Deuteronomy 34 – The Death of Moses

A. Moses on Mount Nebo.

1. (1-3) God gives Moses a vision of the Promised Land.

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, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the South, and the plain of the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar.

a. Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo: As Israel camped on the plains of Moab, Moses climbed the heights of Mount Nebo – from which he could see Canaan, as far as the Western Sea.

i. Deuteronomy 34 describes the death of Moses, and unless he wrote it prophetically, the most logical and uncomplicated explanation is that this chapter was written by someone such as Joshua or Eleazar the priest, who accompanied Moses to the place of his death and as God’s agent buried Moses. There is nothing in this chapter that says Moses was alone at his death.

ii. Moses was commanded in Deuteronomy 32:48-52 to climb Mount Nebo for his death. Here that command was fulfilled. Moses began his work as Israel’s deliverer at one mountain (Mount Sinai, Exodus 3:1-10) and ended it here at another mountain.

b. And the LORD showed him all the land: This was God’s kind grace to Moses. Though he could not set foot in the Promised Land, God allowed him to see it. Standing on the peak of Nebo on the collection of mountains called Pisgah, Moses stood on what is the modern Kingdom of Jordan, looking westward to Canaan.

i. Moses lived 120 years (Deuteronomy 31:2), and his life was divided into three 40-year periods.

· The first 40 years of Moses ended with a murder and a flight from justice (Exodus 2:11-15).

· The second 40 years of Moses ended with a revelation of God at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-10).

· The last 40 years of Moses ended with the vision of the Promised Land.

2. (4) God’s last words to Moses: This is the land.

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.”

a. This is the land of which I swore to give: These words, being in the present tense, were spoken to Moses at the summit of Mount Nebo as he looked westward and saw the Promised Land.

i. The list of places here follows a large counterclockwise circle from the north to the south. In this sweeping panorama, Moses saw the scope of Canaan.

ii. “The invitation to Moses to view the land was not merely a kindly provision of God to allow His servant to view Israel’s inheritance. It may have had some legal significance. There is some evidence that this was part of a legal process. A man ‘viewed’ what he was to possess.” (Thompson)

iii. “The only time in Old Testament history that this ideal ever reached realization was in the heyday of the United Monarchy under David and Solomon (cf. 2 Samuel 10:19; 1 Kings 4:24).” (Merrill)

b. I will give it to your descendants: God swore to give it to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and now the promise was going to be fulfilled. Moses was allowed to take the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob up to the threshold of the Promised Land, but no further.

i. “His death leaves nothing to regret; neither is any desirable thing lacking. Failing to pass over Jordan seems a mere pin’s prick, in presence of the honours which surrounded his departing hours. His death was the climax of his life. He now saw that he had fulfilled his destiny, and was not as a pillar broken short. He was ordered to lead the people through the wilderness, and he had done so.” (Spurgeon)

c. I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there: This was a bittersweet moment. Moses saw this, and his heart was thrilled at the sight of Canaan as he had never seen it. Yet, there was probably a sadness in his heart, knowing that it was his own sin – his own misrepresentation of God (Numbers 20:7-12) – which led to his not being able to set foot in the Promised Land himself. Here he stood so close, yet so far away.

i. “What drama! What pathos! What inward pain! What sense of accomplishment mixed with disappointment must have been in Moses’ mind as he looked over the land the Lord had promised to Israel!” (Kalland)

ii. Looking out over the vast panorama, on what must have been a crystal-clear day, Moses saw the result of his life’s work – leading Israel to Canaan – and heard God say, this is the land.

iii. Moses appealed to God, asking Him to lessen his penalty – but God emphatically told Moses to speak no more to Him on that matter (Deuteronomy 3:26).

iv. Moses died under the penalty of sin, but his own sin. He died and remained buried. Jesus also died under the penalty of sin, but not His own – He died as a payment, a satisfaction, for the sins of His people. As God’s Holy One, even in death, Jesus did not remain buried and rose gloriously from the dead. As great as Moses was, Jesus is the One greater than Moses (Hebrews 3:1-6).

3. (5-8) The death and burial of Moses, the servant of the LORD.

So 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. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished. 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.

a. So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab: Moses’ epitaph – what we might call the writing on his tombstone, though he had no tombstone – was simple.

· It was not “Moses, prince of Egypt.”

· It was not “Moses, murderer of an Egyptian.”

· It was not “Moses, shepherd in the wilderness.”

· It was not “Moses, spokesman for a nation.”

· It was not “Moses, miracle worker.”

· It was not “Moses, prophet.”

· It was not “Moses, the man who saw a piece of God’s glory.”

· It was not “Moses, who never entered the Promised Land.”

