079. Moses--Facing Death

Moses--Facing Death

Num 27:12-14. And the Lord said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shall be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes. That is the water of Meribah in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin.

There is something peculiarly interesting in hearing a plain, honest, intelligent man, without vanity, or self-sufficiency, or of affected humility, talking of himself; going into the detail of his own history, with the same fidelity and simplicity as if it were the history of a stranger; unfolding his heart without reserve, disclosing his faults and infirmities without palliation, recording his wise and virtuous actions without ostentation; and relating events, with all their little circumstances, according to the feelings which they excited at the moment.

It is pleasant to see an old man, with his faculties unimpaired, his spirits cheerful, his temper sweet, his conscience clear, his prospects bright; enjoying life without fearing death; blending the modesty and benevolence of youth with the wisdom and dignity of age. There is a double satisfaction in hearing such a one describe persons whom he knew, scenes in which he acted, expeditions which he conducted, schemes which he planned and executed. And such a one was Moses, who having, by divine inspiration made the ages and generations before the flood to pass in review, and unfolded the history of redemption, in its connection with the system of nature and the ways of Providence, during a period of two thousand five hundred years; having admitted us to his familiarity and friendly instruction during an eventful life of one hundred and twenty years, is now, with the same calmness and ease, admitting us to contemplate his behavior in the immediate prospect, and up to the very hour of his death. The idolatrous defection of Israel in the plains of Moab, had been visited with a plague which swept away twenty-four thousand of them. Immediately on the staying of that terrible calamity, Moses is commanded, with the assistance of Eleazer the high priest, to take the number of the people, from twenty years old and upwards, and to compare the muster-roll of the day, with that taken in the wilderness of Sinai, thirty-eight years before. This being done with all possible accuracy, two most singular facts turn up, each singular, considered separately and by itself, and both most singular, taken in connection one with another. In a multitude so great, and at the distance of thirty-eight years, the whole difference is no more than one thousand eight hundred and twenty men: for at the former period, the number of men of a military age was six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty; and at the latter, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty. But though the strength of the host was nearly the same, the individuals whereof it was composed were totally changed; two names alone of so many myriads stood upon both lists, Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun, for Moses himself was under sentence of condemnation; he was not to be permitted to pass over Jordan; he is already numbered with the dead. The course of nature, it is true, is continually producing a similar effect on the human race, upon the whole; but there is a degree, of exactness in this instance, not to be accounted for on common principles, and which must be resolved into a special interposition of Providence, which had pronounced the doom of death on the whole body of offenders, in the moment of transgression, and at the same instant, promised the reward of fidelity and obedience to those illustrious two: longevity, and the possession of Canaan. Vain therefore is the hope of so much as one guilty person escaping in a crowd, groundless the fear of singular goodness suffering in the midst of many wicked.

It is related of Xerxes, king of Persia, much to the honor of his humanity, that surveying from an eminence the vast army with which he was advancing to the invasion of Greece, he burst into tears to think that in less than one hundred years they should all be cut off from the land of the living. What then, O Moses, were the emotions of thy soul, to see the event which Xerxes but anticipated, realized before thine eyes? To walk through the ranks of Israel without meeting one man who followed thee out of Egypt, with whom thou couldst mingle the tears of sympathy over so many fallen, or remind of the joy and wonder of that great deliverance? Is not that man already dead, who has survived all his contemporaries? A consideration, among many others, powerfully calculated to reconcile the mind to the thoughts to of dissolution, and to impress on the soul the sentiment of the wise man concerning the world, “I hate it, I would not live always.”

Long life, however, is not the less to be considered as a blessing. The love of it is constitutional law of our nature; and the promise of it is annexed to the sanctions of the written law, as a motive to obedience “Honor thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the thy God giveth thee,”[*]Exo 20:12 and it is here bestowed wed as a reward on the faithful. Premature death, in like manner, is an object of natural horror; is threatened in anger, and inflicted as a punishment. “The wicked shall not live half his days, and his memory shall rot.” In general, a wise and merciful hides from the eyes of men the era of their departure out of the world. The bitterness of death consists in the foretaste, and the forerunners, of that great enemy. That bitterness, in its full proportion, was wrung out, and mingled in the cup of Moses. The death of every Israelite was a death-warning to him. He had lately ascended mount Hor with Aaron his brother, stripped him of his garments, closed his eyes to his last long sleep, and descended without him; and mount Hor is only a few steps distant from mount Abarim, and his own summons comes at length. He is respited, not pardoned, and a reprieve of forty years is now expired.

