbath reveals the nature of God — God rests. God is peace. Humanity needs rest because God Himself rested. Yet the Sabbath also reveals the leading of God. In the Old Testament, Sabbath observance preserved Israel from worldliness and idolatry. In the New Testament, Jesus declared Himself Lord of the Sabbath. He healed on the Sabbath. He placed mercy above ritual.
The nature of God did not change. But the leading of God did. Those who clung rigidly to the rule missed the movement of God. How can we understand the balance between the nature of God and the leading of God in regards to the Sabbath? When the people of Israel were totally focused on the world and on idol worship, God asked them to keep the Sabbath. The purpose of the Sabbath was to distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations full of idol worshipers and to separate them from the busy lifestyle of the world. Sabbath required them to stop working one day a week to seek God and worship Him only. This ritual helped the Israelites become a holy people dedicated to God so that God could use them to bring the Savior into the world. God’s heart was to save mankind through Jesus Christ, who would be born from the nation of Israel.
But in the New Testament, God’s leading regarding the Sabbath was different. Because the Pharisees were completely focused on outward conformity and religiosity, Jesus challenged their mindset by breaking the Sabbath. He realized that they no longer cared about other people. They only cared about making sure people followed their rules. They didn’t care about the woman who was bound by Satan for eighteen years. They only cared about making sure Jesus didn’t break the law by healing that woman on the Sabbath. Jesus rebuked them by saying, “If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” (Luke 14:5 NIV) He also said, “Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?” (Luke 13:15 NIV) Jesus called them hypocrites. He also called himself the Lord of Sabbath (Matthew 12:8).
The Sabbath laws reveal the nature of God. He is compassionate and wants to save humanity. That is His nature. Even though His leading was different in each historical period, it always served the same purpose: to bring this compassion to mankind. God strictly required the Jews to keep the Sabbath so they could be a holy nation and bring Jesus Christ, the seed of holiness, into the world. But after Jesus Christ came to earth, God’s leading was no longer bound by the rituals of the Sabbath. Instead, his compassionate desire to save humankind allowed people to bring healing and compassion to others on the Sabbath. The nature of God had not changed, but His leading had. And the Pharisees totally missed it.
Moses also likely missed the fact that God’s leading had changed. He may not have realized that the ministry of Joshua represented a new phase of God’s leading. God had used Moses to prepare for the ministry of Joshua, but now it was time for Moses to step down. He would die physically, but the Promised Land would endure. Similarly, the Law came to an end, but Jesus Christ lasts forever. The Sabbath was temporary and could now be broken, but compassion and love will never go away.
The Apple Tree Illustration: Nature Cannot Change, Growth Can Be Choked
An apple tree will always produce apples. It cannot produce pearls. That is its nature.
Yet an apple tree can be prevented from bearing fruit — deprived of sunlight, water, nourishment, or choked by stones and thorns.
You cannot change the life God has placed within a believer
But you can hinder its growth through disobedience, presumption, or pride
Sin may not cost a believer eternal life, but it can cost manifested presence, spiritual vitality, and anointing.
Presumption always costs something. Once you are born, your biological relationship to your father can never be reversed. Even if you rebel against your father, you cannot change the fact you are his son. But you can definitely lose your experience of fellowship with your father. People debate whether Christians will go to hell if they sin after becoming a Christian. I tend to believe they will not lose their salvation, since Jesus said clearly that no one can snatch believers out of His hand (John 10:28). But this does not mean there is no discipline in heaven. And if we sin, we may lose our experience of fellowship with God here on earth. Moses’s rebellion may not have cost him eternal life or his reward in heaven, but it certainly cost him his earthly life, his ministry, and his anointing. When a Christian sins, they may not lose eternal life, but they will lose their experience of God’s presence in their life.
The story of Moses has an important lesson to teach all Christian leaders today. We can never change the fact that we are children of God, just like we cannot change the nature of an apple tree. But our lack of obedience can hinder our growth. We must cooperate with God, the experienced gardener, and allow him to remove all the hindrances to bearing fruit. Just like an apple tree needs sunshine, fertilizer, water and pruning, we need God to prune us.
God’s leading often involves a pruning process. The Israelites’ forty-year wilderness journey was a pruning process. When God told Moses he could not enter the promised land, God was pruning him so that one day he could appear with Elijah to talk with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. The household of Israel is currently going through a pruning process so that one day, the whole house of Israel can be saved when the number of the Gentiles is fulfilled.
Humility and God’s Leading
True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.
Moses’s failure was not rooted in immorality, but in assumption; assuming that what worked before must work again. This is the danger of spiritual maturity without continued dependence. The Bible tells us that Moses knew God’s way and His nature, but this did not mean that Moses would get it right every time. In this situation, I believe he failed to understand God’s leading.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humility is what keeps a servant sensitive to God’s current leading.
