Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 34
Deuteronomy 34. Remember, we find ourselves in the last section of the book. Obviously, it's the last chapter. It records the death of Moses.
He did not write this last chapter in the book of Deuteronomy. But this deals with succession in terms of the covenant. We start off in chapter 1 with a preamble, the announcement of the God who is making the covenant with the people. There is a historical prologue, stipulations takes up the bulk of the book or the laws that they were to obey, and then sanctions deals with the blessings and the curses for those who obey or those who disobey the covenant, and then succession.
Chapters 31 to 34 deals with the transition from Moses to Joshua that the people will continue to go forward as God's covenant people. Chapter 31 dealt with final arrangements. Chapter 32 was the song of witness that they would sing to remind them not to disobey the covenant. But if they had, in fact, that song would serve as a witness against them in the land that the Lord their God was giving them.
Chapter 33 was specifically the blessing upon the tribes before they enter into the promised land. That was Moses' last official act in terms of the leader of Israel. And here chapter 34, as I've already said, records his death. So I'll just pick up reading in chapter 34 at verse 1.
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh. all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees as far as Zoar. Then the Lord said to him, this is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross 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 a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor. But no one knows his grave to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died.
His eyes were not dim, nor his natural vigor diminished. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended. Now Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom. for Moses had laid his hands on him.
So the children of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. But since then, there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land. and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. Amen.
Introduction
Well, we've come to the end of the most amazing book, which is the capstone of the whole Torah, the first five books of Moses. Obviously, we have gotten to know Moses along the way. He was indeed a godly man, as we see here. The end of verses 10 to 12 here, there is a testimony to his greatness as a man of God, as a prophet of God.
So tonight we're just going to cover the three broad sections here. First, the view from Pisgah. That's why we sang 321 tonight, even though it isn't the Lord's Day. The view from Pisgah.
Secondly, the death of Moses. And then thirdly, the succession of Joshua. Again, a lot of these themes are repetitious. We've seen them already rehearsed in these latter chapters in the book of Deuteronomy.
The View from Pisgah
Let's just go ahead and jump right into the view from Pisgah.
Moses Sees the Land
The first thing we notice is that Moses saw the land. Back in chapter 33, or back in chapter 32 rather, God told him that he was to go up this mountain of the Abirim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho to view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession." And here Moses does this. Notice there's no gulf, there's no quiet retirement for Moses, there's no calm deathbed. The final thing we see this man of God doing is climbing a mountain at the bidding of his sovereign Lord.
So Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, which was probably the highest peak in that particular range, which is across from Jericho. And from that particular vantage point, the Lord showed him all the land. And we see this panoramic view. He doesn't obviously probably see every jot and tittle of the land.
I mean, His eyes were not dimmed, but just certainly distance itself would make it difficult. Gil supposes that God gave him a supernatural ability to see the land, which that's obviously part of God's prerogative to do that. But he sees the various portions of the land that his people will inherit. It is from the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees as far as Zoar.
The last time we noted that this may indeed be something of a legal process. when the person that would inherit the land would look over it. When Abraham was told to look north, south, east, and west, that functioned as sort of this economic transaction. And this may be the case here. Moses, on behalf of Israel, is viewing the land.
He will die. He will go the way of all flesh. But the children of Israel, under General Joshua, will go in. and legally possessed the land that the Lord God Most High had given to them. And not only did Moses see the land, but
Moses Sees God's Faithfulness
he also saw the Lord's faithfulness. And I think we need to appreciate this reality. Verse 4, Then the Lord said to him, This is the land of which I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I will give it to your descendants. I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there." This is the faithfulness of God Most High.
How many times in the book of Deuteronomy have we been reminded that this is the land which the Lord your God is giving you. This highlights his faithfulness. It highlights the reality that the God who cannot lie fulfills his promise. This goes all the way back to Genesis chapter 12 when God calls Abram out of Ur of the Chaldeans.