· At the end, the title was simple: Moses the servant of the LORD.

i. “He might be barred from Canaan and even sentenced to death on Nebo, but he was Yahweh’s servant nonetheless.” (Merrill)

ii. To be satisfied with simply being the servant of the LORD is worthy and important. This should be enough for the believer. It is often said, and it sounds humble to say it, but it is more difficult to really live it. It is the happiest of all stations in life, for when the Master is glorified, the servant is satisfied.

iii. If someone is truly a servant of the LORD, one way it may be demonstrated is by how they react when someone else treats them like a servant. Many are pleased to be servants for people of their choosing or in circumstances of their choosing. But that isn’t really being the servant of the LORD.

b. Moses the servant of the LORD died: Moses died just as God promised. The promises of God are sure, including His more severe promises. It all happened according to the word of the LORD.

i. Literally, the phrase according to the word of the LORD means upon the mouth of the LORD. From this, some ancient Jewish traditions say that Moses died as God took away his soul with a kiss. The medieval Jewish rabbi Maimonides wrote that of the 903 different ways to die, this was the best.

ii. According to ancient Jewish legends – which should be regarded only as legends – the death of Moses was tender and full of God’s compassion.

“In the meanwhile, Moses’ time was at an end. A voice from heaven resounded, saying: ‘Why, Moses, dost thou strive in vain? Thy last second is at hand.’ Moses instantly stood up for prayer, and said: ‘Lord of the world! Be mindful of the day on which Thou didst reveal Thyself to me in the bush of thorns, and be mindful also of the day when I ascended into heaven and during forty days partook of neither food nor drink. Thou, Gracious and Merciful, deliver me not into the hand of [Satan].’ God replied: ‘I have heard thy prayer. I Myself shall attend to thee and bury thee.’ Moses now sanctified himself as do the Seraphim that surround the Divine Majesty, whereupon God from the highest heavens revealed Himself to receive Moses’ soul. When Moses beheld the Holy One, blessed be His Name, he fell upon his face and said: ‘Lord of the world! In love didst Thou create the world, and in love Thou guidest it. Treat me also with love, and deliver me not into the hands of the Angel of Death.’ A heavenly voice sounded and said: ‘Moses, be not afraid. “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.”’”

“With God descended from heaven three angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Zagzagel. Gabriel arranged Moses’ couch, Michael spread upon it a purple garment, and Zagzagel laid down a woolen pillow. God stationed Himself over Moses’ head, Michael to his right, Gabriel to his left, and Zagzagel at his feet, whereupon God addressed Moses: ‘Cross thy feet,’ and Moses did so. He then said, ‘Fold thy hands and lay them upon thy breast,’ and Moses did so. Then God said, ‘Close thine eyes,’ and Moses did so. Then God spake to Moses’ soul: ‘My daughter, one hundred and twenty years had I decreed that thou shouldst dwell in this righteous man’s body, but hesitate not now to leave it, for thy time has run….I Myself shall take thee to the highest heavens and let thee dwell under the Throne of My Glory’….When Moses heard these words, he permitted his soul to leave him, saying to her: ‘Return to thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.’ God thereupon took Moses’ soul by kissing him on the mouth.” (Ginzberg, The Legends of the Jews)

iii. “As a mother takes her child and kisses it, and then lays it down to sleep in its own bed; so did the Lord kiss the soul of Moses away to be with him for ever, and then he hid his body we know not where.” (Spurgeon)

iv. God said that when Moses died, he would be gathered to his people (Deuteronomy 32:50). “How, then, was he ‘gathered to his people’? Surely only thus, that, dying in the desert alone, he opened his eyes in ‘the City,’ surrounded by ‘solemn troops and sweet societies’ of those to whom he was kindred. So the solitude of a moment leads on to blessed and eternal companionship.” (Maclaren)

c. And He buried him in a valley: God may have done this through a human agent, such as Joshua or Eleazar the priest. There were several reasons why the burial of Moses was unique and unmarked (no one knows his grave).

· So that Israel would not worship Moses or his tomb.

· So that Israel would not take the body of Moses into Canaan, in disobedience to God’s command that he would not enter the Promised Land.

· So that a later purpose of God for Moses may be fulfilled, suggested by Jude 9, and perhaps fulfilled at the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:28-31).

i. The burial of Moses was more complicated than it first appears because the devil contended with God over the body of Moses. Jude 9 speaks of an occasion when Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses. Apparently, there was a contention over the body of Moses, and according to Jude Michael the archangel won this contest as he appealed to the Lord’s authority: “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet why Michael contended with Satan over the body of Moses is less clear.

ii. Some say that the devil wanted to use Moses’ body as an object of worship to lead Israel astray into idolatry. Others think that Satan wanted to desecrate the body of Moses and claimed a right to it because Moses had murdered an Egyptian.

