Deuteronomy 1:1 - "These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan."
“These farewell addresses of Moses to the tribes of Israel, he had so long led in the wilderness glow in each line with the emotions of a great leader recounting to his contemporaries the marvellous story of their common experience.”
Even though God didn’t answer the prayers of Moses, Jesus, and Paul, he blessed them with some special "packages"
Moses
Deuteronomy 1 describes Moses’ description of the last forty years in his:
Experience with God, as a faithful servant
Experience with Israel, as their great leader
Experience with his enemies, as a commander in chief
God asked Moses to take an early retirement with certain "packages":
God would take care of his funeral service and burial:
Deuteronomy 34: 5-6.
Dear friends, serving the Lord is the greatest thing you could do in your life. It is more rewarding than anything else in this world.
We have nothing to lose by serving the Lord. I challenge my young people to serve the Lord, dedicate your life for His ministry, step out to live by faith - there is a certain excitement in serving the Lord.
He became one of the delegates from heaven:
Luke 9: 30-31
He is to be sent by heaven as a messenger to this world in a very crucial period:
Revelation 11:2
Our Lord Jesus
When Jesus prayed to His Father to remove the cup of suffering, the Father did not answer, instead the Father sent His angel to strengthen His Son.
Luke 22:43-44
The Apostle Paul
Paul asked God to remove the thorn from his life, but his prayer went unanswered. Instead, the Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Sometimes God will not answer our prayers, but His grace is more important and a greater blessing in our lives.
Israel was delivered from slavery not because of their prayer, but because of God’s faithfulness in His covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (1: 8)
Salvation is not our right, but it is a privilege. We are blessed not because of our goodness, but only because of His grace.
It is a blessing through His son Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 9: 4 – Ephesians 2: 8 – Galatians 3: 14; 16; 7)
Moses explained how God led them through the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 1:31 - “There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
Deuteronomy 1:32-33 - “who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go."
Exodus 14:19 – “Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them”
The cloud was over them and behind them to protect from both their invisible enemy (the enemy from the spiritual realm) and their visible enemy (the Egyptians).