And he promises to make him a great nation, to make a name of him. Turn back for just a moment to Genesis chapter 12, where we see this promise initially made. Genesis 12, verse 1, now the Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation.
I will bless you and make your name great. and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So what Moses is saying when he's on top of Mount Pisgah here is the faithfulness of God who made this promise to Abraham. What the builders at Babel tried to do was to make a tower that could reach up into the heavens. They wanted to make a name for themselves God confounds them, God confuses them, God disperses the nations.
Interesting the way that Genesis 12-1 begins. Now, the Lord had said to Abram, God, in His amazing grace, calls Abram to do something that is absolutely amazing in light of the fact that man in rebellion has tried to rise up against this thrice holy God. So God sets His affection, sets His heart, sets His promise upon Abram, and tells him that he is going to make a great nation from him. He's going to make his name great and he would be a blessing.
Now ultimately that is tied to the seed of Abraham which is identified for us in Galatians 3 as being Jesus Christ. So it is Christ that is the son of promise, ultimately, that is the one who brings this to fruition or to pass. But here is where the promise is initially made. Turn over to Genesis 13 at verse 14.
And the Lord said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are, northward, southward, eastward, and westward. For all the land which you see, I give to you and your descendants forever. It's interesting the way that the Apostle Paul interprets this. In Romans chapter 4, he tells us that Abram was the heir of the world.
So that when Abram here is looking north, south, east, and west, it's not simply the confines of Palestine or Israel that he beholds, it is the entirety of the world itself, because again, it's in his seed that all of the nations of the earth will be blessed. Verse 16, I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you. And then again, in Genesis chapter 15, after the ratification with this ceremony with the animals split in two, in Genesis chapter 15 beginning in verse 18.
It says, On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. And then again in chapter 17 and verse 8. Chapter 17 and verse 8, Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God. You see, this was the promise made.
This is what Moses views from Pisgah. This is what Moses saw. Not only the land, in terms of the geography, but he saw the faithfulness of the God who promised to give that geography. Not only did Abram receive this promise, but also to Isaac, Genesis chapter 26, verses 3 and 4.
Genesis chapter 26, verses 3 and 4. dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you. For to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father, and I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. I will give to your descendants all these lands, and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And then again to Jacob in Genesis chapter 28.
Genesis chapter 28 verses 13 and 14. These are very important promises in terms of God's covenantal faithfulness. Genesis 28 verse 13, And behold, the Lord God stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac, the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth.
You shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So you see, when Moses is standing atop Pisgah and he sees that land, he not only sees, as I said, the geography, but he understands that the promise spoken by the Covenant Lord had in fact come to pass. Now remember, Moses' history will have cause to reflect upon this further when we move through this chapter. Moses had been through a lot. Moses had been through a lot of distress.
He had been through a lot of trial. He had been through a lot of turmoil. He had been in Egypt. He had been the one, by God's grace, to lead them out of Egypt.
He had seen his own people turn to the golden calf. He had seen his own people ultimately die in the wilderness. At times, it looked as if this was a completely losing proposition. I mean, I think it's tough at times when we just read the narrative.
We say, oh, there's Moses standing on Pisgah, and he's surveying the land, and he's understanding the faithfulness of God. Well, there's probably a lot more to that. I mean, not that this any way remotely compares, but our 15-year anniversary that we had here in January sort of felt like that. I mean, again, just a small little emblem when you reflect upon the things that had gone on and the things that we've gone through, it's like, wow, God is faithful.
And that's the message on Pisgah. God is faithful. Moses is getting to view right before his eyes the goodness, the kindness, the mercy, and the graciousness of God Almighty as he sets his eyes from Pisgah upon the promised land." That is the particular view that he has.
The Death of Moses
Notice secondly, his death. Verses 5 to 8. His death is recorded very briefly really. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab. according to the Word of the Lord." Everything in Moses' life was according to the Word of the Lord.
