Deuteronomy 33-34

After some strange laws, and some harsh ones, and more curses than blessings, Deuteronomy concludes with Moses blessing the Israelites from the slopes of Mount Pisgah.

Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,

a people saved by the Lord,

the shield of your help,

and the sword of your triumph!

Your enemies shall come fawning to you,

and you shall tread on their backs.

(Deuteronomy 33:29)

These are the last words the Israelites hear from the mouth of Moses, and they are encouraging words. The Israelites are going to face many enemies in the days to come, and so they need these uplifting words. Perhaps this is a reminder to us to always leave others with encouraging words—life-lifters.

Deuteronomy 34 recounts the death of Moses on Mount Pisgah. He gets to see the Promised Land, but not enter it. Perhaps this is a picture of each of our lives. None of our lives will end complete. The completion only comes in the vision of God, when we stand before God face to face.

Deuteronomy 34:6 is unclear as to whether he (God) buried Moses or they (the people) buried Moses. Some manuscripts have one rendering, some another. In a way, this is symbolic of Moses’ life, for he stood between YHWH and the Israelites. Moses represented God to the people and the people to God just like a priest, a pontifex, a bridge-builder. In a way, Moses was a type of Christ to come.

However, the fact that “no one knows his burial place to this day” suggests that God buried Moses and not the people. Otherwise, why would the people keep Moses’ burial place a secret? After all, the Israelites later venerated the graves of other biblical figures like David and Rachel.

Moses reached the full extent of human years on earth promised earlier in Genesis: 120 years. His sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated; this suggests that God took Moses in the midst of his strength, not in the absence of it. We would probably all like to end our life on earth that way. However, better than 120 vigorous years on earth is eternal life with God.

At the end of Deuteronomy, we are told that Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. These words prepare us to focus on the next leader in Israel’s long history, and the next book in the canon of Hebrew Scripture….

As we pause before continuing our study tomorrow, I wonder: what parts of the Torah have spoken most deeply and meaningfully to you over the past forty-seven days? What questions has this reading raised for you?

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