Moses Died on a Mountain. Here's Why That's Good News Pastor Chris closes the Moses series by asking what made Moses' faith active, not just believed. Series: Moses Speaker: Pastor Chris Passages: Deuteronomy 34:1-10, Hebrews 11:24-28 He climbed a mountain at 120 years old No trail. A 4,500-foot climb. And he was 120 years old. That's how Moses' story ends in Deuteronomy 34 — not in a hospital bed, but on top of Mount Pisgah, looking out over a land God had promised his people generations earlier. God showed him all of it: Gilead, Dan, Ephraim, Judah, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Then God told him he'd never set foot in it. Moses died right there, and God himself buried him in a grave no one has ever found. It's a strange way to end a story. But Pastor Chris pointed out something easy to miss: losing the Promised Land "did not alter his relationship with God. They were just as close as they were before." Moses' mistake earlier in the story cost him the ending he wanted. It never cost him the friendship. What made his faith different So what was it about Moses that made his closeness with God worth wanting for ourselves? Pastor Chris turned to Hebrews 11, sometimes called the "Faith Hall of Fame," where a few short verses eulogize Moses' life. The answer wasn't that Moses had some special spiritual talent. It's that his faith was active — it actually changed what he did. Moses grew up with everything: raised in Pharaoh's household, educated, decorated, on track for power. Hebrews 11:24 says that when he had "become great," he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He had every reason to keep quiet and enjoy the life he'd been handed. Instead, his faith decided who he was going to be. What he valued, and what he stuck with That same faith shaped what Moses valued. He chose to be "mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin," trading comfort for something he believed mattered more. And it shaped his resolve — his willingness to keep going even when obeying God made no sense to anyone watching. When God told him to paint lamb's blood on his own doorpost the night of the Passover, it must have looked bizarre to Egyptians and Israelites alike. Moses did it anyway. Pastor Chris called that "the resolve of faith, to choose to be obedient when it doesn't make sense." The question underneath the story Moses' life raises a simple, uncomfortable question: is your faith something you hold, or something that actually moves you? It's one thing to say you trust God. It's another for that trust to shape what you do with your Tuesday, what you value, what you're willing to walk away from. You don't need Moses' life story to ask yourself that question this week. If you want to hear the message in full, or want to talk it through with other people wrestling with the same thing, we'd love to have you in a group. Join us this Sunday, or reach out — we're glad to point you toward a next step.
One of a Kind
Every pastor will tell you the same thing: nobody teaches you what to say when you're standing with a family in the valley of the shadow of death. It's the part of ministry we dread most and, oddly, the part that teaches us the most. The teacher in Ecclesiastes put it plainly: "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone, and the living should take this to heart." This week, as we came to the end of Moses's story in Deuteronomy 34, we sat with that same truth. Moses died, just as we all will. But the way he lived, and the faith that carried him there, is worth a long, careful look.
A Mountain and a Promise
At 120 years old, Moses climbed Mount Nebo, a roughly 4,500 foot ascent with no trail, to look out over the Promised Land he would never enter. God showed him "the whole land, from Gilead to Dan," all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, and told him plainly, "I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over into it." Moses had lost his temper years earlier and robbed God of glory, and this was the consequence. But here's the beautiful part: that failure never altered his relationship with God. They were just as close as before. God himself buried Moses in an unmarked grave, and the people grieved for thirty days before finally reflecting on his life and moving forward into the land he'd led them to. Scripture sums him up simply: "Since then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." He was one of a kind, and the intimacy he shared with God is something we can still aspire to today.
Faith That Shaped His Identity
Hebrews 11 gives us Moses's eulogy, and it shows us exactly how that intimacy was built. First, his faith determined his identity. "By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter." Understand what that meant: Moses had already become great in Pharaoh's house, educated, decorated, and set up for a life of power. All he had to do was stay quiet and enjoy it. Instead, he chose to be identified with God and with God's enslaved people rather than with the palace that made him. That's the choice in front of all of us. Joshua later put it this way: "Choose you this day whom you will serve." Moses chose, and so must we.