Certainly Moses became probably one of the biggest fans of the Word of the Lord. Well, it was because of this Word of the Lord that Moses now dies. This had been foreshadowed, not foreshadowed, this had been announced several times In the book of Deuteronomy, chapters 1, chapters 3, chapters 31 and 32, Moses was not under any false ideas. He knew that he was going to die.
He knew this series of addresses that he spoke to the people there on the plains of Moab, which is what Deuteronomy is. It's just Moses' addresses to the people. He knew this would be it for him. He knew this was his last, the 11th hour for him.
And so he does what the Lord God commands. on the top of this mountain and there he dies in the land of Moab according to the word of the Lord. Notice in verse 6, and he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor. But no one knows his grave to this day. Now, isn't that interesting?
The Lord buried him.
God Buries His Servant
The Lord buried him. So on the one hand, Moses doesn't get to enter into the promised land, but the Lord buries him. That's just a beautiful testimony of God's kindness and goodness to Moses. God had spoken.
God gave his command there at Meribah. He told him to speak to the rock, but rather Moses struck it twice. So God says, because you did not hallow me in the presence of Israel, you will not enter into the promised land. There is severity there, the way that a good father is severe with his disobedient son.
But there's mercy, there's kindness, there's love and affection continuing to Moses. He doesn't cut him off, he doesn't throw him away, he doesn't dispose of him, but rather what we find is that the Lord himself buries him. Kiel and Delitzsch make this observation. The fact itself that the Lord buried his servant Moses and no man knows of his sepulcher is in perfect keeping with the relation in which Moses stood to the Lord while he was alive. even if his sin at the water of strife rendered it necessary that he should suffer the punishment of death as a memorable example of the terrible severity of the holy God against sin, even in the case of his faithful servant.
Yet after the justice of God had been satisfied by this punishment, He was to be distinguished in death before all the people and glorified as the servant who had been found faithful in all the house of God, whom the Lord had known face to face and to whom he had spoken mouth to mouth. So this was a very distinguishing feature of the death of Moses. So on the one hand, he is forbidden to enter into the promised land, but on the other hand, God himself buries this very faithful servant and ends the book of Deuteronomy on this high note of praise, not in a sinful way, but this high note of respect for this covenant servant of the Lord, even Moses, the man of God. So the Lord buries him.
And then it's highlighted here that there is this anonymous grave. Notice. But no one knows his grave to this day. Now apparently, some of the commentators suggest that the Jews had this idea that the devil was arguing with Michael over the body of Moses.
Jude 9. seems to intimate this very thing. Yet Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you. All of that is difficult at best, right? All that we know is that this grave was not known.
Was it because the Jews might worship him, who had done such great and glorious things? Some of the people suggest that. I don't know. I got a John Gill quote, just so that we can kind of smooth over this bit here.
He says, the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses and the works of it. to bring any into the heavenly Canaan, and of the law being dead, and believers dead, to that through the body of Christ, and of the entire abrogation and abolition of it by Christ, according to the will of God, as a covenant of works, as to the curse and condemnation of it, and justification by it." So he does deal a bit with this whole idea of the body of Moses and the archangel Michael who? Gil says, is Jesus Christ? A lot of Protestant commentators take Michael as being Christ. I know the Jehovah's Witnesses teach that, but that doesn't necessarily mean that if you read John Gil, and he refers to him that way, that John Gil's a Jehovah's Witness.
But all that to say, whatever happened in terms of the devil and Michael the archangel, Gil's observation, I think, is very fitting at this particular portion. He says, the death and burial of Moses, this is thinking more covenantally, spiritually, thinking large picture Bible. The death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses. In other words, that law cannot bring you into the promised land, right?
It's Joshua. It's Yahweh is salvation. It's grace that brings you ultimately into the promised land. Joshua, of course, is the old covenant name.
The old covenant, or Jesus is the new covenant, or the Greek translation of Joshua. So he says, the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses. The lawgiver himself. The one who gave the statutes, the one who gave the ordinances, the one who stood there with the two tablets didn't even enter into the land of promise in terms of the temporal. application.
