Amen. So tonight we come to, by my count, the 53rd and final sermon in our Deuteronomy series. We started Deuteronomy September 17th, 2023. And so we complete tonight on March 30th, 2025, Deuteronomy. Now this night does represent the ending of the Deuteronomy series. There is more. Many years ago, we started a trek through the Pentateuch, the Torah, which consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus numbers in Deuteronomy. Five books of the Old Testament that are the foundation for everything. Some of you have been here Since Genesis 1.1, look at you. Some of you are here tonight. You've been here from Genesis, praise God. Genesis was 68 sermons. Exodus was 60 sermons. Leviticus was 27 sermons. Numbers was 51 sermons. We've been very patiently walking, right? So tonight, 53 sermons coming to an end. I was amazed at when we started this. We started the Pentateuch in 2012. So I came here in August as the preaching pastor, voted in August of 2012. And later that fall, we started Genesis. So we weren't rushing things. That was 12 years ago, 13 years ago this fall. So over 12 years. And so now what we're doing tonight, when we picked up with Exodus forward, we went on a much quicker pace. Genesis was much slower looking back, probably didn't need to take as long in Genesis as we did over those years. But we took some breaks and came back time and time again. Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers were much more focused and with fewer breaks. And now the momentum has carried us all the way to Deuteronomy 34. So it's been a while. It's been a while since we've been at this. And so there is something wonderful about seeing the closure of a study that spanned not just a book, but a series of foundational books of Revelation with Deuteronomy. So if my math is right, This is the 259th sermon that takes us to the end of our study through the Pentateuch. What do we need to know and remember as we look at the final passage of the Torah's last book? Well, a few things about Deuteronomy to keep in mind. We need to recall that this book is a series of sermons. Moses is preaching to Israelites who have grown up in the wilderness years and that are gonna inherit the promised land under Joshua's leadership. Moses' sermons repeated many commandments, including the Ten Commandments. He repeated many ceremonies and feasts from earlier revelation. You can see those drawing upon Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers time and time again. He is applying the Ten Commandments in a whole host of different scenarios. In fact, the bulk of Deuteronomy is the application of those commandments. In Deuteronomy 5, the ten are repeated, and then application after application after application, seemingly working through the ten in order from Deuteronomy 6 to 26. Most of this book is wisdom for living in the fear of the Lord. guidance in all areas of life, applying the Ten Commandments. How do we live as a people whose hearts love God and love neighbor? The bulk of Deuteronomy is concerned about that. So this new generation will be rightly reminded and warned and exhorted. Truly, the end of Deuteronomy is a death scene. And that's not all that goes on in Deuteronomy 34. It is, however, primarily the end of Moses's life. There's something also sad about that. We've been with Moses for a long time. We've seen his birth in Exodus chapter two, and we've seen him rise with boldness and courage before Pharaoh in Exodus six and seven, lead the Israelites out of the Exodus, staying at Sinai with so much revelation to convey. We've been with Moses a long time. And yet under the sun, the life of God's people comes to an end. And in Deuteronomy 34, this is Moses's end. The scene is reminiscent of an earlier part of the Torah The first book. The book of Genesis ends with a death scene. And especially connecting that passage and this one, notice that the death of a major character came after a chapter of blessing at the end of Genesis. That's not a coincidence. That a scene of blessing is followed by the death of a major character and leader. And here in Deuteronomy, the last book of the Torah, We've seen a scene of blessing from Deuteronomy 33 now be followed by the death of a major character. We are not required to believe that Moses wrote his chapter of death ahead of time. Though there are some interpreters who have argued that, it is quite reasonable to suggest that Joshua, or later biblical author, has included this account of Moses' death, an author inspired as the others are, revelation authoritative as the other revelation is, though some have suggested and feel quite more confident and at ease thinking Moses reported his own death scene ahead of time. I'm not saying that couldn't have happened. It's not required that you believe that in believing the inspiration and authority of scripture. Later biblical authors such as Joshua could have included that. We do see in Deuteronomy 34, 12 verses that break down into four verses in three groups. The