Faith That Shaped His Values
Second, Moses's faith determined what he valued. He "chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin," regarding "disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt." He knew the pleasures available to him in Egypt were real, but temporary, and that chasing them would leave him thirstier, not satisfied. He understood something Jesus would later say plainly: if you want to find your life, you have to lose it. Only in laying ourselves down for God's glory do we find the satisfaction we're all searching for.
Faith That Shaped His Resolve
Finally, Moses's faith determined his resolve. He "left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger," and he "kept the Passover and the application of blood" even though nothing about painting lamb's blood on a doorpost made sense to anyone watching. That's resolve: persevering in our convictions and keeping God's commands even when the world around us says it's foolish. Moses obeyed anyway, and that obedience pointed forward to something greater. The blood on the doorpost that saved the firstborn of Israel points us to Jesus, the Lamb of God, whose blood saves us from sin and death.
A Life Worth Emulating
Moses wasn't perfect. He stumbled and made real mistakes. But his faith was active, not just something he said he believed, and that's what set him apart. As James reminds us, faith without works is dead. So take a moment this week to ask yourself honestly: is your faith alive? Can the people around you look at your choices, your priorities, and your obedience and see that you belong to Jesus? We only get one life to make our mark, and the opportunity is now. If you haven't placed your faith in Christ, there's no better day than today to take that step. And if you already believe, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, and let Moses's example push you toward a faith that shows up in how you actually live.
So I am a pastor and I'm grateful. I really deem it a privilege to serve God in this church. And I love almost every minute of the 30 or 35 hours a week I work. That was a joke. Thank you. I just want to be sure you're awake. Honestly, there are some things about my call that I enjoy more than others. Going into it, I knew that there were areas that I would struggle in. I have strengths and weaknesses just like anyone else. You can ask my team and they will affirm that. But there was one particular aspect of the call that I dreaded. Honestly, that I even feared. And that was walking with people through the valley of the shadow of death. Folks often admit that they don't know what to say in such times. And the truth is neither do I. Contrary to what you might expect, they don't teach you what to say in seminary. But now, though I'm still at a loss for words, I can honestly say I really appreciate that aspect of my role. I've come to see the wisdom of the teacher in Ecclesiastes who wrote these words. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting. For death is the destiny of everyone and the living should take this to heart. Now, whether we like it or not, whether we like to talk about it or not, there is much to be gained from walking slowly in the shadow of death. There's no place like it that causes us to face our own mortality and realize that if we're going to make a mark in this world, we have one chance to do so. One, the house of mourning is a painful place to learn that lesson. But as scripture implies, death as teacher is far superior to pleasure. It reminds us that we have one life to live, one life to give, and we must take that to heart. Now, I thought about all this, not because my team was laid to rest last night, R.I.P., but because we have come to the end of Moses and his story concludes just as ours will. He dies and it happened this way. Deuteronomy chapter 34, beginning in verse 1. Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah across from Jericho. Now, if you think about this as remarkable, he was 120 years old at this time. And this climb is said to be about a 4,500 foot climb without a trail. So this 120 year old man climbed to the top of Pisgah across from Jericho. And there the Lord showed him the whole land from Gilead to Dan, all of Nephtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the city of Palms, as far as Zor. Then the Lord said to him, This, all that you see, is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When I said, I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it. And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He, God, buried him in Moab in the valley opposite Beth-Pior, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was 120 years old when he died yet. His eyes were not weak, nor his strength gone. The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days until the time of weeping and mourning was over. Now we know that sadly, Moses did not get to lead the children into the Promised Land. He lost his temper and robbed God of glory. And the consequence of his moment is that he didn't get to go in. But this didn't alter, listen closely to me, this did not alter his relationship with God. They were just as close as they were before. And God decided that he would grace Moses with this beautiful panoramic view of the land the children of Israel would occupy. And