I certainly am convinced he's in the spiritual realm in terms of the promise. But there is some emblem here.
Law, Grace, and the Promised Land
The law does not take us into the promised land. It is the grace of God through his Joshua that ultimately brings us into the promised land.
Moses' Age and Vigor
And then notice, interestingly enough, it highlights his age and his vitality. Moses was 120 years old when he died. We can separate that into three sections. The first 40 years was when he was a youth.
The second 40 years was when he was in Midian. The last 40 years was when he was in Egypt with his people, led them out, and then went through the wilderness to get to this very place. And it highlights the reality, not only of his age, but his eyes were not dim, nor his natural vigor diminished. Again, it's not because he was decrepit.
It wasn't because he was an invalid that he didn't enter into the promised land. We need to remember, it was that statement in Numbers 20, whereby God forbade him to go into the promised land. I mean, here he is at 120. climbing the mountain he's going to die on. Certainly, he would have had the wherewithal to be able to wander over the border into the land of promise.
So it's underscored again. I think there is at least this observation that we can make. The best of men are men at best. I mean, in terms of the top five men in the Bible, certainly Moses would be in that top five list.
He was a godly man. He was a righteous man. In fact, the chapter ends where God says, I spoke with him face to face. And yet, instead of speaking to the rock like he was told, he whacked it twice.
There were times when he indicted or he rebuked the people. And again, I'm not standing in judgment of him. He didn't do it as much as I fear I would have done. But there were times he would call them rebels and that sort of thing.
I think what we need to appreciate as we come to the end of the book of Deuteronomy is that as great a man as Moses was, and as great as Joshua is, and as wonderful as some of the judges might be, and what the history of Israel will ultimately tell us is that there is someone else that we most desperately need. That's a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament. Just when we start to get really fond of a particular fellow, he does something very sinful and very ungodly. It's almost as if the Lord continually is weaning his people and continually telling them to look to the one who will ultimately come from his bosom, who will ultimately come from his own side, the one that will surpass Moses, the one that will be preeminent, the one who Moses has written about.
So when we come to the end of this book, it is easy to reminisce and say, what a great guy Moses was. And yet Moses was a sinner. saved by the same grace that you and I are saved by, and the real hero on Pisgah's Mount is God Most High, Covenant Lord, who is faithful to his promise, and who has said that he will bless all the families of the earth in this man Abraham. So it is God that we need to appreciate, and not Moses. Now, I know there is a part of me that appreciates Moses.
He's a great guy. If they had hockey cards back then, or profit cards certainly, Moses would have been a real keeper. But nevertheless, his eyes were not dimmed, nor his natural vigor diminished. And then verse 8 tells us, the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days.
So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended. This was typical. This was common. This was not unique for Moses alone, but we see rather that they did that when Aaron died also.
And so they move on. And that's the point of this section of the book.
The Succession of Joshua
And that brings us finally to consider the succession. the succession of Joshua. So it's good that they move on. They don't continue to stay in this particular place. And then in verse 9 we read, Now Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him.
So the children of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. So the spirit of wisdom is upon Joshua. This is needful in terms of rule, in terms of government, in terms of ability, and equipment. He needs to be a spiritual man.
You see, the job of entering into the land and conquering the land and dividing the land isn't simply about military strength. Certainly Joshua had military ability. Joshua knew his way around the battlefield. But that's not all there is to it.
He needs to have that spiritual discernment He needs to have that spirit of wisdom whereby, God willing, he is able to rightly rule over, lead the people of Israel as they go into this most difficult leg of their particular enterprise. I mean, up to this point, basically, they followed Moses. There were some skirmishes along the way, to be sure. But now, that is what they're going into the land to do.
They're going into the land to kill people, to dispossess the land, and to take that land and make it their own. Certainly, this part of their particular journey is going to be a bloody one. It's going to be a difficult one. And in some respects, Joshua has a much more difficult situation ahead of him in terms of engaging the enemy head on.
