October 25, 2026 Sermon
Sermon Title: “The Death of Moses”
Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-12
(Other lectionary suggestions include Psalm 99:1-6 and 13-17, Acts 10:44-48, and Matthew 22:34-46.)
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Moses Dies and Is Buried in the Land of Moab
1Then 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 the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. 4The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.” 5Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. 6He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. 7Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. 8The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended. 9Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 11He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, 12and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
For me, the account of the death of Moses is a moving story. Moses is given so much praise, including the verse “Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” And yet this amazing man, who answered God’s call, was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. He was SHOWN the Promised Land, but he was not allowed to enter it. This is a great passage. Here it is in the Holy Bible that even a man as great as Moses did not get to enter the Promised Land. What this says to me is that no matter how great a person you are or how deserving you may be, you may not get what you want! Isn’t there a Rolling Stones song that says that? So don’t beat yourself up too badly if “You can’t GET no (bum-bum-bum) Satisfaction!” Not even Moses got everything he wanted, so maybe we aren’t going to get everything we think we deserve, either. In a passage in Exodus, God says, “I will show mercy on whom I choose to show mercy.” So, let’s remember that: GOD is running things, not you and not me. We are called to be faithful as Moses was called. And Moses WAS faithful. But God is running things, not Moses and not you and not me. Let us always remember that we are called to be faithful. But we don’t always get what we want. Even Jesus was denied by his Father while he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
I found the following commentary on www.workingpreacher.com. It was written by Sara M. Koenig who is the Professor of Biblical Studies at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA.
This poignant account of Moses’ death takes place at the very end of Deuteronomy, and therefore at the very end of the entire Pentateuch.
After forty years of wandering through the wilderness, the people of Israel are poised to enter the land promised to their ancestors long ago. Because of Moses’ actions in Numbers 20, God forbade him to lead the people into this new land, but God shows Moses the entirety of the land before Moses dies.
Verses 1-3 are filled with geographical locations. While it may be tempting to skip over these names, if we do so, we’d miss two things.
First, we would miss some connections with the larger story. This is the land that had been promised to Abram and his descendants back in Genesis 12. Of course, at that point, the land was not described in any specific way or even named: it was simply the land that God said, “I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). Only after Abram had left his country, his kindred, and his father’s house did God show him the land (Genesis 14:14-15) and name the boundaries of that land (Genesis 15:18-21).
Moses may not be able to see from the Nile to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18), but he is shown the Promised Land from Dan in the north, to the sea in the west, to Zoar in the south, and in verse 4, God affirms that this is the land that God had sworn to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even the summit where Moses ascends connects with a previous passage: Mount Pisgah is the same location where Balaam was taken by Balak (Numbers 23:14). Balaam was only able to see part of the Israelite camp, but Moses can see the whole sweep of the Promised Land.
The second thing we would miss if we were to skip over the geographical names is the importance of the particularity of place. A physical location matters because we are physical, embodied people, whose feet touch the ground. Even though we live in a time of unprecedented mobility, the particular geographic places where we live and move shape our identities and our lives.
Another key aspect of this passage is the theme of vision and sight. In verse 1, God causes Moses to see the land, and in verse 4, God tells Moses, “I have caused you to see it with your eyes.” Lest we have any concern about Moses’ ability — at the age of one hundred and twenty — to clearly see such a large section of land, we are told that his eyesight was unimpaired (34:7). The chapter also ends by remembering the wonderful things that Moses did “in the eyes of all Israel” (34:12).
This fourfold repetition of sight is noteworthy, especially when in a number of places in the New Testament, sight seems to be downplayed. For example, in John 20:29 Jesus tells Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 encourages us to “walk by faith not by sight.” And Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Moses has been obedient and has had faith for so long that it must have been a profound gift to have his hopes and convictions confirmed by what he did see. This vision is not only dependent on Moses, however, for both times that the verb is used, it is causative, with God as the subject. God shows Moses; God causes Moses to see. Though we may need to open up our own eyes and look for what God is doing and where God is, we also may need to ask God to show us — to reveal to us — where God is at work.
The announcement of Moses’ death comes at the beginning of verse 5, almost abruptly after God reminds Moses that he will not enter the land he can see. We might wonder if Moses only had a momentary glimpse before he died, or if he was able to linger and drink in the view. We also may wonder about Moses’ feelings at his death: was he, like Simeon in Luke 2, happy to depart in peace? Or, was he frustrated to only see it, and not experience it? The refrain of this passage affirms that long-awaited promises are fulfilled, and the response to that ought to be hope and joy.
But in this there are also notes that must be played in a minor key. Moses dies. The Israelites mourn for him. Even if a good, long life can be celebrated and eulogized, the end of that life marks a loss. Even though Moses is able to see into the land where he has faithfully been leading the Israelites, his time is at an end, and he cannot finish all that he may have hoped. The brief mention of Joshua, who has been identified as Moses’ successor earlier in Deuteronomy 31 and who will take charge in the immediately following book, reminds us that God’s spirit is what remains constant amidst human transitions.
In verse 6 after Moses’ death, the Hebrew reads, “and he buried him in a valley … ” Because Moses is dead, the “he” most likely refers to God. The NRSV translation makes it passive, “he was buried,” but the Hebrew indicates an almost startling intimacy with the imagery of God being the one to bury Moses and lay him to rest. The intimacy is not so startling, however, when we go on to hear in verse 10 that God knew Moses “face-to-face.” Though Moses is also described as unequaled among all the prophets and leaders, it may be that we can imitate Moses in his intimacy with God and be people who similarly seek after God’s face. Amen.
Pastor Skip
