And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt go with this people into the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."
B. THE DEATH OF MOSES
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land.
And the Lord said unto him, "This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither."
So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.
And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face; in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his land; and in all the mighty hand, and in all the great terror, which Moses wrought in the sight of all Israel.
THE MEANING OF THE STORY
117. After the Revolutionary War, the thirteen American states adopted a constitution. Washington was the great leader. We all honor him now, but during his life many were jealous of him and the people often found fault with him and lost confidence in him. He was greatly tried and would have given up the presidency but for his sense of duty. So it was with Moses. He brought deliverance to the people and gave them their first great laws, but they constantly murmured against him and against God. The long story of his leadership of Israel during forty years in the wilderness is told in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. We shall study a few of the main incidents.
118 (§40A). After the victory over the Egyptians, Moses led the people toward Mt. Sinai. Notice on the map the mountain range in the Sinai Peninsula. What difficulty soon arose? How did the people meet it? This was the beginning of a number of trials that Moses had in his leadership.
119 (§40A). How long did it take to reach Mt. Sinai? The gathering at the mountain was a very solemn occasion. Israel was to receive a constitution. Think of the solemn time when the constitution of the United States was adopted.