Again, not that Moses didn't, not that there weren't some skirmishes with Og and Sion and the various other enemies along the way, but this is specifically what is going to happen when we cross over into the book of Joshua. And so certainly he needs this spirit of wisdom. And then it indicates again, for Moses had laid his hands on him. This is all on the up and up.
This was all done before Israel. This was all done in public view. They understand and they know who the new leader is. there was a certain degree of pomp and show about this so that the people were not left in wonder as to who was leading, who was calling the shot. As John Gill says, which was this Moses laying his hands on him, which was a symbol of the government being committed to him and devolving upon him after his death an expressive of prayer for him, that he might be fitted for it, of which action see numbers 27, 23.
That's the parallel or that's when initially Joshua is identified for that role as successor. And then notice it indicates the response of the children of Israel. So the children of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. I wonder if we're there. especially what we know in the rest of the Old Testament, if we're supposed to pick up on the reality that that doesn't always work.
In fact, if you look at Joshua 1.16 for just a moment, Joshua 1.16 to 18, so they answered Joshua saying, all that you command us, we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go, just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. That's not absolutely the case. I bet they, you know, again, they're fervent, they're earnest, they want to follow Joshua, and that's a good thing. But again, what we are to see as we move our way through the Old Testament is that it's incomplete.
We have not reached the final point. We have not got to the destination. After every ratification of a covenant, it seems like someone breaks it. I mean, all these things take place, again, to show us, ultimately, our need for the Messiah that God would send to save His people.
Verse 17, Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words in all that you command him shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.
That's a blessing on behalf of the people. I mean, to their credit. Now, not necessarily when we get through the book of Joshua and Judges are they as obedient, but that's a great sign of support for Joshua. Joshua didn't have to wonder.
Joshua didn't have to think, are these people really for me? Because of the way that God had led them through, because of the way that Moses had led them, because of the way that they did this transition and this succession, everything was done in such a way as to promote within the people this realization that Joshua is the man. We need to obey Him. We need to follow Him.
We need to go where He takes us. That's a good thing in the lives of God's people in this particular instance. So we see the succession of Joshua, but
The Uniqueness of Moses
the book ends with that, as I've already intimated, with reference to the uniqueness of Moses. Verses 10 to 12. So Joshua is the man. He's got the spirit of wisdom.
Moses laid his hands on him. The children of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. Never forget, God buried Moses. God loved Moses, and here's why.
Verses 10 to 12. But since then, there has not risen in Israel a prophet like Moses. Now since then, at the time of writing. Did Joshua write 34?
Did Joshua write Joshua? Some speculate that the author of Samuel wrote chapter 34. So whatever point up to then meant, No prophet had arisen since then, but I think arguably, if you look at the history of Israel, as great a man as Isaiah was, as great as Jeremiah was, as great as Ezekiel or Hosea or Joel, if you ask all those brothers, who was the prophet of Israel? It's St.
Moses. and say, we played with his hockey cards when we were little. I mean, we love Moses. Moses is the man of God, the prophet premier. Since then, there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses.
And then he gives the reasons why. Whom the Lord knew face to face. It's an amazing statement. God knew Moses face to face.
Not that he doesn't know you and I face to face in the sense that there's an intimacy there, but he spoke with Moses like he hadn't with others. He had that intimacy, that communion with Moses. Moses was special to the Lord our God. So perhaps what we are meant to learn as we end this book, it's not that Moses was a horrible, terrible person for not going into the Promised Land.
I mean, he was a sinner, and he was stopped from going in there, but God loved this man. And since this time, there's not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt. I mean, just imagine all that happened from the burning bush to the top of Pisgah. Look at what Moses did.
Look at what he saw. Look at how he communed with God. Look at how he just went and talked to God on the mountain. I mean, this was a special choice servant of the Lord Most High.
So in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt before Pharaoh, Remember with the staff, remember the plagues, remember all of those events that Moses took part in. God the Lord says, you go tell Pharaoh to let my people go. Remember Moses at the very beginning wasn't the most willing participant in this whole process, was he? He's like, here am I, Lord, send Aaron.
