The book of Deuteronomy concludes with the death of Moses and as we begin our portion of Scripture today I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul said about his own impending death: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7) Moses has fought the good fight; he never gave up no matter how fierce the opposition, whether the opposition was an enemy army or his own people who at times wanted to stone him to death. He is an imperfect human being who has made a few mistakes along the way but he has finished the race and he has finished it strong. He has kept the faith; at no time has he ever turned or even considered turning from the Lord his God. Now the Lord is about to call him home.
We don't know the author of Chapter 34. It describes the death and burial of Moses so it stands to reason that someone else penned the final words of this book. The two most favored candidates for this chapter's authorship are Joshua, Moses' successor, or Eleazar, Moses' nephew who was high priest of Israel at the time of Moses' death. I've even seen it proposed that perhaps Moses prophetically wrote the account of his death and burial, though I have serious doubts about that because Deuteronomy ends with a eulogy that describes Moses as a man who cannot be compared to anyone. It's difficult for me to imagine a person who was said to be the most humble man on earth (Numbers 12:3) saying such things about himself. I personally like the idea that Joshua spoke the glowing words of Chapter 34 about the man who was his friend, his mentor, and his example of political and spiritual leadership for so many years. Joshua is about to take Moses' place and he knows he has some pretty big shoes to fill. It seems logical to me that he was the one who spoke such lovely and loving words about his predecessor.
"Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land---from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar." (Deuteronomy 34:1-3) The Lord keeps His promise to show Moses the land upon which he will never step foot. Moses is about to step out of this life and into the very presence of the Lord. We know Moses was grieved upon learning he would never enter the land, and perhaps he still feels an ache in his heart for it as he looks over it from the mountaintop, but once he enters the presence of the Lord I don't believe he'd want to come back to this earth for anything. I don't believe anyone who has passed into the presence of the Lord would want to return to this fallen world under any circumstances.
"Then the Lord said to him, 'This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.'" (Deuteronomy 34:4) The fulfillment of the promise is at hand. Moses believes the Lord is going to do everything He's said He's going to do, even though Moses won't be here to see it.
We do not know the cause of Moses' death. No details are provided to us about his final moments on earth. The Lord shields Moses' privacy like a physician drawing a curtain around a hospital bed. We don't know whether Moses had a health condition that the Lord held off until now (for example, perhaps he had a sudden heart attack or stroke that took his life instantly) or whether the Lord simply reached down and put him peacefully to sleep. All we know for certain is that Moses was still strong enough in body to climb the mountain without aid and that his eyesight was still good enough to provide him with a clear view of the promised land. "And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone." (Deuteronomy 34:5-7)
How did the Lord bury the body of Moses? The Bible doesn't say. Perhaps the Lord stirred up a dust storm to cover the body of His servant. Or perhaps the body of Moses was carried in the arms of the angels down into the valley where he was lovingly buried. Or maybe the hands of the Lord Himself scooped out a grave in the earth or placed Moses inside a cave and concealed the cave's opening.
A more important question than how the Lord buried Moses is why the Lord buried Moses in secret. The opinion of many mainstream scholars is that if the body of Moses had not been buried, the people would likely have taken his body in a coffin with them into the promised land and that in time his body or its resting place would have become an object of worshipful idolatry. Jude, a brother of Jesus, made a mysterious remark regarding the interment of Moses' body. He said that the archangel Michael disputed with Satan about the body of Moses. (Jude 1:9) Why would Michael and Satan be arguing over the disposition of Moses' earthly remains? The main opinion, as stated previously, regards idolatry. Satan may have wanted the location of Moses' earthly remains known so he could use Moses' body or Moses' gravesite to tempt the people to elevate Moses to a status far above that of a human being. Another opinion is that Satan wanted to desecrate the body of Moses or that Satan tried to lay claim to Moses' body and soul because Moses was a convicted murderer. (He killed an Egyptian taskmaster for grievously beating a Hebrew slave in Exodus 2:11-12.) The penalty for premeditated murder was death under the law of Moses and Satan may have wanted Moses' soul condemned, under the very law Moses relayed to the people from the Lord, for his sin of murder. But the Lord, who forgave Moses' sin, was not going to allow Satan to have access to either the body or the soul of Moses, so He hid the location of Moses' remains not only from Moses' own people but from Satan himself.
Though there was no tomb at which to grieve for Moses, the people observed a month of mourning for him. "The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over." (Deuteronomy 34:8) Grief is a sacred thing. Observing a period of mourning is a necessary thing. When we don't observe a period of mourning we can find it difficult to move on successfully after experiencing a great loss. The people will soon be moving forward into the promised land but the Lord knows that human beings need time to mourn. For thirty days the nation of Israel grieves the loss of Moses.
King Solomon said that there is a time to weep. But he also said there is a time to laugh. (Ecclesiastes 3:4a) He said there is a time to mourn but that there is also a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3:4b) The Israelites take time to weep and mourn before they move ahead into the next part of their journey. They grieve the loss of Moses before they victoriously take hold of the promised land where they will laugh and dance.
After the time of weeping and mourning is finished, Joshua assumes the leadership of the nation, just as he was appointed by the Lord to do. The Lord gives him what he needs to be successful in this role by filling him with the Holy Spirit just as He filled Moses with the Holy Spirit. Because the Lord's anointing is upon Joshua as Moses' successor, the people give him their attention and respect and allegiance. As we conclude the book of Deuteronomy, we are told how the Lord enabled Joshua---through the Holy Spirit---to perform the monumental task ahead of him. The mention of Joshua here at the end of the book lends more credence to the theory that he is the one who wrote its beautiful finishing words regarding the character and deeds of Moses. "Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt---to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel." (Deuteronomy 34:9-12)
The end of Moses' life marks the end of an era and the beginning of the exciting and action-packed book of Joshua which we will begin in our next study session.
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