first group of four verses is Moses's view of the land, and then in verses 5 to 8, Moses's death on the mountain, and then in verses 9 to 12, Moses's successor in uniqueness. His view of the land, his death on the mountain, and his successor and uniqueness. The view of the land includes some place names we're familiar with in Deuteronomy and prior. Because he's already been told he's going to ascend to a location and die. Now that's not the normal way where someone's earthly life is coming to an end and God's saying to them, make sure it happens on a mountain. That's just not what they would expect. That's not what previous revelation told them. So when there's an instruction that you're going to die and make sure you climb this mountain to die, what's the point of that? Well, we're told in verses one to four that he's gonna have a view of the land. Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab The plains of Moab were on the eastern side of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho. We don't have a Bible map projected behind us tonight, but just with reference, if you were to look at yours, that's what you would see. Across from Jericho, the plains of Moab, they would be occupied by other Israelite tribes returning after the conquest and occupy the eastern area. The plains of Moab has this mountain range, and so the top of Pisgah is likely this range where the peak of Pisgah, Mount Nebo. So we're told that Mount Nebo is the top of Pisgah and likely then Mount Nebo is this peak in this side of the range so that the plains of Moab have this range of mountains and a peak known as Mount Nebo and all of it across from Jericho. The geographical reference to Jericho is important because what's coming next? Well, the book of Joshua, where they're going to be led into the promised land for the conquest, and the first city to fall will be Jericho. The nearness of it, you can feel how close they are. And these 40 years of wilderness wandering have now come to an end. It's as if Moses is the remaining figure of the older generation. Now, it doesn't tell us that Moses was the last living wilderness descendant. The reason I'm willing to throw that out, though, that he's the last one to die is because in Joshua 1, It says, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, get up and go. It doesn't say Moses died and we have a few remaining people left. Now, that's not what it says. It seems to give the impression that everyone under the judgment of that generation has fallen but Moses. And now Moses is going up to die as the last of the wilderness generation. So I think we should consider that as the likely situation. The Lord showed him all the land. Now this language here, Gilead as far as Dan, Gilead is the northeast area, east of Jordan, that's going to be occupied by the east tribe of Manasseh. So east Manasseh is going to occupy that, but Dan takes you from east over the Jordan River, where Dan is going to be located, and Naphtali, same way in the land, Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea. The Western Sea is a reference to the Mediterranean Sea. The Negev and the plain gets really quite south, That is the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Zoar is an area south of the Dead Sea. So here's what I think we should imagine. Moses goes up on this peak, and he sees, as much as one can see with the naked eye, a vision of the land. He sees area in the north, he sees area in the central part of the land, and he sees, moving toward the south, this panoramic view. That's the impression. So these place names in particular don't have to be as important to us in our study as simply realizing it's about a panoramic view. Going up there and taking it in, the fullness of it, the breadth of it, and that that would be as overwhelming and glorious as we can imagine Moses experiencing. And then the Lord says to him in verse four, This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, I will give it to your offspring. Where did the Lord say that? In the first book of the Torah. There's something about coming full circle then, isn't it? Where in Genesis 12, I will give this land to your offspring. In Genesis 12 verse seven, that's an example of that promise where the land was pledged. And that these boundaries are now at the last book of the Torah and in its last chapter, no less. Here we see things coming full circle where the people of God are poised to inherit the land earlier promised to the patriarchs. Moses does not speak in this chapter. It is the Lord's words to him that we see. The last words of Moses were the last words in Deuteronomy 33. In this chapter, the only one that speaks is the Lord. And the Lord's word to Moses is a reference to an earlier promise, so that he's saying to Moses, behold, I keep my word. This is my faithfulness. Take in the breath of the land and recall your forefathers, your patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob heard of this land and it will be given to the offspring. And