The Lament of Moses

"Moses then went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, looked over the promised land of Israel spread out before him, and died, at the age of one hundred and twenty. More humble than any other man (Num. 12:3), "there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom YHWH knew face to face" (Deuteronomy 34:10). The New Testament states that after Moses' death, Michael the Archangel and the Devil disputed over his body (Epistle of Jude 1:9)." -Moses in Wikipedia

Moses gazed out from Mount Nebo upon the Promised Land and cried.

"I will never know its air, perfumed with wild flowers.

I will not drink from its springs gushing from beneath the thick roots of its brush.

I will not plow its earth, growing figs full of purple flesh to be swallowed in one bite.

I will never taste its milk or the oil of its crushed olives.

O God, is it for suckling at the teat of a pagan woman?

Or growing up in a sumptuous realm far from the quarters of my brothers and sisters?"

And God said, "Your life among the pagans gave you such entitlements that you had hope.

Because you had hope, your faith in Me is imperfect.

Hope is the enemy of faith. 

As long as one has hope, their faith remains untested.

Such faith will not build my kingdom. 

You hoped for something 

That could not be sustained without slavery and exploitation.

You struck the rock twice, not out of thirst,

But because you wanted a river like the Nile to flow out of the ground 

And flood the desert with rich, dark silt 

So that your people could roll in caverns of harvested rice.

My universe is precise and austere. 

This land will only blossom by your own sweat.

I understand the labor of growing an olive tree and 

And the work it takes before one can enjoy its fruit.

Eve's apple, with its thick fleshy pulp, is no longer.

But her sin of hope is yours.

I give you instead the pomegranate, with its bitter rind, 

Meting out its fruit in a thousand drops of sweetness, 

Each with a seed that sticks in your teeth. 

Your hope will bring you only avarice and longing.

I leave you here, not out of vengeance, nor with malice.

I leave you here out of mercy."

Moses wiped away his tears, his heart now filled with gratitude

At the wisdom of his God;

And, in this final embrace from his Creator,

He gave up hope.