As Watchman Nee famously said, we are not working for God; we are God’s work. We are His masterpiece.
I was born in a poor Chinese farmer’s family. My wife always said: “Who will listen to you preach in English?” I had low self-esteem. I couldn’t overcome it because of my background. When God called me to preach internationally in English, I struggled: “God, I’m just a little Chinese potato [an average, insignificant person]. How can I do this?”
But God continued to patiently lead me, transform me, and empower me. Today I am confident—not because of me, but because of Jesus Christ who empowers me. In the same way, God led the second generation of Israelites (and new believers in our current age) with grace and empowerment. God gives grace to the humble and empowers us to do the mighty things we cannot do on our own. God is looking for humble vessels. We need to humble ourselves so God can give us strength.
God is raising up men and women of God from third world countries to do His work. These countries used to receive spiritual help from the West. But now, God has shown me that a massive movement from China will transform the world. The revival will not only spread to nearby countries like Japan and North Korea, but it will also bring transformation to Muslim countries and even Israel. The Chinese revival will bring the fire back to Europe and America and help revitalize their faith. Do not despise what God is doing in this present time, and do not miss the new movement of the Holy Spirit today.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: A Living God
God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — not because He led them the same way, but because He led them differently.
Isaac was called to stay in the promised land
Jacob was led through brokenness and transformation by going down to the land of idol worshippers again
Same God. Different leadings.
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. A living God leads living people in living ways. That is why Jesus says that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living (Matthew 22:32). God leads each person differently. Abraham prayed for God to spare Sodom and God was willing to negotiate with him about it. In the end, however, Sodom could not be saved because it was violating God’s nature of holiness. But Lot could be saved because God was willing to lead Lot to salvation. Moses’s pleas to enter the good land were not granted, but God was willing to bring him back after a season of pruning. God may have said no to you yesterday, but He may say yes to you today. The times and seasons are shifting, so don’t lose heart. Simply ask God again for what you desire.
I met a Korean prophet in 2018 and asked him what about the leading of God for my translation business. He said, “You should not put too much time into it.” But recently, God raised up Christian marketing firms to help me in this regard. I asked the Lord, “Are these new firms from You?” I realized God’s leading had changed. Since I needed more resources to support my ministry, God was willing for me to spend some time developing my business. Even if God said no to you once, don’t conclude God will always continue to say no to you on this matter. You must discern the changing seasons and the new ways God may be leading you.
The New Jerusalem: Golden Street and the River
In the New Jerusalem, the main street is made of gold. It represents the unchanging nature of God’s holiness, righteousness, and truth.
But flowing through the city is a river, ever moving, ever fresh. This represents the leading of the Holy Spirit. The golden street is a boundary, like the law. The river flowed down the middle of the main street. It flowed within the boundaries of the street of gold.
Just like the river could not leave the street of gold, we cannot leave the guidance of the unchanging nature of God. But within these boundaries, the Spirit leads each believer uniquely.
On the top of the mountain is the throne of the Father and the Lamb. Out of this throne flows the river of the water of life. If you follow the golden street or the river, both will bring you to the throne of God. The nature of God and the leading of God is essentially one and the same.
The Danger of Misunderstanding the Leading of God
God’s new movements throughout history have often been resisted by the very people who were most confident they already knew His will. The Pharisees defended the Law yet missed Christ. Reformers were opposed by institutional religion. Spirit-birthed renewal movements were frequently condemned before later being understood.
The issue is not tradition. The issue is confidence without discernment.
To assume we know God exhaustively is itself a form of pride.
History shows that when God moves, those who rely solely on structure, tradition, or past revelation often resist Him.
The Pharisees knew Scripture yet rejected Christ.
The early church wrestled with Spirit led expansions that challenged Jewish boundaries.
Reformers were condemned before being understood.
Spirit-birthed renewal movements were dismissed as error before bearing fruit.
The danger is not reverence for truth.
The danger is confidence without discernment.
To assume we know God exhaustively is not maturity. It is pride.
Closing Devotional Reflection
This passage is not asking whether we know correct doctrine. It is asking whether we remain leadable.
Moses knew God. Israel knew God’s power. The Pharisees knew God’s Law. Yet each, at different moments, resisted God’s present leading.
The Spirit was given so we would not repeat that pattern.
Moses saw the land but could not enter. Not because God was unfaithful, but because Moses applied yesterday’s leading to today’s situation.
The danger for every generation is not immorality alone, but spiritual presumption — assuming we know how God must move next.
To walk with God faithfully, we must hold tightly to His nature while remaining deeply sensitive to His leading.
Take time to sit with this passage and allow the Spirit to search your heart.
Moses’ life reminds us that long obedience does not make us immune to momentary presumption. Leadership does not remove the need for dependence. Experience does not replace listening.
God remains faithful, holy, and purposeful, even when His ways confront our expectations. He invites His people not merely to know Him, but to follow Him.