then he says at the end of verse four, I've let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there. We're not told the repetition of why, but let's just collectively remember. In Numbers chapter 20, Moses was told, speak to the rock that it might give water for the thirsting Israelites who had murmured and complained as they do through the wilderness as they did about their situation. And Moses, Moses humiliated himself publicly. He lost control of his senses, disobeyed the Lord's command, began to strike the rock not once, not twice, out of anger and rage at the Israelites, and in his words, speaking, what was not proper to the Israelites with this action in his rebuke of them in such an angered moment. Now, we might say, well, Moses can have, we can imagine, a righteous indignation in that moment. Yes, righteous indignation is something that the saints and leaders of God's people might have. Moses' anger was not understood as righteous. But rather the Lord, who is sovereign and all-wise, deems Moses' action unfitting. And so Moses is not merely acting as an Israelite, he's acting as the prophet of God and the leader of Israel. And so there are some things when done that are not only wrong when done by anybody, but are especially egregious with far-reaching consequences when done with leadership. And Moses is in that situation. It is not cruel that the Lord used Moses through those many years from the Egyptian deliverance through the 40 years and now bringing them to the cusp of the promised land. Moses is experiencing some serious consequences by not going into the land, but Moses is not an unbelieving Israelite. He was wrong to do what he did in Numbers 20. And in Deuteronomy 34, he's told, I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there. But I want you to consider that this is also a kindness of the Lord. Moses dies looking into what was promised. The Lord did not have to give him that. Moses could have died in the wilderness on solid, level ground like these bodies that had fallen all of these years. But Moses goes and glimpses this land he had come so far and for so long to see. I don't take this as a cruel tease. I see this as the Lord letting Moses Behold what indeed he can see with his eyes now, and not only by faith, though he did not inherit the land in that moment. If we would consider this, as I think we should, a kindness of the Lord, a kind of gift to Moses before death, allowing him to see this, then we are reminded of Hebrews 11. Because Moses wasn't the only one who knew God's promises and didn't inherit them. Abraham experienced that. Isaac experienced that. Jacob experienced that. All flawed leaders, all used of God to lead and to guide and in various ways throughout Genesis, you see the importance of though those characters are flawed, their obedience to the Lord, their commitment to the covenant promises. Moses reminds me of Hebrews 11, 13. Moses, like these, the text says, all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. Here's Moses on Mount Nebo, greeting from afar, seeing and greeting from afar this land of promise. So yes, his disobedience in Numbers 20 is serious. And now at the edge of the land, he climbs a mountain to see the land of promise flowing with milk and honey, a gift of God to this great prophet and leader. He sees the reality, in other words, that the redemption of Egypt had been aiming at. It was not some pie-in-the-sky hope without substance. Moses sees it. And though he will die, what a joy it is to see what they've come so far and so long to receive. So he sees not just by faith, but now greeting from afar this land. In verses one to four, the view of the land is followed by his death on the mountain. In verses five to eight, Moses' death on the mountain is reported bluntly. Verse five, 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 the valley in the land of Moab, beside Beth-peor, but no one knows the place of his burial to this day." And before we look at the rest of verses 5 to 8, let's just think about verses 5 to 6 for a minute, because Moses is termed here the servant of the Lord. That is not something you give as a title to an unbelieving, wicked Israelite who's rejected the covenant and gone after idols. Moses dies before inheriting the land, but he's called a servant of the Lord. So you've got to hold verse 4 together with verse 5. I'm not going to let you go into the land, but then we're told in verse 5 he's a servant of Yahweh. That's his legacy. That's his legacy. A servant of Yahweh that in Hebrews chapter 3, we were told Moses is faithful over all God's house. When the writer of Hebrews interprets the ministry of Moses, he doesn't see a sinless figure, but he does see a faithful leader. Moses was faithful over the house of Israel, the covenant people of Yahweh. So he dies there in the land of Moab on this mountain, as God said he would, according to the word of the Lord. Then verse six, some mystery here. Lean into this with me. He buried him. Who's the