I can't do this. I don't know how to talk. I'm not good at all this stuff." Right? I mean, Moses was not a guy who was looking for position.
Moses did not ordain himself to the leadership in Israel. Moses was most unwilling initially. It was God who said, I want you to go to Pharaoh and I want you to let my people go. So Moses does this.
He stands in the presence of the greatest man in the world, humanly speaking, and he says, you need to let these Israelites go. Well, why should I listen to you, Moses? Because Yahweh sent me. Who is this Yahweh?
I don't know this Yahweh. That's what Pharaoh says to him. And yet Moses is faithful. He keeps going back.
They go through those various plagues to the point where in that tenth plague they boldly leave out of Egypt because the Lord God Almighty had killed the firstborn in Egypt. Moses saw some amazing things. Moses talked with God. Moses maintained intimacy with God.
Moses was close with God before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land. And by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel. It's a great way to end the book on this note of a great exhibition of God's power and God's glory manifested through his servant Moses. Now there's something interesting as well about Moses.
Let's just go back a little bit, just as we sort of sum up some things here.
Pisgah and the Means of Grace
Let's just go back and visit him on Pisgah. John Gill also notes that this is something that the Lord gives to all of his people. He says this view Moses had of the good land a little before his death may be an emblem of that sight believers have by faith of the heavenly glory and which sometimes is the clearest when near to death or when you're singing 321 on the Lord's day. I don't know about you all, but something about corporate worship is just amazing.
I hope it's that way. I hope everybody comes to corporate worship and it's a time to meet with God. There's something very special. It's almost as if we're getting glimpses of that heavenly promised land to come.
Gil taps into that. He says, this site they have not in the plains of Moab, in the low estate of nature, but in an exalted state of grace, upon and from off the rock of Christ, in the mountain of the church of God, the word and ordinances being often the means of it. It is a site by faith, and is of the Lord, which he gives, strengthens, and increases, and sometimes grants more fully a little before death. Now, in our generation, I don't think it would take much to convince you all there's a difference between evangelical worship as it's conducted today and as it's stated here by John Gill.
Notice the way he describes what happens in the church. He says, this site they have not in the plains of Moab in the lowest state of nature, but in an exalted state of grace upon and from off the rock of Christ in the mountain of the church of God. the word and ordinances being often the means of it. You see, the old writers, the Puritans, the reformers, spoke of the means of grace. They understood that prayer and that preaching and that sacraments and that corporate worship as a whole was a means whereby God blessed his people.
You see, the idea that we would go to church for entertainment The idea that we would go to church to sip coffee and to put our hands in our pockets if we were preachers was simply unheard of to these men. As far as these men were concerned, when they entered into this mountain of God, which is the church, it was for holy business. It was to see this glimpse of the promised land. It was to enjoy the presence of God Almighty.
They can take that entertainment, they can take their buns and lattes and their rock bands, and they can go jump off a bridge. What we want is to come before the thrice holy God in an acceptable manner, that means defined by Him, with reverence and godly fear, using the simple means that He has ordered for His glory and for our good. And I truly submit that when we do that, we will find blessing. It's inevitable.
God knows what's best for us. He understands the way the creature works. He understands that simple means, such as we find in new covenant worship, are calculated to promote spiritual benefit on the part of his people. So it is not to be the case that we come for entertainment, that we come to see the guitarist shred, or to see people engage in stand-up comedy, but rather we ought to say something or have something of what Dill writes here.
Upon and from off the rock of Christ, in the mountain of the church of God, the word and ordinances being often the means of it. It is a site by faith and is of the Lord, which he gives, strengthens, and increases, and sometimes grants fully a little before death." Often thought, one of the best places to die would be in the midst of corporate worship, singing praises to God. or for me, in the act of preaching. I wouldn't mind keeling over. If I keel over, just praise God.
