One of the most famous people in the Bible is Moses. Moses was a fascinating guy! Along with being raised in wealth, privilege and power, he had a violent temper and, after killing an overseer, escaped from Egypt with a price on his head. Forty years later, we find him married to the daughter of a pagan priest and taking care of someone else’s flock of sheep. At the age of 80, God told him to head up a special mission: he was to lead the Israelites out of Egypt after 400 years of bondage. The Bible has a lot to say about Moses. But today, I’d like to consider his very final moments, which are found in the book of Deuteronomy. 

So, Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, in accordance with the word of the Lord. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows his burial place to this day. Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eyesight was not dim, nor had his vigor left him. (Deuteronomy 34:5-7)  

Isn’t that interesting? Moses was a guy who, at eighty years old, was summoned into a life of adventure. I don’t think he thought it would take forty years to make that trip, do you?  By the time the trip was over, Moses was 120 years old! He’s also the only person I know of who was personally buried by God and for some reason, God buried him in a secret place. I like the last sentence of today's passage: “Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eyesight was not dim, nor had his vigor left him.” We’re reading about a 120 year old man who had spent the last 40 years of his life traveling on foot under harsh conditions, leading a group of people who were—to say the least, difficult to lead. All of that must have been enormously stressful. But the Bible tells us, at 120 years old, Moses was still a vigorous man with good vision. At 70 years old, much of my vigor has left and I not long ago I had a second cataract removed from my eyes! Since Moses was in such good shape, I don’t know exactly how he died; the Bible doesn’t tell us. However Moses passed, the scene is tender, isn’t it? God so cares about the end of our lives, just as He cares about the rest of our lives.   

He cares about you and He cares about me…and that’s very Good News!