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The Death of Moses
34 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 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 the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
(ESV)
Deuteronomy 34 Commentary
“So Moses, the LORD’s servant, died there in the land of Moab, as the LORD had said he would. [6] The LORD buried him in a valley in Moab, opposite the town of Bethpeor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial.”
Deuteronomy 34:5-6 GNB
The death of Moses in the final chapter of Deuteronomy brings to mind the dispute over his body in Jude 1:9.
“In the same way also, these people have visions which make them sin against their own bodies; they despise God’s authority and insult the glorious beings above. [9] Not even the chief angel Michael did this. In his quarrel with the Devil, when they argued about who would have the body of Moses, Michael did not dare condemn the Devil with insulting words, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!””
Jude 1:8-9 GNB
Jude is alluding to a story that comes from the Testament of Moses. This is a Jewish writing (non-biblical) that originated at the beginning of the first century. Elements of this legend have also popped up in other various writings. Jewish commentary reports a dispute that occurred an hour before Moses’ death between Michael, the archangel of God, and Samma’el, the archangel of death (also known as Satan, the accuser, in the New Testament). Legend has it that Moses’ tomb was put under Michael’s authority and that he was assigned to bury Moses’ body. Satan claimed it as his own which led to the dispute.
The context of Jude is the judgment of false teachers. Jude 1:3 writes that the church must “contend earnestly” (NASB) for the faith which comes from a Greek word meaning ‘to agonize’ over the faith. Such strong language indicates that Jude (and others) believed these false teachers to be skilled, deceptive chameleons. They had “slipped in” among the believers, disguised themselves, and slowly changed the core doctrines to lead people away from Christ.
What kind of qualities marked these false teachers? A key theme that sweeps over this chapter is the rebellion of God’s authority. This is why the example of Moses’ body is used. In Hebrews, we read that Satan does have authority over the dead.
“Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death, [15] and in this way set free those who were slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 GNB
Not even the archangel Michael would rebuke Satan because doing so would require more authority than he was given. Michael knew his place and understood that only God could be the one to rebuke Satan. Consider: if an archangel is cautious in his dealings with the devil, how much more cautious should we be? We indeed share in the victory of Christ, however, it is also true that Satan is a dangerous and deceitful enemy. He thrives on inflating pride and ego in humans! We share in the victory of Christ due to God’s grace; there was nothing we contributed to the victory!
In their pride, false teachers overstep the boundaries of their authority and speak foolishly on matters they do not understand. They make a habit of stealing God’s glory. This is the point Jude is making while using the body of Moses as an example.
“Mikha’el [Michael] did not dare bring against Satan an insulting charge, because he recognized that Satan’s role as accuser was given to him by God. Rather, in keeping with the warning, “Adonai says, ‘Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay'” (Deu 32:25, Rom 12:19), he said only, “May Adonai rebuke you,” echoing God’s own rebuke of Satan (Zec 3:1-2).”
Jewish New Testament Commentary
““The Lord rebuke thee!” has a parallel in Zec 3:1-5. The prophet had a vision of the high priest standing before God’s throne in defiled garments, symbolizing the sinful condition of the nation Israel after the Babylonian Captivity. Satan had every right to accuse the people (see Rev 12:9-11), except for one thing: they were the chosen ones of God, His covenant people, and He would not go back on His Word. God forgave His people, gave them clean garments, and warned them to walk in His ways.”
Warren Wiersbe
Moses: Servant of the Lord
“So Moses, the LORD’s servant, died there in the land of Moab, as the LORD had said he would.”
Deuteronomy 34:5
Here in Deuteronomy 34, we find the most honorable title we could ever be given in this life: a servant of God. Moses’ life was not perfect by any means.
- Moses struggled with insecurity and self-doubt (Exo 3:11; Exo 4:10)
- Moses was reluctant to obey God and wanted Him to choose someone else (Exo 4:13)
- Moses had anger issues (Exo 2:12; Num 20:10-11)
- Moses was impatient with God’s people (Num 11:10-15; Exo 32:19)
- Moses disobeyed God’s instruction (Num 20:12)
However, even with all these failures (and probably more), God’s Word identifies Moses as a servant of the Lord. In the end, his accomplishments and failures do not define his identity. It is solely defined by his relationship to the Lord. Even though he had moments of struggle and moments of victory, his entire life was summarized as a servant of the Lord. May the same be true for us.
“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 forever, and then he hid is body we know not where.”
Charles Spurgeon