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 a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 

(Deu 34:5-6)

Explanation:

There are three phrases that strike me in these two verses.
First, I’m struck by the phrase “the servant of the Lord”.  If you were to know Moses’ life, you could have called him several things.  He could have been known as Moses, the Leader of the People, or Moses, the former prince of Egypt, or Moses, the prophet of God.  He could have been titled many things, but at the end of His life, the Holy Spirit chose to call him “the servant of the Lord”.  It’s really not a bad title. 

Second, I’m struck by the phrase “according to the word of the Lord”.  This is just saying that what God said about Moses’ death- its’ timing and location- happened.  God is in control, and what He says will happen will certainly come to pass.  Remember what the scripture says.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

(Heb 9:27)

Lastly, I’m struck by the phrase “no man knoweth of his suplchre unto this day”.  All we can say for certain about this phrase is that we don’t know specifically where Moses’ is buried.  We don’t know it now, because at the time of that writing no one knew then as well.  Why didn’t God allow the people to know where Moses was buried?  Several options could be submitted, but I believe that at least part of it had to do with the human bent toward idolatry.  Human beings tend to worship, and often worship that which is not God.  This is called idolatry.  Knowing the place where Moses was buried would tempt the children of Israel from moving beyond veneration to worship.  Moses was the servant of the Lord, and would not want himself to be worshiped.

Application:

Three obvious applications to my thoughts.

1. At our best we are “the servants of the Lord.  If we order our lives to following and serving Him that is what is best for us.

2. What God has promised He will do.  Knowing that this world is temporal, and that we are eternal we must be wise. 

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  (Eph 5:15-16)                

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.  (Psa 90:12)

        3. We should be careful not to make idols of our leaders.  When we have great leaders that impact us, we must remember that at best they are servants of the Lord.  What impacts us about them is God working in them and then through them.  We ought to worship the Lord because of their leadership and not them.

Response:

1. In your walk this week could you rightly be called a servant of the Lord?
2. Are you numbering your days- thinking about how you are using the time that you have for Gospel impact?
3. What is your heart worshipping right now?  Any answer other than God is out of bounds!