SSL 12 - Deut. 32:48-52; 34:4-7 - PROMISED
LAST WEEK: The entire message of this lesson to Israel can be summed-up in the phrase "choose life in order that you may live" (Deut. 30:19b). In terms of application, Moses is telling them (and us) that obedience to the Word of God brings life. Disobedience brings death. Jesus is the Word of God, and life and death are now found in God's expression of His Word "in the flesh": Jesus Christ. Moses describes "life" as being in harmony with the will and purposes of God. It means living in obedience to the law and will of God, which for us translates to a life of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. It means living a life filled with meaning, significance, and hope. It is a life which is both "Spirit-led" and "in Christ."
THIS WEEK: In Deut. 32:48-52 we will hear God instruct Moses to go up on Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land that he will not be allowed to enter and to prepare for his death, then in Deut. 34:4-7, we will be informed about the details of Moses' death and burial on Mount Nebo at 120 years of age. Before we get into today's text, I want to say that by our standards, God's words to Moses might seem odd, matter-of-fact, or even uncaring-a sad ending for a great man of God. Instead of praising Moses for his leadership of the Israelites for the past 40 years, God delivers a rather blunt message about his impending death. We must understand this in the context of God's holiness and justice as explained in our previous lesson from Num. 20:1-13 on 12-29 about the incident at the waters at Meribah-Kadesh where, in a fit of anger, Moses struck the rock in direct disobedience to God's command not only once but twice. Briefly, let's review two of the major truths: (1) From vv. 9-11, we learned that the rock was a symbol of God's mercy and grace. So, when Moses struck the rock out of disobedience, it was the same as striking God Himself. By doing this, Moses had crossed the line and become one of the rebels. And (2) from vv. 12-13, we learned that God's judgment against Moses and Aaron was necessary to demonstrate that God was in control. Because of the fact that God had condemned an entire generation to die in the wilderness for their rebellion by refusing to enter Canaan, He couldn't make an exception even for Moses or Aaron. And there is another Christ-type/theological parallel that I will explain at the end of the lesson.
Read Deut. 32:48-52 - GOD FORETELLS MOSES' DEATH
48 The LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, 49 "Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. 50 Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel."
v. 48: "The LORD spoke to Moses that very same day, saying" - The first 43 verses of Chap. 32 contain the "Song of Moses," a lyrical recitation that described Israel's past, present, and future. A major theme of the Song is God's faithfulness and the last words promise that God will ultimately "make atonement for his land and people" (32:43). This is a significant, because the "atonement" for God's people would be the sacrifice of God's own Son, Jesus Christ (Col. 1:20). The phrase "very same day" indicates that there was no time lapse between the Song and God's instructions to go up on the mountain.
v. 49: "Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession" - Mount Nebo is in the Abarim Mountains, a range running in a north and south direction, about 10 miles east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea in Moab. From an elevation of about 4,000 feet (AGL) on top of Nebo, Moses could see Canaan in the north beyond the Sea of Galilee, to the west into the mountains of Judea, and to the south as far below the Dead Sea.
v. 50: "Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people" - While God's opening words in this verse, "then die," may seem harsh, they were moderated by the addition that despite the fact that he was preparing to leave this life, he would live on with the loved ones and acquaintances who had preceded him in death.
v. 51: "because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel" - As previously noted in reference to Num. 20:1-13, Moses' open and obvious disobedience before all the people caused him to be publicly judged by God and be prohibited from entering the Promised Land. Moses records these words, made just before death, as an acceptance of God's standard of justice, and a warning to all (including us) not to distrust or disobey the voice of God as he had. It tells us that no one, not even a man of God like Moses, was above God's justice.
v. 52: "For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel" - As Christians, this verse tells us that we cannot regain something that we have lost in a brief moment of spiritual insanity. Many people have had to share Moses' sorrow from atop Mount Nebo, wondering how things might have turned out differently if they had obeyed God in the first instance. Moses forfeited the experience of entering the Promised Land because of a brief moment of anger. He let down his guard, and sin robbed him of an experience that might have been. We should keep in mind that these last acts of Moses were scripted by a God who loved and used him but at the same time, held him responsible for his actions.
TRUTH 1: God always holds us responsible for the consequences of sin. Like Moses, none of us are exempt from the consequences of sin, even though we may be later forgiven. Theses passages clearly show us that we can never recapture something that we lost in a brief moment of spiritual insanity. Like Moses on the mountaintop, we have to incur the sorrow of wondering how things might have turned out if we'd acted differently. It's an often painful part of the learning process.
