The Death of Moses

The discourses ended, nothing remains for Moses but to die. At a hundred and twenty years old, having reached the end of a life wholly given to leading Israel, he will not cross the Jordan: God has told him so, because of the fault committed at the waters of Meribah. Before he passes, Moses performs his last acts: he entrusts the people to another, lays down the Law, leaves a song and a blessing, then climbs the mountain one last time. The four final chapters of Deuteronomy tell of this end.

Joshua Appointed and the Law Entrusted

Moses gathers the people and tells them he will lead them no longer: another will cross the Jordan in his place. He calls Joshua, his servant since Sinai, and sets him as leader before all, strengthening him with a promise: “It is the Lord who will go before you; he himself will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8. Then Moses puts the Law in writing and hands it to the priests; he commands that it be read to the whole people every seven years, so that no generation may be ignorant of it. The book is placed beside the ark of the covenant, where it remains as a witness: the written Law will testify against the people on the day they betray it. For God forewarns Moses: once they have entered the land, the people will turn to other gods and break the covenant. So that this denial may not go unanswered, God has him write a song that all Israel will learn by heart, that it too may serve as a witness against the people on the day of unfaithfulness.

The Song of Moses

This song Moses speaks before the whole assembly. It opens on the greatness of God, called the Rock because one leans on him and he does not give way: “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just; he is a God faithful and without iniquity; he is righteous and upright.” Deuteronomy 32:4. The song then recalls all that God did for his people, whom he found in the desert and carried like a father. Then it foretells the ingratitude of the days of plenty: “You forsook the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who brought you into the world.” Deuteronomy 32:18. Then comes the announcement of judgment, and beyond it, of pardon, for the last word belongs to God alone: “See now that it is I who am God, and that there is no god beside me. It is I who put to death and who give life.” Deuteronomy 32:39. This song God places in Israel’s mouth so that it may abide there; on the day of forgetting, it will remain in memory to bring the people back to the one who saved them.

The Blessing of the Tribes

Before dying, Moses blesses the twelve tribes one after another, as Jacob had done for his sons. To each he speaks a word that tells its place and its future in the people. At the center stands God himself, king of his people: “A refuge is the God of ancient days; he upholds you with his everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27. And the blessing ends on an exclamation of happiness: “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?” Deuteronomy 33:29.

The Death of Moses on Nebo

When the moment comes, Moses leaves the camp and climbs Mount Nebo alone, facing Jericho. From that summit, God shows him the whole promised land, from end to end. Then he speaks this word to him: “This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I have let you see it with your eyes; but you shall not cross over into it.” Deuteronomy 34:4. There, on the mountain, Moses dies, the servant of the Lord to the end. God himself buries him in the valley, and no one has ever known his tomb. He was a hundred and twenty years old, and his sight was still clear, his vigor unspent. Deuteronomy then seals his praise: “No prophet has since arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” Deuteronomy 34:10.

Toward Christ

Moses dies at the threshold of the land, which he showed to the people without entering it. His mission stops at the border: the Law he carried leads the people to the door of salvation; the one who brings them in is Joshua. His Hebrew name, Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ), means “the Lord saves”; it is the very name Jesus will bear. What Moses and the Law could not accomplish, another Joshua will accomplish: to bring men into the true rest (Hebrews 4:8). Moses also leaves an expectation. From his time to the end of the Old Testament, no prophet equaled him. Yet Moses had promised one, like himself, whom the people were to obey. The promised prophet is Christ (Acts 3:22). Finally, the one who did not enter the promised land will one day stand on another mountain, beside Christ transfigured in glory (Matthew 17:3): there Moses receives, fulfilled, the presence of God he had sought all his life.