Final Words: Promises in Life Presence in Death

Text: Deuteronomy 32:48-52, 34:4-7

Theme: Believers can find hope in God’s promises and presence when facing death.

Date: 03/05/2023 Title: Deut_06.wpd Code: OT05-32

Missionary Jim Elliot once said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot was a devoted Christian from the moment he confessed Christ as his Savior when a child. Feeling called to the gospel ministry he attended Wheaton College where God gave him a passion for taking the gospel to unreached people groups in far away places. One of those groups turned out to be the Huaorani Indians of Ecuador South America. They were better known by their nickname — the Aucas meaning savages because of their violence toward outsiders.

In 1952, Jim Elliot traveled to Ecuador with fellow missionary Pete Fleming, and three other missionaries. They settled in Shandia and worked with the Quichua (keCHwə) Indians for several years. But Elliot longed to take the gospel deeper into the Amazon jungle to the Huaorani who had virtually no contact with the outside world, and to whom the gospel had never been taken. They numbered only about 600. Jim and Pete began flying over Huaorani territory looking for possible landing areas for their bush-plane. Finding one, the missionaries began making regular flights over Huaorani settlements in September 1955, dropping gifts. After several months of these flights, on January 3, 1956 they landed and sought out the nearest Huaorani settlement. Their efforts came to an end on January 8, 1956, when all five missionaries were attacked and speared to death by a group of Huaorani warriors. The news of their deaths was broadcast around the world. Life Magazine covered the event. In it Elisabeth Elliot recalled a conversation in which she and her husband had discussed the possibility of being killed in mission work. Jim declared to Elisabeth his willingness to sacrifice his life if it would lead to the salvation of the Huaorani. And it did.

At his death Jim Elliot possessed little of the world’s goods. Nevertheless he left a rich legacy — the testimony of a believer who desired to do God’s will for his life regardless of the cost. Jim Elliot gave that which he could not keep to gain what he could not lose.

The passage before us tells the story of a biblical hero who also surrendered worldly prominence and material possessions to do God’s will. Moses gave what he could not keep to gain what he could not lose! In the Book of Hebrews we read of Moses, “By faith Moses, ... choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24–26, ESV).

Let’s look at the final days of Moses’ life, and see what it has to teach us.

I. GOD TAKES SIN SERIOUSLY 32:48-52

1. the end of Moses’ life is at hand

a. in the closing chapters of Deuteronomy we read of Moses completing his to-do list

1) he finishes writing the words of The Law

2) he commissions Joshua to lead Israel

3) he composes a lengthy song that is to serve as a testimony to and a witness against Israel lest they forget all that God has done for them

“he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47, ESV)

2. and serve as a testimony against them it will — Moses is not overly confident in the nation’s ability to remain faithful to God

“For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”” (Deuteronomy 31:29, ESV)

a. sad words indeed — words that will come true sooner rather than later

b. but that’s another story for another time, because the story before us is all about Moses

3. God is going to invite Moses to have one last mountaintop experience with Him

a. it will be bitter-sweet

A. GO TO THE MOUNTAINTOP

1. after finishing his musical composition, God directed Moses to climb Mount Nebo, an arid elevated ridge located in Jordan, and the highest peak in the area

a. from there, Moses would be able to see a vast swath of the Promised Land

b. upon seeing the land, God declares that Moses will die on the mountain top

“That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people,” (Deuteronomy 32:48–50, ESV)

2. over the last forty years God as regularly spoken to His servant Moses, and now he speaks to him one last time

a. more than any other Biblical character, save Jesus, Moses enjoyed a special intimate relationship with God

b. whenever Moses would enter the Tabernacle — Israel’s portable temple — the Shekinah presence of God would come down and Moses would speak to the Lord

“And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door. 11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. ... .” (Exodus 33:10–11, ESV)

3. Moses’ journey to the top of Mount Nebo will be his last and ultimate mountaintop experience for the aged prophet

a. we still use the phrase mountaintop experience in Christian circles because so many significant encounters with God in the Bible took place on mountain tops

1) Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Peter, James and John all had significant encounters with God in such places

b. when we talk about mountaintop experiences with God, we’re usually referring to an intense spiritual encounter with God that revives our soul, changes our life, and sends us back down into the valley with a renewed vigor for God

1) it almost always involves a fresh experience of His majesty, and a filling of the Spirit

2) in the 2nd epistle of Peter, the Apostle shares a word of testimony concerning his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration

a) if you remember, Jesus has taken Peter, James and John up a mountain side where they see him radically changed — the word is transfigured; it’s the Greek word metamorphoo from which we get our word metamorphosis

b) his flesh became as radiant as the sun and his cloths became white like light

c) and if that were not enough, suddenly Moses and Elijah appear and are having a conversation with Jesus

d) and then, to add the cherry on top, they hear the voice of God This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him

e) what an experience that must have been —no wonder Peter wants to build some shelters, and just camp out there!