Read Deut. 34:4 - GOD'S LAST WORDS TO MOSES
4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."
v. 4a: "Then the LORD said to him" - These words, expressed in the present tense, were spoken by God to Moses at the summit of Mount Nebo as he gazed westward and saw the Promised Land.
v. 4b: "This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants" - God's initial promise was given to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9), reaffirmed with Isaac (Gen. 26:2-5) and Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15), and renewed with Moses at Sinai (Ex. 33:1-3). Now, 40 years later, Moses has brought them to the threshold of the Promised Land. Notice that the promise to Abraham included both the land and the seed (descendants). The OT places emphasis on the land and children while the NT focuses on one special child, the Christ.
v. 4c: "I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there" - God restates the judgment against Moses yet again. But Moses, showing himself to be a true a man of God to the very end, responded to God's judgment in his song by saying: "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He" (Deut. 32:4).
TRUTH 2: God's justice is always perfect. Like Moses, we should always accept God's justice when He judges us for our sin. Moses showed himself to be a true man of God (and God's man) up to the very end of his life. His final proclamation-"The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He" (Deut. 32:4)-has to be one of the greatest demonstrations of true spiritual integrity and love for God in human history.
Read Deut. 34:4-7 - SO MOSES DIED THERE IN THE LAND OF MOAB
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 the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day. 7 Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated.
v. 5: "So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD" - The term "servant of the LORD" is an honorific title given only to Moses at that time and not conferred on Joshua until after his death. It was later conferred on King David and later still, refers to the coming Messiah (cf. Isa. 40-56). The OT concept of servant-hood was a significant role in which the servant was called to fulfill the purpose of God. The phrase, "died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD," in the literal Hebrew translates to "by the mouth of the LORD." Rabbinic tradition (which cannot be considered canon) refers to this as the "kiss of God," which implies that God kissed Moses on the mouth and took away his breath of life.
v. 6a: "And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor;" - The "He" tells us that God Himself buried Moses, much like God closing the door to the ark (Gen. 7:16). Notice that Moses was not buried on Mount Nebo itself but down in the valley. The rationale for God's burial of Moses Himself is because of His intention to remove all evidence of ancient sites and artifacts that we might wrongly worship instead of worshiping the one true God Himself. "Beth-peor" refers to a location in Moab east of the Jordan River, where the Israelites halted before crossing (Unger p. 166).
v. 6b: "but no man knows his burial place to this day" - Scholars say this was the work of a later editor, possibly Joshua or even Ezra. Although we believe in Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, it doesn't necessarily rule some editorial comments added later.
v. 7: "Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated" - In Stephen's sermon in Acts 7:23ff, he divides Moses' 120 years into three intervals: (1) 40 years as a prince of Egypt; (2) 40 years as shepherd in Midian; and (3) 40 years as the leader of the Israelites through the wilderness wanderings, right up to the Promised Land. D. L. Moody said, "for 40 years Moses thought he was somebody; for 40 years he thought he was a nobody; and for 40 years he found out what God can do with a nobody." The last phrase, "his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated," refers to the fact that Moses wasn't hindered by any physical infirmity but only by the command of God.
TRUTH 3: God always holds leaders to a higher standard of uprightness. Moses would suffer the consequence of being called to die rather than entering the Promised Land because he "broke faith" with God at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh in the presence of the very people he was keading. Moses forfeited the experience of entering the Promised Land because of a brief moment of anger. He let down his guard, and sin robbed him of an experience that might have been.
Theological Endnote: Two weeks ago, in our lesson from Deut. 18:15-22, we discussed how Moses, acting as a mediator between God and the Israelite people under the Old Covenant, foreshadowed Jesus Christ, who is now the mediator between God and us under the New Covenant. Because of Jesus' mediation, we are able to stand before God clothed in the Christ's righteousness and obtain eternal salvation. Likewise, as a type of the Son of God, Moses' position as leader of the Israelites in the wilderness foreshadowed Jesus' role as head of the church in the present age. Yet, great as he was, Moses wasn't empowered to cross the Jordan, which symbolizes spiritual death (see Josh. 4:18ff). Since Moses couldn't lead the people over the Jordan (past death) into Canaan (which, in a NT context, symbolized life)-something that only Christ can do-it was necessary for Moses to die. I've only given you a very brief snapshot of how Moses represented a Son of God Type in the OT. To fully understand this parallel, you would need to read the scholarly commentaries and sermons on it.
PRAYER: Our Father in heaven, we thank You first for the love, mercy, and grace You constantly shower on us, both as individual Christian believers and as a Church. We thank You also, dear God for allowing us this morning the great freedom to assemble together to worship and study Your Word. We ask, Lord, that You will use what we learn from it to strengthen us in our walk as individual Christian believers and to bind us together in love and unity as part of the Body of Christ. Lord, Your Word gives us wonderful examples of great faith, integrity, and leadership. I pray, Lord, that our study of Your man Moses in Numbers and Deuteronomy this past quarter has encouraged every one of us to follow his magnificent example to love You with all of our heart and with all our soul and with all our might-and to hold nothing back from you. I ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our precious Lord and Redeemer, AMEN.