It is in that awful, trying hour, we are at this time to trace the character and mark the behavior of the man of God. From the moment he fell under the divine displeasure which shortened the date of his life, we observe it lying with an oppressive weight upon his mind. The love of life manifests itself, and we behold, in the prophet, the man of like passions with ourselves. There is no incident of his life on which he dwells so much, and with such earnestness of interest as this. The history of his offence is again and again repeated, not in the view of extenuating the guilt of it, but to vindicate the righteous judgment of God. The excellence of this part of his narrative, is its departing from the direct line of narration. He hastens forward to bring it early into view; he returns again upon his footsteps, and presents it a second time to view. Is he reminding Israel of their rebellion and disobedience? his own transgression, and the punishment of it, arise and stare him in the face. Is he encouraging them in their progress towards the promised land? he sighs to think that he himself shall never enter into it. At one time, he flatters himself with the hope that justice might perhaps relent, and presumes to expostulate and entreat, in terms earnest and pathetic, such as these; “O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness and thy mighty hand; for what god is therein heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? I pray thee let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.”[*]Deu 3:24-25 At another time, he seems quietly to give up the cause as lost, and patiently prepares to meet his fate, and meekly resigns himself to the will of the Most High, which he was unable to alter. In a word, we see him at once the man and the believer, and a pattern well worthy of imitation in both respects.

It is impossible to observe the conflict of Moses’ soul, when this cup of trembling was put into his hands, without thinking of the bitter agony in the garden, of the travail of the Redeemer’s soul, of that passionate address, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”--of “sweat like great drops of blood falling down to the ground,”[*]Luk 22:42-44--of the triumph of resignation, “nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done”--of “humiliation to death, the death of the cross.” Thus it “behoved him to fulfill all righteousness.” Thus he taught men to obey the law of God; to use all lawful endeavors to preserve life; and thus he inculcated submission to that sovereign will which it is unprofitable and impious to resist.

“Get thee up,” said God to Moses, “into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel;”[*]Lev 17:12-13 and this is all that the law can do for the guilty; it conducts to an adjoining eminence, it spreads a distant prospect of Canaan, it can display its beauty and fertility, it can inspire the desire of possession: but it cannot divide Jordan, it cannot lead to victory over the last enemy, it cannot make “the comer thereunto perfect,” nor establish the soul in everlasting rest. Neither Moses, the giver of the law, nor Aaron, the high priest, under the law, could “continue by reason of death.” But the Apostle and High Priest of our profession is “entered into the holiest of all,” has opened a passage through the gates of death, to life and immortality; lifted up, first upon the cross, and then to his throne in the heavens, he is drawing all men unto him.

Together with the honest, though fond attachment to life, which characterizes the man, and the pious resignation which marks the child of God, Moses discovers, on this occasion, that excellent spirit which sinks and loses the individual in the public. He cheerfully gives up his personal suit, and the cause of Israel henceforth engrosses him wholly. “And Moses spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.”[*]Num 27:15-17