3) now, in 2nd Peter, the Apostle describes a parallel event to the Transfiguration — hearing the Word of God is akin to experiencing the glory of God and hearing His voice

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,” (2 Peter 1:16–19, ESV)

c. here is a startling recognition; the Christian’s mountaintop experience is achieved by coming into contact with the prophetic word, i.e. the Word of God

1) when we read the Word of the Lord, the majestic glory of God speaks though His Spirit

4. of course, ascending Mount Nebo was not Moses’ first mountaintop experience

ILLUS. And if you count the Mount of Transfiguration, it won’t be his last! And, in a sense Moses finally did get to enter the Promised Land.

a. forty years previous to this, Moses had climbed Mount Horeb to experience God in thunder and lighting, wind and clouds

b. but his Mount Nebo experience is going to be humbling for Moses

1) life lived in fellowship with the living God is a continually ascending and descending in our religious experiences

2) in the course of the Christian life most of us will experience some mountaintop experiences, but like Moses they may be separated by years — even decades

a) that doesn’t mean God is inactive in our life

c. the question is, How do you use the mountaintop experience in the valley?

5. mountaintop experiences often do one-of-two-things, and frequently both

a. 1st, they frequently confirm God’s promises to us

b. 2nd, mountaintop experiences frequently involve death ... especially to self

B. CONFIRMATION ON THE MOUNTAINTOP

“For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”” (Deuteronomy 32:52, ESV)

1. Moses is called to climb a mountain one last time

a. from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height there Moses gets to see what he cannot possess, but God confirms that Israel will possess it, and God’s repeated promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be fulfilled

ILLUS. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. told an overflow crowd in Memphis, TN, “ ... it really doesn’t matter with me now because I’ve been to the mountaintop. I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land.” Less than 24 hours later, Dr. King would be assassinated.

2. some mountaintop experiences confirm God’s promises

a. Martin Luther King, Jr. knew that a movement had begun that would fulfill the promise of the American creed — that all men are created equal

b. God reaffirms His promise to Moses, His people shall enter the land and take possession of it

3. some mountaintop experiences confirm unpleasant realities

a. the people whom God sent Moses to deliver, and bring into the Promised Land will enter it — just as God had promised

b. Moses will not

1) God tells His faithful prophet ... climb ... see ... die

C. DEATH ON THE MOUNTAINTOP

1. the Scriptures repeatedly point out the reality of death that calls attention to the brevity of life

“ “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. 2 He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.” (Job 14:1–2, ESV)

a. in Psalm 90, which was written by Moses, the prophet contrasts the eternal God with mortal man

1) Moses compared the brevity of human life with grass that sprouts in the morning and withers by the evening under the hot sun

2. Moses will die because he is a fallen son of Adam

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27, ESV)

a. all of us are sons of Adam, and therefore all of us have an appointment with death

b. Deuteronomy 32:51, however, tells us the sad story of why Moses death took place prior to the Israelites entering the Promised Land

1) I mean, holy cow, God has kept Moses alive for 120 years — He can’t keep him going a few more weeks?

3. the reason why Moses does not get to enter the Promised land is told to us in vs. 51 — Moses and Aaron broke faith with God

a. the Hebrew verb refers to a deliberate conscience act of violating God’s command

b. it happened at a place called Meribah-Kadesh and the story is found in the Book of Number the 20th chapter

ILLUS. The 12 tribes of Israel have migrated to a new area called Meribah. There is no water. This is something Israel has repeatedly encountered, and God has always come through for them. But at this moment, Moses has about had it with Israel’s murmurings and moaning. God commands Moses to speak to the rock of Meribah and God will pour forth water from it. Moses, however, in anger at the people’s faithlessness, chews Israel out, takes his staff and strikes the rock declaring, must WE get water from this rock for you? He takes credit for the water that then gushed forth from the rock. And God is incensed.

c. it seems such a trifling thing to us — people get mad and say and do stupid things

1) but sin has consequences — even when it is forgiven

2) immediately God tells Moses and Aaron that because they failed to honor Him as God, robbing Him of His glory, neither of them would enter the Promised Land

d. in the 90th Psalm, Moses confesses to the seriousness of sin

“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.” (Psalm 90:8–9, ESV)

4. now, here in Deuteronomy 32:50-51 God reminds Moses why he will not enter the land — but he tempers His judgment with mercy

a. Moses will be permitted to view the land

... on the Mountaintop Moses Was Reminded of the Seriousness of Sin

II. GOD’S PRESENCE ASSURED 34:4

“Then 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 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the LORD said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.”” (Deuteronomy 34:1–4, ESV)

1. these verse describe the length and breadth of what Moses gets to see

a. on a clear day one can see all the way north to Mount Hermon, 100 miles away

b. we can only imagine the lump in his throat and the tears in his eyes as Moses catches a glimpse of Israel’s new homeland

1) this is the culmination of his life’s calling

2) every event in his life has led him to the moment

2. while he will not enter the Promised Land, his death is by no means a tragedy

a. his epitaph reveals that he was a powerful leader and prophet, and as far as Jews are concerned there has never been another prophet like him

