March 3 Daily Devotional

Deuteronomy 34

Moses at this time was a very old man. He was one hundred and twenty years old, yet “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” His work was done: his mission was fulfilled. His wonderful life may be divided into three parts. The first forty years he spent in Egypt, most of the time as Pharaoh’s grandson, living in luxury and splendor. The next forty years he spent as shepherd in the wilderness. During the last forty years he was. leading his people out of Egypt unto the border of the promised land. By faith he turned away from the treasures of Egypt and chose the affliction of the people of God. Of all that are born of women, none is greater than Moses. “And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”

The last echoes of his voice had hardly died when he was called away. One day he left his tent, so it seems, all alone. Perhaps many eyes, filled with tears, watched in sadness the departure of their beloved leader. They knew that they would see his face no more. He may have climbed up the mountain side slowly until he came to the top of mount Nebo, northeast of the Dead Sea. The Lord showed him the promised land. At his feet far below he could see the Jordan river winding its way down to the Dead Sea. Not far from Jordan he could see Jericho, the city of the majestic palm trees. Looking westward he could see Hebron, where the bodies of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had found their resting place. He could see Salem (Jerusalem), the city of the great works of God in later ages; he could see Bethel and probably Ai, Gibeon, and other cities. He could see the fertile valleys and many wooded hills. In the distance he beheld the peaks of Gerizim, Ebal, Tabor, and faraway perhaps the crest of the snow-clad Hermon. Far beyond the rich plains he had a view of the gleaming waters of the Great Sea. The Lord said to his faithful servant, “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.”

Moses was not permitted to enter the earthly Canaan. After he had seen it, he was gathered unto his fathers. He entered the heavenly Canaan, the rest that remaineth for the people of God. The Lord buried him in a valley in the land of Moab. His unknown grave bears no inscription, but it reminds us, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”