NOTES for Deu 34:1-12
1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, |
2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, |
3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. |
4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. |
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, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. |
7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. |
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 were ended. |
9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. |
10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, |
11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, |
12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel. |
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The final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy tells of the death of Moses, the death of the leader who saw from afar the land towards which he himself was journeying and leading his people, but which he was not to enter. Strange? At first sight, yes. On the other hand, it was not Moses who was leading his people to the land promised by God; it was God who was leading both the people and Moses himself there. But then why was even the prophet not allowed to enter where all the others entered?
Yes, many things happened along the way, and even Moses, the man of God, sometimes did things of which God disapproved. If, however, Moses is compared with all the others in this respect, then those others certainly had no business being in God's land at all. Moses remained a man of God, whereas this could not be said of most of those who made up God's people. If Moses did not deserve to set foot on the land that God had intended for His people, then who did?
Yet in reality things are not so simple. The land is not merely a reward for proper behaviour or spiritual qualities. Abiding in it is itself a spiritual process. It requires a quite definite state corresponding to the quality of the land as God conceived it. God is not simply leading the people to a place where He wishes to settle them; He is leading them to a place of encounter with Himself. He leads them there so that a new life may begin for the people, a life in God's presence, and so that He may work with His people, making them the people and community He intended them to be from the very beginning.
There can be no single universal standard here. Everything depends on a person's capacities and spiritual potential. Indeed, following God presupposes the unfolding of the possibilities He has given to the person who follows Him. It is a process involving both God and man, and each person's fullness of life with God is unique, as is the path towards it. That is why far more was required of Moses than of anyone else among the people.
This is not about punishment, but about where exactly Moses was to attain that fullness of earthly existence which was to complete his earthly journey, just as, in the normal course of things, every person's earthly journey should be completed. God decided to bring Moses' journey to its completion on the threshold of the land He had promised His people. It was His decision, and its wisdom is hardly worth doubting, just as Moses himself did not doubt it.
Other notes
For Deu 34:1-12
1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, |
2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, |
3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. |
4 And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. |
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, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. |
7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. |
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 were ended. |
9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses. |
10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, |
11 In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, |
12 And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel. |
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