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The Beginning of the End
Still another scene opens to his view—the earth freed from the
curse, lovelier than the fair Land of Promise so recently spread out
before him. No sin is there, and death cannot enter. With unspeak-
able joy, Moses looks on the scene, a more glorious deliverance than
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his brightest hopes have ever pictured. With their earthly wanderings
forever past, the Israel of God have at last entered the beautiful land.
Again the vision faded, and his eyes rested on the land of Canaan
in the distance. Then, like a tired warrior, he lay down to rest.
“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 a valley in
the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave.”
If they had known the place of his burial, many would have been in
danger of committing idolatry over his dead body. For this reason the
site was kept secret. Angels of God buried the body of His faithful
servant and watched over the lonely grave.
But he was not to remain in the tomb for very long. Christ
Himself, with the angels who had buried Moses, came down from
heaven to call the sleeping saint out of his grave. Satan had rejoiced
at his success in causing Moses to sin and thus come under the
dominion of death. The great adversary declared that the divine
sentence, “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (
Genesis
3:19
), gave him possession of the dead. The power of the grave had
never been broken, and he claimed all who were in the tomb as his
captives, never to be released.
As the Prince of life and the shining ones approached the grave,
Satan was alarmed for his authority. He stood to dispute an invasion
of the territory that he claimed as his own. He declared that even
Moses was not able to keep the law of God. He had taken to himself
the glory due to Jehovah, the very sin that had caused Satan to be
banished from heaven, and by sin he had come under the dominion
of Satan. The chief traitor repeated the original charges he had
made—that God was unfair toward him.
Christ could have reminded him of the cruel work that his decep-
tions had brought about in heaven, causing the ruin of a vast number
of its inhabitants. He could have pointed to the lies told in Eden that
had led to Adam’s sin and brought death on the human race. He
might have reminded Satan that it was his own work in tempting
Israel to complain and rebel that had worn down the longsuffering