The Death of Moses
34 Now 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 all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the [a]western sea, 3 and the [b]Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your [c]descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the [d]word of the Lord. 6 And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.7 Although Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated. 8 So the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses came to an end.
9 Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 for all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land, 12 and for all the mighty [e]power and for all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
I’ve always looked at Moses death as a sort of ending, and something that must have been a disappointment for him.
At the end, God says “I have let you see it (the promised land) with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” But that is not the end of Moses’ story, for if we believe that the soul is eternal, then his story continues even today, just not on this physical earth.
What looks like disappointment is something much different, for God had something much better in store for Moses. Though He wouldn’t let Moses enjoy the earthly fruits of this long journey, Moses would be in for an even bigger treat, spending eternity with his Maker.
That is better than any earthly kingdom, and more than a consolation prize, it is THE prize of all prizes. It’s what we were destined for.