he? So some interpreters have said, well, obviously this would be somebody else that comes along later, maybe a Joshua or someone else. Well, it says at the end of the verse, though, no one knows the place of his burial. So it seems like if this was an Israelite who's the he, then the place of his burial wouldn't be unknown. The person who buried him wouldn't know. And so the end of verse six seems to suggest what would be the traditional take on this. The Lord takes care of the body of Moses. This is not a normal human burial. Burial, as one writer puts it, was always done by a family member. That was the expectation, some close relative in Bible times and beyond. This means for Yahweh to in some way take care of the body of Moses, whether employing angelic activity, as would not be surprising to any of us given the presence and intermediary work of angels in the life of God's people. This is Yahweh having a covenant relationship with Moses, the status of which is unique. There wasn't anybody else like Moses. Wasn't anybody else that went to that burning bush? Wasn't anybody else that went to the top of Sinai? Wasn't anybody else that done the particular things Moses did? And so though a family member or close friend might be expected, can't we realize that if Yahweh takes care of the body of Moses in the way that's not reported here, then this should confirm a kind of communion and sweet fellowship between Yahweh and Moses that is like friend to friend. It speaks of the intimacy between Yahweh and his prophet. It speaks of the love and covenant connection between Yahweh and the mouthpiece of God for the Israelites. It is not other family members or friends that will take care of his body. God says, I will do this. I will oversee the body of Moses. So he buried him. And no one knows the place of his burial. There's even a fittingness to that, perhaps, because Israel, in their hearts, did have a waywardness toward idolatry. And could it be the case that if such a great prophet, such a great leader, if his place of burial was known, they might be tempted to pilgrimage to that kind of thing and do God knows what there? as they might be tempted to do. And so in the Lord's kindness to them, he preserves the body of Moses's burial or the burial of the burial of Moses's body in this place for his own knowledge not to be shared among the other image bearers. So rightly we're told at the end of verse six, no one knows the place of his burial. Now there's only one other spot in the whole Bible that makes anything of the body of Moses. Do you know where that is? It's a little letter tucked near the end of the New Testament, the book of Jude. And you know, Jude brings up some interesting things, including in Jude verse nine, when he says, you ready for this? I don't know when the last time you looked at Jude, but verse nine says, when the Archangel Michael contending with the devil was disputing about the body of Moses, he didn't presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, the Lord rebuke you. And then that's all Jude says. He just sort of drops that. He drops that and the readers go, wait a second. And you're saying the Archangel Michael, okay, so they're contending with the devil, disputing about the body of Moses. Which means that there seems to be some understanding, I imagine, that the body of Moses, or the possession of it, or in some way the acquiring of it, would be signaling some kind of rights or authority. and that the devil would leverage this in a bad way. And that the archangel Michael, in Jude's verse here, in what seems to be a clear demonstration of spiritual warfare, is contending with the devil. And then Jude doesn't explain anything else. You might think, well, I've got a lot of questions about that. Yeah, join the readers throughout the centuries that would love to ask Jude some follow-up questions. That's all he says. And yet the tradition, not only recorded in the inspired scripture of Jude, but even in other Jewish literature outside the Bible, confirms that Moses, while he died, did not have a burial place known. It does tell us his age in verse seven. Moses was 120 years old when he died. That number 120 might stand out to you if you go to the first book of the Bible. In Genesis chapter 6 verse 3, we're told that in the days after the flood, the plan of the Lord would be to limit the lifespan of the image bearers to 120 years. And Moses dies and is the only reported Old Testament figure who dies at age 120. He dies what some have called the ideal age, calling upon Genesis 6.3 to give them some guidance to that end. But let's explore verse seven here, because we might say, okay, maybe he finally died of old age, or he got sick on that mountain, or his body was simply wearing out. That is not what the text says. The text actually says the opposite. Do you notice at the end of verse seven it says, his eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated. It speaks to both his internal and external strength. That if it were