then after seeing the splendor of the Promised Land, Moses went home to glory. And then interestingly, God himself buried him in an unmarked grave and the people grieved. Having reflected upon the lessons that they learned from his life, the people then went on with theirs and took the Promised Land. Now there was no gravestone for Moses, but if there had been, it would have certainly been inscribed with the words of verse 10. Since then, no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. You know what Moses was? One of a kind. Obviously not perfect, but he was unique in the pages of Scripture. The partnership that he enjoyed with God, the intimacy they shared was not only something to be admired, but something to which we should aspire. And by the way, is within our grasp. Looking at Moses' life in light of his death should stir in us the desire to cultivate the kind of intimacy that he enjoyed with God. But what do we do? How do we get there? Well, we follow Moses' lead. And there happens to be a eulogy of Moses in Scripture that reveals the keys to his intimacy with God. Now it's found in Hebrews chapter 11, which we call the Faith Hall of Fame. It is a passage of Scripture that actually eulogizes many of the great men and women of faith. And if you'll turn in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 11, the eulogy of Moses begins in verse 24. Here's what the eulogists observed about Moses, by the way, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith, he kept the Passover and the application of blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. Now, what was it about Moses? Obviously, it begins with the faith that he lived by. We say we have faith, but the question is, do we live by that faith? For Moses, it wasn't just a philosophical or intellectual faith. The distinguishing characteristic of his faith is that it was active. His faith was the lens through which he saw, interpreted, and interacted with the world around him. His life was actually one harmonious expression of his faith. Now, we know what James tells us. Faith without works is what? Dead. Faith without works is dead. And Moses' faith was alive and well because it determined his decisions. Now, this eulogy we're going to look at very quickly determines, it actually highlights three ways that Moses' faith perspective determined his decisions and the course of his life. Okay, three ways that it shaped his perspective and what he would do with his life. First, Moses' faith determined his identity. Okay, we hear a lot about identity today. It was Moses' faith, and it should be our faith, that determined his identity. Look at Hebrews chapter 11 verse 24 again. By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Now, here's what we know because of his adoption, Moses grew up in the home of Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world at that time. So, though he was Hebrew within, right, he was born to a Hebrew family, he had Hebrew blood coursing through his veins, he was fully Egyptian without, okay? The fact is, he was educated and trained as if he would one day be Pharaoh. Okay, he may not have been the first in line, but the reality is he was in line and he had to be prepared if he became the one. But when he had grown up, he came to a fork in the road where he had to decide if his life was going to be identified, if he would be identified as the son of Pharaoh or as a Hebrew who feared the one true God. Now, that phrase, when he had grown up, deserves our attention. It literally means when he had become great. Okay, you hear that? But Moses, when he had become great, Moses had already become great. Why? Precisely because he was the son of Pharaoh's daughter. It was growing up in that great man's house that opened the doors of opportunity to Moses. It was in his home that he was educated, decorated, and venerated. Okay, he was educated, as we learned, in the best school in the known world. He was decorated as a military hero and he was venerated as a great leader, a rising star in Egypt. And so from a worldly perspective, everything about Moses that meant anything was a direct result of his relationship to Pharaoh. But when he had become great, when Moses had become great and was, by the way, destined for more greatness, he was the rising star in Egypt, he followed not his fortune, but his faith, realizing that his identity was in God, led him to make the first decision that facilitated his intimacy with God. Hebrews 11, verse 24, by faith, Moses, when he had grown up, when he had become great, refused, absolutely refused, to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He refused to be identified by his association with the house of Pharaoh. Now, that is remarkable. Why? Because it was his association, that association with Pharaoh, that gave him the greatness that everyone aspires to. I don't know anyone who wakes up saying, I want to be average. We aspire to greatness. We aspire to make an impact in the world around us in some way. In everything that made Moses the envy of most any man was directly attributable to the fact that he was known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. All he had to do was choose not to rock the boat. Don't rock the boat, Moses. And the world was his orsture. But listen, Moses knew if