How Moses Faces Death

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 34:1-12

“Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, ² all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, ³ the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” ⁵ So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. ⁶ And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. ⁷ Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. ⁸ And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended. ⁹ Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. ¹⁰ But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, ¹¹ in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, ¹² and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.”

Main idea: Moses is given a view of the promised land and then dies. Although he is absent from Israel’s national life, he leaves behind a unique and enduring testimony and influence.

Mose’s ministry was ended just as it had begun—in the very presence of God Himself (Deu 34:5-6, Exo 3:1-2).
Moses had just preached his last sermon to the people of Israel. For forty years he had ministered to the Israelites, his very own congregation, the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:37-38). By the power of God, he had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness wanderings. He had often been the victim of their complaints and murmuring, and even of their threats against his life.

He said farewell and turned to begin the long climb up Mt. Pisgah where he was to meet the LORD face to face and go home to be with Him forever. His ministry was to end just as it had begun—in the very presence of God Himself. Although he had done well to bring Israel to the verge of what once seemed an impossible aspiration, he would not be sharing the joy of actually setting foot in the land because of his disobedience (Numbers 20).

God grants Moses a personal vision of the land of promise (Deu. 34:1-3).
Although Moses couldn’t go into the Land, God gave Moses a supernatural preview—to be added to centuries later when he would view it from atop the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17). Moses must for the occasion have had his power of vision miraculously increased. Not permitted to enter Canaan, Moses was yet permitted to see it. His eyes were strengthened to take in the vision of its goodliness from north to south, from east to west. How his spirit must have feasted on the widespread prospect! This compensation, was won from God by prayer (Deu. 3:23-29). The time and the mode of the believer’s death are not the outcome of natural law; they are fixed by the wisdom and the kindness of our God.

Moses’ Regret (Deu. 34:4).
Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” He missed the only thing he had looked forward to. His regret…killing the Egyptian marrying the Ethiopian, smiting the rock.

Moses was one hundred and twenty years old at the time of his death, but he was still strong, alert, and keen. The reason Moses could no longer lead the people was not physical but spiritual. God had told him that because of his sin he would not lead the people into Canaan (Deu. 31:2), even though physically he was able to do so.

The life of Moses is a rich example to us all. Moses was not faultless. The Bible is an honest book and does nothing to disguise the fact that its leading characters were sinners like ourselves. Moses was far from perfect, and the failures of God’s servant are deliberately included in his biography. The prohibition about Moses entering the land appears to be for two main reasons, the people’s sins and his own. It was certainly because of the people’s sins—note the repeated ‘because of you’ (Deu. 1:37; 3:26). It was to teach them a lesson about corporate responsibility—when we sin, other people are affected as well as ourselves.

The prohibition to enter the promised land, however, was also on account of Moses’ own sin—to teach him a lesson about personal accountability. We need to look at the nature of that sin so that we can recognize its seriousness in our own lives. Perhaps it was anger that kept him out of the land. The narrative certainly refers us back to the incident at Meribah Kadesh. The Lord tells Moses, you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites (Deu. 32:51). The occasion is described in Numbers 20 when the Hebrews found themselves without water in the wilderness of Zin.

The Lord gives detailed instruction to Moses about what he is to do. He must gather the people together and, taking the rod of his God-given authority, ‘speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water’. Moses was to speak to the rock but instead he struck the rock with his rod. Those who think they stand must be careful lest they fall (1 Cor. 10:12). We are utterly dependent on the Lord for strength right through to the closing moments of our dying day.

The Death of Moses (Deu. 34:5).
“Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.” The location was unknown at the time Deuteronomy 34 was written and remains so today. Doubtless the reason for the secrecy was to prevent men from making a shrine at the lawgiver’s tomb and worshiping him there.

Jonathan Edwards writes, in his ‘Notes on the Bible,’ that “God ordered that Aaron and Moses should go up to the tops of mountains to die, to signify that the death of godly men is but an entrance into a heavenly state.” The mountain-tops to these great brothers were indeed the gate of heaven, whence clear views of life and of the hereafter were obtained.

Jude 9 tells us that when Moses was buried, the devil fought for his body. Why would the devil want the body of Moses? It may be because Moses will be one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11, calling down fire, preaching the truth, telling people about antichrist, sharing the gospel.

