Recap~
Last week we talked about Balaam
Numbers 22-24
Moses Dies
Deuteronomy 34
MEMORY VERSE
Deuteronomy 34:10 “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,”
Faithful Service
ATTENTION GRABBER
As you begin to teach, choose four or five students who would like to volunteer to serve you. Tell them to stand up and hold some things for you (it could be the trash can, ruler, or your Bible).
You can also be creative and come up with some “strange” requests but do not tell them why you are asking them to do this.
At some later point in the lesson, use this as an illustration.
The children who were the servants did the request no matter how strange it seemed.
We are called to be faithful to everything that the Lord asks us to do, even if it seems strange to us.
Moses was a faithful servant to the end. Today We will review his life of faithful service to the Lord.
In this last chapter of Deuteronomy, the life of Moses comes to an end.
He was a faithful servant but he was like you and I.
I mean he got angry at times.
He sinned against God and suffered the consequences of his sin.
But he did what he was told.
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Deuteronomy 34
The Death of Moses
1 Then Moses went up to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; 2 all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea; 3 the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho—the city of palms—as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land.”
Moses climbed to the top of Mount Nebo where the Lord showed Him all of the lands He would give to the children of Israel—the land He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Remember, Moses had failed to represent God’s heart to the people at the waters of Meribah; and as a consequence of that sin, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
God is always faithful to keeping His promises, and though Moses could not enter, he now looks at the land God had promised and is assured of the future of the nation he loved and led out of bondage.
5 So Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, just as the LORD had said. 6 The LORD buried him in a valley near Beth-Peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. 8 The people of Israel mourned for Moses on the plains of Moab for thirty days, until the customary period of mourning was over.
Moses died.
The Lord buried His righteous servant in a valley in the land of Moab.
No one knows where he was buried, but it was somewhere in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor.
This was the valley where the children of Israel camped while Moses gave them instructions and blessings from God (Deuteronomy 5:33).
Moses was 120 years old when he died, and yet he exhibited strength and vitality until the day he went to be with the Lord.
The children of Israel mourned for thirty days for Moses.
They recognized His years of faithful leadership and love for them.
He would be greatly missed.
Moses was called, “the servant of the Lord.”
In the book of Hebrews, we are told, “Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Choosing rather suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season…” (Hebrews 11:24-29).
We, too, can choose to be a servant of the Lord.
Moses was faithful to obeying everything that the Lord asked him to do.
God desires us to be faithful too.
9 Now Joshua, son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So, the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Joshua, another faithful servant of the Lord whom Moses had trained, would now be the leader of the children of Israel.
Remember, Joshua was one of the spies who brought back an encouraging report to enter the land God had promised, not fearing the difficulties (“giants,”) to overcome.
Joshua was an older man, now; yet God had been preparing him through many experiences with Moses for this important call in his life.
The bible says that he was “full of the spirit of wisdom.”
Though we may not see God’s full purpose and plan for each of us we can be confident that God is working and preparing us to fulfill His calling.
Let us serve God with faithfulness.
We also see an interesting picture of God’s salvation in our story, today.
We see that Moses brought Israel to the borders of the land, but died and could not take them in himself.
Moses, through whom the Lord gave the Ten Commandments to Israel, represented the Law.
In Hebrews 7:19, we read that “…the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.” Unable to attain the righteous standard of law, we remain on the border of the Promised Land— “the rest and peace” we could enter into.
Joshua was a symbol of Jesus Christ, the “better hope,” who would do for us what the law could not do; now made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, we can enter into God’s full richness and blessings.
In other words, we can never get to the place that God wants us to be by being a good person or by keeping all of the rules of the Bible or the law.
Now, in Christ Jesus, we are “accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6).
Having met God’s righteous standard, through our faith in Jesus Christ, God now works “inside” of us to make us what He wants us to be.
He enables us to do what we cannot do in our own strength.
Romans 7:6 states, “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by so that we should serve in newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”
The Children of Israel recognized the authority was now upon Joshua and gave “heed” to him.
The scriptures now reflect on the life of Moses.
10 There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. 11 The LORD sent him to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, and all his servants, and his entire land. 12 With mighty power, Moses performed terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel.
Not only was Moses a righteous man, but he also had an intimacy with the Lord that no one else at that time had.
The Bible describes Moses, “whom the Lord knew face to face as a friend” (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:7, 8).
Moses was used by God to do miraculous signs, wonders, and awesome deeds.
He was used by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt,
to deliver His law to His people,
to build the Tabernacle,
The greatest thing said of him was that he was the “friend of God.”
Through Jesus Christ, we can now experience a special friendship and intimacy with the Lord.
Moses was a great example of a faithful servant of God who devoted himself to fulfilling God’s calling on his life.
God desires to use each of us who will commit our futures to Him.
May we, as Moses did, turn from the things the world offers, become intimately acquainted “friends” with God, and devote ourselves to His will for our lives.
PRAYER
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