up to simply the natural bodily processes of Moses, it would have been a life continuing. Moses was not wearing out. It says his vigor was unabated. And I think we're going to take that really seriously here. I'm not just seeing that as some kind of figurative or hyperbolic statement here. I think we should see that when Moses died, he died because God said, you're going to go up on that mountain and die. And that the reason for it was to fulfill the word of God. So the Lord brought an end, a fitting end to the life of Moses, but it wasn't because Moses was sick and weak. That was not the reason. The reason was he's the last of the wilderness generation and it's time to inherit the land. So we're not waiting more years. It's the time for fulfillment of the promises of the Lord. And the death of Moses will be the thing that is the catalyst now for what is next. So the death of Moses, in an interesting way, will showcase the faithfulness of the Lord, because now Moses dies according to God's word, setting up now the conquest. But Moses dies not because he was weak and sick. Instead, at age 120, his life comes to an end on a mountain, according to the word of the Lord. And in verse 8, what's fitting is the mourning of the people. They wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. When Aaron died, Moses' older brother by three years, Aaron died in Numbers chapter 20, verse 29. And we're told that when Aaron died, in the very same chapter, Moses disobeyed the Lord and struck the rock twice. Interesting, a lot happening in that chapter. In Numbers 20, when Aaron dies, they weep 30 days for him as well. So 30 days for Aaron and 30 days for his younger brother Moses, now an old man of 120 years. Here, their great leader has died. Moses' life can be divided in those 120 years into three big parts. We're helped here by not only comments from the Torah, but by the book of Acts, which gives us clarity to Moses' life. He spent the first 40 years in Egypt, growing up in the house of Pharaoh, learning the literature and ways of the Egyptians. In the next 40 years, he spent in Midian. Having fled from the tyrannical Pharaoh who had a target on Moses' back and a wanted poster all throughout Egypt with his face on it, Moses spent 40 years in Midian getting married, having children, serving Jethro, his father-in-law, and tending sheep, shepherding sheep, preparing to shepherd a nation for the last 40 years. So Moses was a shepherd of actual sheep and then became a shepherd of actual people in the last 40 years of his life. So growing up in Egypt, living in Midian and then traveling with these Israelites, three 40 year blocks of this great man. Now he dies and they weep for him for 30 days. How distressing it would be. Can you imagine? These generations, the older that had died out knowing what would happen to Moses, and then the new one growing up knowing that he would not be going into the land, and now their great leader dies. They know Joshua's going to be the successor. That does not change the fact that that's a humongous deal. For 40 years, he's what they've known. Their parents came out of Egypt with this man. walked through walls of standing water with this man, traveled with pillar of cloud and fire by night with this man, traveled with a tabernacle and all of its furnishings with this man. Oh, the things Moses did. And so now they weep. And for 30 days, the mourning and weeping after those days were ended. The last part of our chapter tonight, in the end of the Torah, takes us to verses 9 to 12, Moses' successor and uniqueness. We're told Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom. The reason we're pivoting to Joshua is because that's what we prepared for. We've been given advance notice. So in verse 9, of course, with the death of Moses and the weeping of the people coming to an end, of course, Joshua is going to be brought up. It's the hinge point from Deuteronomy 34 to Joshua chapter 1. Joshua, the son of Nun was full of spirit, the spirit of wisdom. And of course, being full of the spirit of wisdom is something heavenly given. The origin is of God, because God is equipping Joshua. He's already been invested with authority. He's been set apart and commissioned. You can go to Numbers chapter 27. Eliezer the priest, the son of Aaron. Eliezer's the new high priest after Aaron's death. Eliezer anoints and prepares Joshua for leadership. So they're ready for it. And now the moment comes. They've been preparing as a nation, and now we're told he's full of the spirit of wisdom, and it's exactly what he would need. He's going to lead this people through the conquest. He's going to go through the South and North of the land. They're going to inhabit the allotted territories promised to those patriarchs. And so yes, the spirit of wisdom is exactly what Joshua would need without that. There would just be chaos and turmoil. The spirit of wisdom is there for Moses had laid his hands on him, we're told. Numbers 27 gives us that scene. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. They're ready to mentally shift. Moses was our leader. Joshua is our leader now. I can't imagine that would have been easy, but that's what they're ready for. God's made it clear there to do this. They wouldn't say, but we're a Moses people. We're not following you, Joshua. No, no, no. God is, he's actually said, Moses is going to die. And Joshua is the anointed and commissioned leader. You're to follow him into the land. And so they're ready. In verse nine, they did as the Lord commanded Moses. And the last verses of our passage mentioned not only Moses' successor, but his uniqueness. Joshua is not a greater Moses. It almost feels like he's a lesser Moses. He doesn't do all the things Moses did. He doesn't meet at a tent of meeting to hear the Lord face to face as Moses did. He doesn't have a staff invested with authority and wonders of the power of God as Moses did. Joshua is a new Moses, but he's not a greater Moses. In fact, there's not just really anybody like Moses. And it tells us in verse 10, there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. That language face to face is, it's figurative. It's talking about the close communion and connection where the Lord would reveal himself to Moses. Think about in Exodus 34, where the Lord's glory would pass by Moses, who had these kinds of experiences. But this man, a unique status and role God had given to him, and he's a prophet of them to not be followed by an equal. There has not arisen a prophet since. You should ask yourself, though, why did they put it that way? Why did they speak about some later prophet? Do you remember in Deuteronomy 18, God said, I am gonna raise up a prophet like you? There's this line in Deuteronomy 18, and in verse 18, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I'll put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. So I'm gonna interpret it this way. I'm gonna say, given the expectation of a prophet like Moses, when Deuteronomy's written, that future prophet hasn't arisen yet. They're still waiting on him. When Deuteronomy 34 is written, and probably not by Moses, seems to envision some sort of span of time where you might envision a successor or someone coming after Moses to lead, and somebody might say, but how does that person compare? And the writer of Deuteronomy 34 says, yeah, you know, prophets after Moses, there's not arisen one like him. So it seems to assume some succession, some future leaders, and they're just not like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. But it also does imply they knew the expectation that a prophet like Moses would come. When's that guy gonna come? In verse 11, here's part of the uniqueness of Moses. There was no prophet like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and all of his servants and to all his land. You see, this language here in verse 11 speaks about, like verse 12 does, the miracles. The signs and wonders, that's Exodus imagery. That's Deuteronomy's pair of terms, both signs and wonders for Exodus imagery. And signs and wonders were plagues. Signs and wonders were acts of provision, water from the rock and manna from heaven, and not just locusts and flies and livestock and boils and the sun growing dark. The signs and wonders encompassed both judgments and mercies. They were wonders God had performed through Moses. There was none like Moses with these signs and wonders. And it's not because God didn't do future miracles. Even in the days of Joshua, the conquest would involve wondrous things. Later prophets like Elijah and Elisha would perform wondrous things. But not like Moses. Moses is different. None like him for all the signs and wonders the Lord had sent him to do in the land of Egypt, in verse 11, and to Pharaoh and his servants and to all his land. So we gotta know those earlier Bible stories for that verse to resonate. And then in verse 12, for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror Moses did in the sight of all Israel. I don't think it's trying to give Moses credit instead of God, but when Moses is involved in the working, the language includes Moses for good reason. It's through this prophet God worked. So when it says Moses did these things, he does so by God's power. He does so by God's authority. He does so speaking God's words to the people and to Pharaoh with warnings. The mighty power and great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. And that phrase at the very end of verse 12, all Israel is in the very first verse of the book. In Deuteronomy chapter one, we're told in verse one, Chapter one, verse one. These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness. And in the very last words, we're reminded of the wonders he performed in the sight of all Israel. He had words for all Israel. He had wonders for all Israel. So both what he said and the wonders God performed, the people are not ignorant. They've seen, they've beheld these wonders. Now, when Moses dies and not a future prophet has