no one else did that there was more to him than the prestige of the crown. He didn't just have the privileges given to him by his adoptive family. We also know that because Moses' parents, his birth parents, practice faith, that he had a faith instilled in him. And here's what he knew. And we should know too. Those two things, the privileges, power, and prestige of the world, and faith would never jive. He understood that. He had to choose. Choose you this day, his protege said, Joshua, choose you this day whom you will serve. And Moses had to choose. He had to decide between the seen and the unseen, the guaranteed life of power and prestige that seemed to make him, or he had to choose the great unknown with God and his enslaved people. Now, when Moses came to that fork in the road, you know what he chose? He chose to live by faith, by faith. He sacrificed the life everyone else would dream of for the uncertainties of life with an unseen and to the world a virtually unproven God. So by faith, by faith, he refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. And that was the first step on his path to intimacy with God. Second, his faith perspective determined what he valued. What is it in your life that determines what you value? What is most important to you? Moses' faith perspective shaped what he valued. Look at verses 25 and 26. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value. And by the way, that's real faith. Christ hadn't even been here yet, but he was anticipating a Messiah that would literally save the world. So he regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ, the Messiah, as of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Now, listen to me. Moses was anything but naive. He knew that choosing to walk away would bring about two dramatic changes in his life. First, he knew if he rejected the privileges of the palace, the palace and all of its people would reject him. He who had been revered would most certainly be reviled. He would go from being treated like a god to being mistreated because of God. But what did he choose? Because of his faith perspective, he chose mistreatment with the people of God rather than the privileged perks of the pagan palace. Second, Moses knew that his choice would also mean a drastic change in his lifestyle. Everything was going to change. In the palace of the pagan Pharaoh, there were no no's for Moses. There was nothing that was off limits for him or out of reach. Moses could have anything and do anything he wanted. There was no end to the possibilities of material and sensual satisfaction. But by faith, Moses realized that living to please the flesh only brought about temporary happiness. The thrill of conquest, the delight of getting what he wanted, and the cheers of others. It only lasted so long. His thirst for pleasure, he understood, was never really satisfied. In fact, it only made him thirstier. So through the lens of his faith, he wisely concluded that we are not created for the pleasure of our flesh, but for the pleasure of our Creator. So he chose to turn his back on all the temporary but very real pleasures of sin and embrace the pains and the rigors of sacrifice, which he rightly saw as the only path to the satisfaction that we all crave. Now listen, if you have not figured out that Moses was right at this point, you can take it from him or learn the hard way. But he was right. The pleasures of sin are real, but they are fleeting. And in the end, they extract a heavy price. You know what Moses understood long before his anticipated Messiah said it? If you want to find your life, you have to lose your life. You must deny yourself. Take up the cross of sacrifice and follow Jesus. Only, only in self-denial for the glory of God will we ever be fully satisfied. Find the satisfaction that perpetually eludes us in the pursuit of pleasure and happiness, worldly pleasure and happiness. And so choosing to walk away from that which delighted his flesh but devoured his soul, Moses valued life with God above all else and took another step toward intimacy. And you can too. But you have to choose. We can't have two gods. We can't serve two gods because you'll hate one and love the other. The question is, which god do you serve? When you choose God, when we seek God, we find God. He guarantees us that. Seek and you will find. When we choose to walk away from those, the fool's gold of worldly satisfaction, we take a step toward intimacy with our Creator. Finally, Moses' faith perspective determined his resolve. Look at verses 27 and 28. By faith, he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith, he kept the Passover and the application of blood so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. What is resolve? Resolve is grit and determination. When we are resolved, what happens is our willpower is harnessed toward the end goal of our resolution. By faith, Moses had an unshakable resolve for the kingdom of God. The writer of his eulogy does not use the word resolve, but he uses two words that get at the very heart of it. Two indispensable parts of resolve. He says in verse 26 that Moses persevered. And in verse 28, he says he kept the Passover. Now, when we have resolved, what does that mean? When we have resolved, we persevere in our convictions and we keep God's