Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Deuteronomy
Book: Deuteronomy
Chapter: 34
Overview:
Moses views the promised land from
Mount Nebo.
(1-4) The
Death
and
Burial of
Moses, The mourning of the people.
(5-8) Joshua
succeeds
Moses, The praise of
Moses.
(9-12)
1-4 Moses seemed unwilling to leave his work; but that being
finished, he manifested
No unwillingness to die.
God had
declared that he should not enter
Canaan. But the
Lord also
promised that
Moses should have a view of it, and showed him all
that good land. Such a sight believers now have, through
Grace,
of the bliss and
Glory of their future state. Sometimes
God
reserves the brightest discoveries of his
Grace to his people to
support their dying moments. Those may leave this world with
cheerfulness, who die in the
Faith of
Christ, and in the
Hope of
Heaven.
5-8 Moses obeyed this command of
God as willingly as any other,
though it seemed harder. In this he resembled our
Lord Jesus
Christ. But he died in honour, in peace, and in the most easy
manner; the
Saviour died upon the disgraceful and torturing
Cross.
Moses died very easily; he died "at the mouth of the
Lord," according to the will of
God. The servants of the
Lord,
when they have done all their other work, must die at last, and
be willing to go home, whenever their Master sends for them, Ac
21:13. The place of his
Burial was not known. If the soul be at
Rest with
God, it is of little consequence where the body rests.
There was
No decay in the strength of his body, nor in the
vigour and activity of his mind; his understanding was as clear,
and his memory as strong as ever. This was the reward of his
services, the effect of his extraordinary
Meekness. There was
solemn mourning for him. Yet how great soever our losses have
been, we must not give ourselves up to sorrow. If we
Hope to go
to
Heaven rejoicing, why should we go to the
Grave mourning?
9-12 Moses brought
Israel to the borders of
Canaan, and then
died and left them. This signifies that the
Law made nothing
perfect, Heb 7:19. It brings men into a
Wilderness of
conviction, but not into the
Canaan of
Rest and settled peace.
That honour was reserved for
Joshua, our
Lord Jesus, of whom
Joshua was a
Type,
(and the name is the same,) to do that for us
which the
Law could not do, Ro 8:3. Through him we enter into
the spiritual
Rest of
Conscience, and eternal
Rest in
Heaven.
Moses was greater than any other
Prophet of the Old
Testament.
But our
Lord Jesus went
Beyond him, far more than the other
prophets came short of him. And see a strong resemblance between
the
Redeemer of the children of
Israel and the
Redeemer of
mankind.
Moses was sent
By God, to deliver the Israelites from a
cruel
Bondage; he led them out, and conquered their enemies. He
became not only their deliverer, but their lawgiver; not only
their lawgiver, but their
Judge; and, finally, leads them to the
border of the land of promise. Our blessed
Saviour came to
rescue us out of the slavery of the
Devil, and to restore us to
liberty and happiness. He came to confirm every moral precept of
the first lawgiver; and to write them, not
On Tables of
Stone,
but
On fleshly
Tables of the
Heart. He came to be our
Judge
also, inasmuch as he hath appointed a
Day when he will
Judge all
the secrets of men, and reward or punish accordingly. This
greatness of
Christ above
Moses, is a reason why Christians
should be obedient and
Faithful to the holy religion
By which
they profess to be
Christ's followers.
God,
By his
Grace, make
us all
So!