“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” (Deuteronomy 34:10–12, ESV)

b. his life was lived before God, in obedience to him and in fellowship with him — he lived in God’s will and he dies in God’s will

1) there was, in fact, none like Moses

3. God is clearly with Moses when he dies

a. Deuteronomy 34:6 tells us that it was God, Himself, who buried Moses

b. what a testament to grace

... on the Mountaintop Moses Felt God’s Presence

III. GOD’S MERCY DISCOVERED 34:5-7

“So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.” (Deuteronomy 34:5–7, ESV)

1. at the end of his life, Moses discovers the grace of God that he wrote about in the 90th Psalm

a. it’s a Psalm written shortly after Moses’ failure at Meribah

b. in the first few verses of the Psalm Moses recognizes the fragility of life, and the blessing of God’s presence at the death of His people

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. 5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: 6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.” (Psalm 90:1–6, ESV)

ILLUS. Isaac Watts, the 18th century British hymn writer, known as "Father of English hymnody," used this Psalm of Moses as the inspiration of one of his most sung hymns, Oh God, Our Help in Ages Past. The first stanza reads ...

O God, our help in ages past,

our hope for years to come,

our shelter from the stormy blast,

and our eternal home:

2. the 90th Psalm is a reflection on human mortality and the brevity of life

a. but it also reveals a quiet confidence in God who is Moses’ steadfast hope even as he gazes out on a land he will never step foot in

b. on this, the last day of his life, Moses’ heart will sing for joy

“Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:13–14, ESV)

... on the Mountaintop Moses Discovered God’s Mercy

IV. LESSONS AND APPLICATION

A. TAKE YOUR SIN SERIOUSLY, BECAUSE GOD DOES

1. now, let me quickly say, if you are under the Covenant of Grace, bought by the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, Jesus Christ, there is absolutely nothing you can do that will keep you from entering the Promised Land of God’s eternal kingdom

a. there is nothing you can do to make God love you less and there is nothing you can do to make God love you more

b. we are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone and therefore are fully in the Father’s love

2. so why be concerned with sin?

a. because sin is an affront to the God who saved us, and the Father we confess to loving with all our heart, soul, mind and strength

3. we take sin seriously by taking Christ seriously

a. Jesus’ death on the cross deliverers us from sin’s dominion, perversity, and condemnation

ILLUS. The last stanza of In Christ Alone says

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Could ever pluck me from His hand

'Til He returns or calls me home

Here, in the power of Christ, I stand

1) through justification we are delivered from the penalty of sin

2) through sanctification we are delivered from the power of sin

3) through glorification, that takes place at our resurrection, we will ultimately be delivered from the presence of sin

4. here is why we take sin seriously — confessing it, repenting of it, mortifying it — it’s because Christ is in us, and we stand in the power of his indwelling presence

B. BECAUSE OF JESUS, WE CAN SPEAK WITH GOD AS A FRIEND SPEAKS TO A FRIEND

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

1. the throne of grace is a reference to the Mercy Seat — that is the lid of the Ark of the Covenant that resided in the Jewish Temple’s Holy of Holies

a. every year, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would enter this most sacred place of the Temple and sprinkle blood on the Ark of the Covenant to obtain God’s grace for Israel

2. by his death on the cross, Jesus entered the Holy of Holies in Heaven — the very presence of God — and bought salvation and eternal glory for all who come to faith in Christ

a. by his sacrifice we have access into the presence of God by the Spirit who indwells us

ILLUS. Our access to the Father is beautifully illustrated in Mark’s Gospel. It is the final moments of our Savior’s life. He’s hung on the cross since 9:00AM. It’s now 3:00PM. It’s no accident that the second offering at the Temple took place at 3:00PM. As the Jewish Priests are preparing to slaughter the lambs brought by the people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover, Jesus utters one last cry “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit,” and he dies. At that moment Matthew’s Gospel tells us that an earthquake rocks the city, and Mark’s Gospel tells us that the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple was rent in two from top to bottom.

b. that veil represented this impenetrable barrier between a God who is holy and glorious and a mankind that is unholy and sordid

3. Christ’s death opened the way for sinners to come into the presence of the Father and to speak with God as a friend speaks to a friend

C. DEATH COMES TO ALL GOD’S CHILDREN

1. an when it does we will instantaneously be ushered into the heavenly throne room -*where Christ sits at the Father’s side

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8, KJV)

ILLUS. And because that is true we can sing

There’s A Land That Is Fairer Than Day,

And By Faith We Can See It Afar;

For The Father Waits Over The Way

To Prepare Us A Dwelling Place There.

In The Sweet By And By,

We Shall Meet On That Beautiful Shore.

In The Sweet By And By,

We Shall Meet On That Beautiful Shore.

Con. Are you like Jim Elliot? "Are you willing to give what you cannot keep to gain what you cannot lose?” If not, Jim Elliot and the Bible say, You’re a fool.