Okay, yeah, wait till the end, yeah. Yeah, at the end, keel over. And then he breathed his last. That's what I, where else would you want to be?
You see, the idea that church is all about us, or that church is all man-centered, or that church is, you know, some of the things I've already mentioned, that is just, that is so North American. That would go well in McDonald's. Living the good life together. Yeah, those verses seem to get neglected.
I don't know what it is. But yeah, I really think the way forward, as one of my brothers says, is the way backward. The old boys seem to have it a lot better than we do with reference to worship, a simple approach to God Most High and the corporate place, and to value and prize those means. It's one of the things that I've observed that people who value the means of grace more often than not are those who grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
I know it seems zany, seems odd, you know, the people that eat a balanced diet and get exercise, you know, they seem to be doing okay. It's the same thing spiritually speaking. When you eat your Wheaties, when you eat your broccoli, when you take in the nourishment that God affords in His Word as defined by Him, nine times out of ten, you will grow thereby. It really, well, ten times out of ten, you will grow thereby.
And then one other observation that we need to make before we say farewell to Moses is that
Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration
when he stood on Pisgah, he saw a mount that he himself would stand upon again. Anybody know that one? See, Moses isn't finished here at the end of Deuteronomy 34. What's that?
Well, Mount of Transfiguration. Meredith Klein said this, he nailed this, though not now able to enter the land, Moses beheld its northern mountain peaks on one of which he with Elijah was afterwards to stand speaking with the mediator of the new covenant concerning the exodus he must accomplish at Jerusalem before he might cross over into the heavenly inheritance. So we have this Moses, the primary prophet of Israel until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Luke's gospel, specifically in Luke chapter 9, that Mount of Transfiguration, where Moses and Elijah come and they speak to Jesus.
It's interesting because Luke tells us specifically what they talked about. Notice in verse 28 of Luke 9. Now it came to pass about eight days after these sayings that he took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the appearance of his face was altered, and his robe became white and glistening.
And behold, two men talked with him, who were Moses and Elijah. who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease, literally it is his exodus, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. So Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, who had led the people of Israel out of, who had engaged in an exodus out of Egypt, is now standing with the mediator of the new covenant. And what do they discuss? They discuss his exodus, his decease that is going to take place wherein he as the mediator of the new covenant will lead his people out of bondage, will lead his people out of that place of great slavery and despair.
So Klein is right on, was afterwards to stand speaking with the mediator of the new covenant concerning the exodus he must accomplish at Jerusalem before he might cross over into the heavenly inheritance. So while Moses was dead and God buried him, Moses was not finished in terms of redemptive history. He comes, he stands on the Mount of Transfiguration, and Jesus and Peter and James and John all see him. It's interesting in verse 32, but Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
Then it happened as they were parting from him that Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them and they were fearful as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him.
When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. But they kept quiet and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. I bet if you ask Moses, would you like better standing on Pisgah or standing on the Mount of Transfiguration? I get to see Jesus.
I got to see my Lord. I got to see him incarnate. So that's Moses, the man of God. That's the end of the book of Deuteronomy.
The Lord willing, I think in three weeks time, we will start the book of Joshua. Next week, we'll do something sort of in the interim. The following week, I will not be here that Wednesday night. So the week after is when we will start Joshua, which deals with the people of Israel entering the land, conquering the land, and dividing the land.
And then it ends with an admonition to retain the land or to keep it. And then, of course, the book of Judges shows challenges with reference to that final element. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for this wonderful study in the book of Deuteronomy. It is a massive, wonderful testimony to your kindness and to your graciousness and to your goodness. God, certainly you who promise is faithful. And certainly what you spoke to Abraham was brought to fruition.
And we see it even more clearly now on this side of the cross that his seed has come and that in Christ all the nations of the earth are blessed. How we thank you that you've made us participants, how we thank you that by your grace you've made us members of the new covenant and we give you glory and praise and adoration. We just ask now that you would go with us and watch over us in the remainder of this week and we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.