Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Moses had spent forty years with Pharaoh, forty years with Jethro in the school of God and finally forty years in the wilderness leading Israel. He had seen the "great sight" of the burning bush at the outset. He had then, by faith, endured "as seeing him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27). With an undimmed eye (v. 7), the man of God, coming to the end of his journey, contemplates the admirable view of Emmanuel’s land.
Then comes the moment when, in his own words of Psalms 90:3, upon God’s order man returns to the dust. (A.V. destruction = dust). But the LORD honours His dear servant by burying him Himself (v. 6). Moses is henceforth one of the witnesses of the faith who are awaiting the promised glory whilst already rejoicing in the presence of the One who is his perfect reward (Matthew 17:3). What loss is the land in comparison with that gain? At the end of this section of the Bible made up of the five books of Moses (or Pentateuch), may each one of us have made a positive gain in the knowledge of the Lord! "Moses wrote of me" said Jesus to the Jews (John 5:46). Is it not in effect the Lord Himself whom we have discovered through so many types in this rich portion of the Word of God?