Deuteronomy 34:1-12

Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love

Love and Obey the *LORD your God

Deuteronomy

Philip Smith

Chapter 34

v1 Then Moses climbed from the plains of Moab to *Mount Nebo. He went to the top of *Mount Pisgah, which is east of Jericho. There, the *LORD showed to him the whole country. Moses saw Gilead’s land as far north as Dan. v2 He saw also all of Naphtali’s land, Ephraim’s land and Manasseh’s land. He saw Judah’s land across to the Mediterranean Sea. v3 He saw the southern area. And he saw the whole area from the valley of Jericho to Zoar. Jericho was the city with trees called palm trees. v4 Then the *LORD said this to Moses. ‘This is the country that I promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I said that I would give it to their *descendants. I have let you see it. But you will not go there.’

v5 Then Moses, the *LORD’s servant, died there in the country called Moab. That happened as the *LORD had said. v6 The *LORD buried Moses in a valley in Moab. That was opposite Beth-peor. Still today, nobody knows where Moses’ grave is. v7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His sight was still good and he was still strong. v8 The *Israelites wept for 30 days in the plains of Moab, because Moses had died. Then the time ended when they were weeping because of Moses.

v9 Now God made Joshua, the son of Nun, wise. That was because Moses had put his hands on Joshua. So the *Israelites listened to what Joshua said. They did what the *LORD had ordered Moses to do.

v10 Since that time, there has never been a *prophet like Moses in *Israel. The *LORD knew him ‘face to face’. v11 Moses did all those *signs and *wonders. The *LORD sent him to do them in Egypt. Moses did them against Pharaoh the king, his officials and his whole country. v12 Nobody has ever had such great power as Moses had. Nobody has ever done such great or terrible acts as Moses did. All the *Israelites saw them.

This gives the story of Moses’ death. He climbed the mountain range of Nebo to the top of *Mount Pisgah. It was 2740 feet high. From that mountain, Moses saw the Jordan valley up to *Mount Hermon. That was 120 miles to the north. He saw all the country to the west, towards the Mediterranean Sea. He saw also the rich plain of Jericho. There were many trees called palm trees there. Palm trees do not have branches but they have large leaves at their top. Then Moses died there.

Nobody marked Moses’ grave with a stone. The reason for that was probably so that nobody would *worship his dead body. He did not die because he was old. His eye-sight and strength were still good. However, he had finished his work. The people wept for 30 days because Moses had died. John describes the death of Jesus in his book. (See John 19:30.) ‘Jesus said, “I have finished (my work).” When Jesus said that, he let his *spirit go.’

Moses had put his hands on Joshua. That was the way that Moses appointed Joshua as the next leader. Joshua received the gift of wisdom. Moses was the greatest of all the *prophets in *Israel. God told more to him than to anyone else. The *LORD knew Moses ‘face to face’. That means that he spoke with Moses in a personal way. The great *sign and the very wonderful act in the *Old Testament was when God rescued the *Israelites from Egypt. Moses did not bring the people into the country that God had promised to them. All the *prophets reminded the people that God had spoken by Moses. Moses formed the nation of the *Jews. When Moses died, God himself buried Moses in Moab. Moses’ period of government had ended. Later, Moses appeared with Elijah on the mountain with Jesus. (See Matthew 17:3.) The story of Jesus ends with him in the place of honour at God’s side. (See Luke 24:51.) There will be no end to Jesus’ government. (See Isaiah 9:7.)

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.

covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
sign ~ an unusual event that God uses to teach people something. But sometimes false prophets promised signs.
wonder ~ an event that astonishes people and it shows God’s power. But other people who did not love God sometimes did them too.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, it tells about the history and the beliefs of the Israelites.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.