Our lives will last as long as God has something for us to do (Deu 34:5-7)
Moses has to go up and die. In one sense this is true of us all. We are all on a pilgrimage, at the close of which, on its earthly side, there must be the act of dying. Moses died according to the word of God. God took care of his funeral. To be sure it was the hand of God, Moses died with no physical defects. Moses could not go over with the rest of the Children of Israel as much as he wanted to.

The Israelites grieved for Moses for thirty days (Deu. 34:8).
In recognition of his status, the Israelites grieved for Moses for thirty days, as they had with Aaron (Num. 20:29). While he lived they murmured against him, their conscience hurt now. A godly man’s departure leaves a great vacuum in the Church and in the social circle. Shall we be thus missed when death hath laid us low?

Training leaders is part of the work of discipling (Deuteronomy 34:9).
God always raises up a man to continue His work. Part of finishing the work Moses had to do was providing for its continuation. That work was now transferred to the capable hands of Joshua, who was filled with the spirit of wisdom. Moses had confirmed Joshua as his successor according to the word of the Lord in Numbers 27:18–23. Thus, his servant became his successor, a further testimony to Moses’ humility.

Notice, “The children of Israel heeded him (Deu. 34:9).” Moses influenced for good his servant Joshua. Joshua influenced for good the nation of Israel. The twelve tribes felt the force of Joshua’s character, and yielded to the wisdom which he displayed.

Moses a type of Jesus
We are told in Numbers 34:10, “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.” This statement is true only up to the time of Christ’s First Advent.

“And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant” (Heb. 3:5). Because of his sin he died; his burial place is unknown. But his antitype, the Lord Jesus, “was faithful … , as a Son over His own house” (Heb. 3:5-6). It was for our sins that He died; His burial place is empty because He has ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven. “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus…. For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house” (Heb. 3:1, 3).

We must remember that God is merciful; the man who was excluded was only kept out for a time. The obituary of Moses at the end of Deuteronomy is not the final sentence in the story of Moses. A day came when he entered the land. Centuries later, Jesus stood on the Mount of Transfiguration and Moses was there too, along with the prophet Elijah (Mat. 17:3). That day, both Old Testament leaders, representative of Israel’s law and prophets, had a greater privilege than entering a new land; they heard about a new life.

They talked with Christ about the unique saving event he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Moses’ longing to see the unfolding purposes of God was fulfilled far beyond his highest dreams. He actually spoke with Jesus, that unique ‘prophet’ whose coming he had predicted. As they communed together on the mount Moses hung on every word; he was more than ready to ‘listen’ to all that he said (Deu. 18:18-19).

Application
The failure of Moses to enter the land cast only a small shadow on an otherwise unique life. Numbers 12:6-7 says, since his death no prophet had risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. He left a legacy of miraculous signs and wonders performed in Egypt and in the wilderness that were accomplished publicly, in the sight of all Israel.

On our deathbeds, we have only one fault to lament; and yet one fault may entail immeasurable loss. When we stand face to face with death, we shall see the value of life as we have never seen it yet; we shall lament our negligence’s as we have never lamented them before.

Many gravestones yield fascinating information about the deceased. A case in point is the epitaph of John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” Written by the former slave trader several years before his death, it crystallizes how the man thought of himself: “John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.” Moses’ epitaph was not written in stone but in Scripture and in the loving memory of believers everywhere. When you are gone, what testimony will you leave behind?

The death of a believer is precious in the sight of God. Suffering, sin, and evil break the heart of God; therefore, when it is time for a dear believer to go home to heaven—this is a most precious moment to God. He is able to take one of His people out of the suffering and shame of this world. God would go ahead and end world history now in order to stop the suffering, the shame, the sin and evil but for one thing: He wants more and more people to be saved so they can live with Him in His presence forever. When God took Moses home, it was a most precious experience. And when God takes any of us who truly believe and trust Him, it will likewise be a most precious moment.

I leave you today with these words taken from Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

Let’s pray together
Heavenly Father, I thank you, my life is in Your hand. The purpose and the plan You have for me is completed, You will call me home. Until then help me Lord to be faithful to you. In Jesus Name Amen.

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