arisen, we fast forward throughout the Old Testament, seeing no fulfillment of this prophet like Moses pattern. still waiting for those days when the prophet like Moses would be given. And in Acts chapter three, the apostles preached that those days arrived in the ministry of Jesus. Listen to Acts 3.22. Peter says, Moses said, the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. And we're told in verse 26, God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. Peter's preaching Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophet like Moses. So when we read the end of Deuteronomy, there's not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses. That's only true until Jesus. And then we realize that the prophet like Moses has arrived The book of Deuteronomy ends with the emphasis on Moses's death and signs and wonders. But there's this remarkable scene in the Gospels. Only Matthew, Mark, and Luke report the transfiguration. But at the transfiguration, Jesus ascends a mountain with Peter, James, and John, and we're told that he was transfigured before them. And we're told in Matthew 17, that's the first gospel's passage for it, in Matthew 17, Jesus is there, transfigured, and who appears on the mountain? But Moses and Elijah, having had unique a mountain and glory seeing experiences in the Old Testament, both Moses and Elijah had those kind of mountainous experiences. And the glory of God shining forth from Christ is beheld by Moses on that mountain. And so though Moses did not bodily inherit that land and instead had died outside the promised land, when he appears in the way that he does with Elijah, he appears inside the promised land for the first time, beholding Jesus. And Luke tells us, in Luke 9, where the third gospel has that transfiguration account, that Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus about the exodus he was to perform in Jerusalem. Moses had always been a forward-pointing prophet, and Moses had led a mighty exodus, but in the fullness of God's plan, a greater Moses and a greater exodus were to come. And Moses appears on that mountain, if you will, with deference and humility before the transfigured son, who is the prophet long ago promised, like unto Moses. You know, the book of Deuteronomy ends with an emphasis on Moses's many signs and wonders and deeds. There's only one other book in the whole Bible that ends by emphasizing somebody's signs, wonders, and deeds. and it's the Gospel of John. Moses in Deuteronomy 34 serves as an interesting reference point to the end of John 21, because at the end of Deuteronomy 34, his signs and not just what he did, but also what he said, the words for the Israel, his great deeds of terror performed, there was not anyone like Moses, but then listen to what John says. John says in John 21, 25, now there are also many other things Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. John has been preparing us for that kind of thing because we're told in John 20 and in verse 30, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples. He did signs? That's an interesting term. It's Deuteronomy's term for the Exodus wonders, for the miracles of God, and it says here in John 20 and 21 that these closing chapters of the last gospel highlight the greatness of who Jesus is, what He taught, what He said. In other words, out of all the books of the Bible, Deuteronomy points you to Moses, and nobody talks about great signs, wonders, and teachings like that until John ends his account. And he says, let's talk about Jesus. Let me tell you about his wonders and his things. The books would outstretch the world were they all to be written to account for his wonders and deeds. So according to the gospels, that prophet like Moses is the Lord Jesus, the son of God, the word made flesh. His words are divine words and his authority is divine authority. In the fullness of time, he was born in order to lead a new exodus, to redeem a people for his glory, and he would indwell his temple people by the Holy Spirit. He would lead his temple people into the new inheritance of a new creation. And with a careful reading of the scriptures, we know that we are that temple people. We are that temple people. According to the greatness of his steadfast love and faithfulness, God will keep all of his promises to his new covenant temple people. We walk under the blessings in favor of the eternal sun, and he upholds us with those everlasting arms of Deuteronomy 33. With his outstretched hands that worked wonders in the exodus, those same hands will bring us from the grave and unto embodied life forever. We will rise. Wonderful news to celebrate tonight is that when we rise, Moses will as well. We may not know where the prophet Moses is buried, but God knows and he will raise him up. He will raise up dear Moses. He will raise up Moses and with Moses, we will receive all that God has promised. And with Moses, we will rejoice together and forever in the goodness of God and his great faithfulness. Let's pray.