iii. But consider that God had another purpose for Moses’ body, which Satan wanted to defeat: Moses appears in bodily form with Elijah (whose body was caught up to heaven [2 Kings 2]) at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-3), and perhaps Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses of Revelation 11.

iv. Apparently, God had a purpose to fulfill with the body of Moses before the time of general resurrection, so God made special provision to bury the body of Moses. And, perhaps, God preserved the body of Moses in some way. God wanted to protect the body of Moses, so no one knows his grave to this day. Seemingly, they searched for it (as would be expected) out of a desire to memorialize this great leader of the nation.

v. “Whoever had such a burial as that of Moses? Angels contended over it, but Satan has failed to use it for his purposes. That body was not lost, for in due time it appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration, talking with Jesus concerning the greatest event that ever transpired.” (Spurgeon)

d. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died: Moses’ life was neatly divided into thirds. He spent 40 years as the crown prince of Egypt, 40 years as a humble shepherd in the wilderness, and 40 years leading the children of Israel to their destiny in the Promised Land. The first two-thirds were in preparation for the last one-third. Moses was willing to let God prepare him for 80 years.

i. “The passing of Moses was full of beauty. As we have seen, his exclusion from the land towards which his face had so long been set was in fact a punishment. Yet how wonderfully it was tempered with mercy.” (Morgan)

ii. “This testimony, and indeed this whole chapter, is thought to have been added by Joshua or Eleazar, being divinely inspired, for the completing of the history.” (Trapp)

e. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished: Moses was not hindered by physical infirmity, but by the command of God. Moses was old when he died, but he did not die from old age. He died because Israel was going into the Promised Land, and Moses could not go with them. Like the rest of his generation (with the exceptions of Joshua and Caleb), Moses died in the wilderness.

i. “He did not fail to enter Canaan because he died, but he died because he failed to enter Canaan.” (Merrill)

ii. “Perhaps it meant that for a man of his age he had retained his powers in a remarkable way, even if he was no longer able ‘to go out and come in’ (even this latter expression is a figure of speech).” (Thompson)

iii. Given the great challenges and responsibilities Moses faced, his relative health at the time of his death was remarkable. “He had seen plenty of sorrow and toil; but such was the simple power of his faith, in casting his burden on the Lord, that they had not worn him out in premature decay. There had been no undue strain on his energy. All that he wrought on earth was the outcome of the secret abiding of his soul in God. God was his home, his help, his stay. He was nothing: God was all. Therefore his youth was renewed.” (Meyer)

f. The children of Israel wept…. the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended: As great as Moses was, the days of mourning for him ended. It was time to move on. God’s program did not end with Moses, nor does it end with any man. The torch was passed, and God’s work continued.

i. It was an august and glorious ending to a great and dignified life.” (Morgan)

B. The legacy of Moses.

1. (9) Joshua’s leadership in Israel.

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.

a. For Moses had laid his hands on him: Moses’ prayer for Joshua was answered. Joshua was indeed full of the spirit of wisdom. Moses laid his hands on Joshua in Numbers 27:18-23.

i. The spirit of wisdom: “Is the equipment that makes it possible for one to do what the Lord delegates him to do. The skilled workmen who made the priestly garments for Aaron and his sons were given wisdom to make those garments (Exodus 28:3). The spirit of wisdom for Joshua was the military and administrative ability necessary for the task the Lord had laid on him as well as the spiritual wisdom to rely on and be committed to the Lord.” (Kalland)

b. The children of Israel heeded him: The leadership of Joshua was seen in that Israel followed him. In general, the generation that followed Joshua into Canaan was more faithful to the LORD and to Joshua than the generation that perished in the wilderness.

2. (10-12) The unique legacy of Moses.

But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 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, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

a. Since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses: Joshua was a capable leader for Israel, and God’s work went on, but that did not diminish Moses’ unique legacy.

i. “Not until the Lord Jesus Christ came (the one whom Moses spoke about, John 5:46) was there anyone greater than Moses, the emancipator, prophet, lawgiver, and father of his country.” (Kalland)

b. Since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses: Several things made Moses unique.

i. Whom the LORD knew face to face: Moses was unique because of his personal intimacy with God. The term face to face does not literally mean “physical face to physical face,” but it has the idea of free and unhindered communication. Moses had a remarkably intimate relationship with God.

ii. All the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do: Moses was unique in the number and kind of miraculous works he was associated with.

iii. All that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed: Moses was unique in the power and authority with which he led the nation of Israel.

c. Since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses: There were greater rulers over Israel than Moses, greater leaders, greater prophets, and greater priests. But before the coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah, there was never one man who held all offices so gloriously as Moses did.

i. “In him were concentrated all the great offices of Israel – prophet, ruler, judge and priest. If some who held these offices were great, Moses was the greatest of them all.” (Thompson)

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