And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated . . . . And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses. Deut. 34:7-10.

Moses had notified the children of Israel of his coming departure. When the day came, all Israel assembled, weeping, to bid him farewell. They followed him until he signaled he would go on alone. From the top of Mt. Nebo God showed him the Promised Land. Then he died and was buried.

A man grows old and his powers of mind and body grow faint. Finally he dies with, we hope, dignity. We thank God and know that all is well. With Moses it was different. He was in the full strength of manhood. He could have led Israel into the Promised Land. Israel needed him more than ever. Surely one display of anger should not have shut him out. He had turned away from becoming a Pharaoh. He had rejected the pleasures of the kingdom of Egypt for the sake of leading Israel out of bondage into the Promised Land. He had made untold sacrifices to follow God. At the last moment the greatest man of God in the Old Testament was denied entrance to Canaan.

Yet at the same time his death was not a defeat, but a triumph. His plea and prayer that he might go over into the Promised Land was not really denied him. He did not get to earthly Canaan, but to the heavenly Canaan. His prayer was answered in a larger sense than he had conceived of.

This story shows us that, on the one hand, sin brings death, but forgiveness and love bring life eternal. Sin impoverishes our lives. It is now almost four millenniums since Moses was buried in the grave which no man knew. Yet he is now alive, active, at work. He is an assistant to Christ, who still leads the children of God into the heavenly Canaan.

But Moses' experience can be ours. The voice of God speaks to us through the living Moses who lives and serves God in a greater capacity. Here we live and here our destiny is decided. God has strange ways of rewarding and leading His children. But the sentence of death that reminds its of our sins, also tells us that in Christ we shall have life to the full for an eternity with Him.