Let modern patriots think of this, blush at their pride, and selfishness. But they are lost to all sense of decency, they keep each other in countenance by their multitude and confidence, and “glory in their shame.” This noble conduct of the Jewish legislator was not the affection of virtue and public spirit, the ostentatious boasting of a man who had no prospect, or a distant one of being put to the trial; but the native greatness and superiority of a mind occupied with two grand objects, the glory of God and the good of his country; a mind that could rejoice in the advancement of an inferior, and decrease with inward satisfaction while the other increased ordinary men look with an evil eye upon successors. A prince and his heir, though that heir be his own son, generally live upon indifferent terms; but Moses sees his dignity departing from himself in his life time, departing from his family given to his servant, with but a murmur, without a sigh. It was enough to him that God had been pleased to adopt Joshua, for the purpose of finishing his work, of introducing Israel into their inheritance. It is no sooner intimated to him; than Joshua becomes his son, his brother, his friend: and he proceeds to his installation with as much alacrity, as he invested Aaron with the pontifical robes. This solemn ceremony consisted of a variety of circumstances, which are well worthy of our attention; from their being of divine appointment, from their great antiquity, from their inexplicable mysteriousness, or their obvious significancy. Joshua was already anointed with the unction of the Spirit: he was a person of singular piety, undaunted resolution, and unshaken fidelity: he had long attended upon Moses as his minister, had accompanied him into the mount, when he ascended to meet God, had traversed the land of Canaan as one of the spies, had brought up its good report, and stood firm with Caleb in resisting the timid and discouraging representations of his colleagues. He possessed all the qualities natural, acquired, and miraculously dispensed, which were requisite to the discharge of the duties of that high and important station to which Providence was now calling him. By the spirit which is said to have been in Joshua, some understand the spirit of prophecy, or supernatural powers of foreseeing and providing for future events. By taking in every circumstance, it seems rather to denote those rare gifts with which nature had so liberally, endowed him; wisdom, and courage, and strength, and which Providence was now calling forth for the general benefit. But though thus amply furnished for his great undertaking, God was pleased to command a solemn and public declaration of his choice, and that the object of it should, before the eyes of the people, be set apart by the imposition of the hands of Moses to the office assigned him.

Forms are necessary, because in are not spiritual; forms are interposed, that the understanding, the heart, and the conscience, may be approached through the channels of sense. And of all forms, recommended, by divine authority, and its own significant simplicity, that of the laying on of hands is one of the most ancient, most frequently in use, and most striking. By this solemn rite, the devoted victim was set apart for death, and the guilt of the offerer transferred, as it were, and laid upon the head of the oblation: and thus were the minister of the sanctuary the general, the statesman, dedicated to the duties of their respective stations; thus new and extraordinary powers were conferred upon Joshua: thus Jesus took leave of his disciples, and left a blessing behind him, more precious than the mantle of Elijah. “He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them.”[*]Luk 24:50 By laying on of the apostles’ hands, miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost were communicated; and by laying on of the hands of the presbytery, Timothy was solemnly set apart for exercising the office of a bishop; and thus a great part of the Christian world continues to install its ministers in the pastoral office.

Moses was farther commanded “to cause Joshua to stand before Eleazer the priest,” who was probably to offer up sacrifice in behalf of the commander elect, and by this additional solemnity to impress both upon his own mind and upon those of the spectators, the weight and importance of the sacred charge committed unto him. It is added, Num 27:20, “And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.” This is interpreted by some commentators, of those rays of glory, which are supposed to have surrounded the head of Moses, ever since his descent from God in the mount, and which so dazzled the eyes of the beholder, that in speaking to the people he was under the necessity of putting a veil over his face. By the imposition of his hands upon the head of Joshua, according to the commandment, this external, sensible honor, is understood to have been communicated from the one to the other, and that, in consequence of it, Joshua henceforth wore a visible token of the choice of Heaven.

Conjecture and fancy blend too much in this exposition, to procure for it a very high degree of respect. Juster and more sober criticism explain the passage as implying, that Moses should immediately associate Joshua with himself in the executive powers of government, devolve upon him a share both of the respect and the care which pertained to the supreme command; that he might enjoy the satisfaction, while he yet lived, and which he so much desired, of beholding a wise and a good man conducting the Israelitish affairs, in church and state, with discretion, and carrying on the plan of Providence to its consummation.

There is another article in the injunction laid upon Moses, respecting the appointment of his successor, which has greatly exercised and puzzled the critics. “And he shall stand before Eleazer the priest, who shall ask counsel for him, after the judgment of Urim, before the Lord; at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”[*]Num 27:21 The difficulty is, what was the Urim, and the judgment of Urim, of which Eleazer was to ask counsel in behalf of Joshua and wherein Moses differed from Joshua as to this? Urim, is, in general, in Scripture, found in connection with Thummim. The words import light and perfection; and they appear to have been some part or appendage of the breastplate, that essential article of the high priest’s dress. They were not, it is alleged, the production of human skill, like the other particulars of the sacred clothing, for there is no account of their fabrication by the hands of man; but when the breastplate was finished, Moses, we are told, “put into it the Urim and the Thummim,” whatever they were, immediately from God. The method of consultation has also furnished ample matter of dispute. The most approved tradition is this, for Scripture gives but few, and those very general hints, upon the subject, the person who desired to consult the oracle, (and none but public persons, and on great public occasions, were admitted to that privilege,) intimated his intention to the high priest; who, at the hour of incense, arrayed in his pontifical vestments, entered the holy place, accompanied at a little distance by the magistrate or general, who made the inquiry. The high priest placed himself with his face towards the entrance of the most holy place. The veil which separated the holy place from the holy of holies, was drawn up for the occasion, so that he stood directly fronting the ark of the covenant, overshadowed by the cherubim, where the Shechaniah, or visible glory, resided. The inquirer then standing behind, pronounced the question, or consultation, in a few plain words; such, for example, as these: “Shall I go up against the Philistines, or shall I not go up?” This question was again repeated solemnly and distinctly by the high priest before the Lord: and on looking downwards upon the Urim in the breastplate, the answer of God was seen in characters of reflected light, from the excellent glory, and which the high priest audibly repeated in the ears of the party concerned.--“Go;” or, “Thou shalt not go.” When the oracle refused to give any response, as in the case of Saul, it was considered as a mark of high displeasure. God would not answer that wicked prince “by the judgment of Urim,” but because he had willfully forsaken God, an offended God, in just displeasure, gave him up to ask counsel of hell, and to follow it to his own destruction. “We have also,” Christians, “a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed; as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts.”[*]2Pe 1:19

Joshua being referred to this mode of consultation, compared with the history of Moses, points out the difference between these two leaders of Israel. “There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”[*]Deu 34:10

God manifested himself immediately unto Moses; conversed with him as a man with his friend. Joshua was kept at a greater distance, and enjoyed communion with God through the intervention of appointed means. Just as before Moses was admitted to the very summit of the mount, received within the veil of thick darkness, which at once concealed and revealed the divine glory; while Joshua was confined to a lower region, kept in the place and on the duty of a servant. But we must conclude. The whole scene that has now passed in review, speaks directly to the heart and conscience. It presents a striking and instructive instance of the goodness and severity of God. The faults and infirmities of his dearest children he neither overlooks, nor forgets to punish. For one offence, and seemingly a slight one, Moses is excluded from Canaan. No humiliation, penitence, or entreaty can, of themselves, remove the guilt nor prevent the chastisement of sin. The neglect or insult offered by a child, a brother, a friend, strikes deeper than the most violent outrage from a stranger, or an avowed enemy. The transgression of Moses at the waters of strife was thus aggravated, and he must die for it. O my God, enter not into judgment with me, whose crimes are heightened by every circumstance of aggravation--deliberation, presumption, filial ingratitude, in the face of solemn and repeated engagements. If Moses died the death, for once speaking unadvisedly with his lips, in the moment of passion; “if then, Lord, art strict to mark iniquity, where shall I stand?” how shall I escape? But is death a punishment to a good man? No. As in the death of Moses, therefore, we behold the justice and severity of God, so in its consequences, we behold his goodness and loving kindness. The evil is slight and temporary; the good is unspeakably great, and eternally permanent; exclusion from Canaan is admission into the kingdom of heaven; “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” “Faith, indeed, redeems not from the power of the grave, but it dissipates all the horror of the tomb transforms it into a resting-place for the weary pilgrim; and converts the king of terrors into a minister of joy. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “The saying that is written is come to pass, death is swallowed up of victory; mortality is swallowed up of life.” “Life and immortality are brought to light by the gospel.” We “know whom we have believed:” we believe in him who hath said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.”[*]John 11:25-26