commandments. When believers who choose to live by faith have resolved, we persevere in our convictions, our commitments, and we keep God's commandments. In faith, Moses had a good look at what was invisible. He saw by faith the same with all the others in the Faith Hall of Fame. He saw the kingdom of God and resolved that he was going to live in it and for it. So he persevered in his service of the unseen God. Now, you recognize that the gods, everyone expected him to have the ones that made him great, rich, and famous, powerful, and prestigious. Those could be seen. The world would expect him to persevere in service of those things that materially paid him back. But he persevered in the service of the unseen God. He endured hardship and never wavered. He never flinched. Yes, he made mistakes. He stumbled, but you know what he did? He got back on his feet and stayed faithful to the very end. Now, verse 28 tells us, it's a little bit of a challenging verse, but it tells us that he kept the Passover and the application of the blood. What in the world is that about? Well, I want you to think about it. This could be the weirdest thing that Moses was ever commanded to do. The story is, you remember in the plagues at the end, he announced to Pharaoh that the death angel was coming. And the death angel was going to come and take the oldest born of all the houses in Egypt, except the houses of those who killed the lamb, dipped a paintbrush in the lamb's blood, and then painted the blood over the doorpost of their homes. Those homes, in those homes, the oldest child would be spared. Now, nothing like that had ever been done or considered. No one could conceive of such a scheme to save human life. What was the connection between the lamb and life? What could painting blood on the doorpost of their homes really do, other than gross everybody out? Can you imagine the stairs he got from not only the Egyptians who were like, what are you people doing? But also from his own people who said, wait a minute, we got to do what? What are we supposed to do? But because Moses was resolved to keep God's commands, he went right to work. He sacrificed the lamb, took the blood, and painted it on the doorpost of his home. He was resolved to keep God's word, to be obedient when it didn't make sense. Listen, that is the resolve of faith, to choose to be obedient when it doesn't make sense, to choose to do what God tells us to do when the world around us says, what are you thinking? Moses was all in with God, and it was his resolve that facilitated intimacy with God and marked him for us as a man worth emulating. So, what do we do? What do we learn as we look back at Moses and his life well lived? Well, in the end, we learn to live by faith. Moses, by faith, looked ahead to Jesus and saw that living for him was of greater value than all the treasures of Egypt. Our faith doesn't look ahead to Jesus, but back to Jesus and his death on the cross. And when we look to Jesus by faith, we realize that he is the only way to eternal life and life abundant. He is the one who satisfies. He is the one who gives us our identity in God. He is the one who can satisfy our souls. When we look by faith to Jesus, we see with Moses that life by faith in Jesus is of much greater value than all the treasures of the world. Or do we? I think the truth is we say it, but the question is, do we live it? The distinguishing characteristic of Moses' faith is that it was active. The question is, is yours? Let's bow our heads and pray. Father, we're thankful that the pages of Scripture are full of people who lived by faith. Like us, they stumbled around and struggled. At times made poor choices, but in the end, when all was said and done, they chose to live by faith. And they fully understood that the life of faith is an active life in and for the kingdom of God, your kingdom. Father, I pray that like Moses, we would be people of active faith, that we would recognize that just same we believe. It doesn't leave a mark. It doesn't change the world that you sent your son Jesus to die to save and call us to influence for your glory. Lord, we want our lives to count. And we're thankful that Moses showed us the way that we matter most when we're intimately connected to you through faith in Jesus Christ. And the question for you to ask and answer in the beginning is, do I have faith in Jesus Christ? Moses and the Israelites were to paint the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of their home. It was strange at the time, but it certainly pointed to what we need to be delivered from sin and death, just like they were delivered from slavery in Egypt. We need the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of our hearts. The Lamb of God who was sent to take away the sin of the world is Jesus Christ. He stepped out of eternity and into time because he loved us and lived the perfect life and then died on the cross that we could be delivered, saved, graced with eternal life and abundant life. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father. No man comes into his kingdom. No man or woman finds meaningful service except by him. Except by him. So the question is, have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? If you haven't, there's no better day than this way to take that step of faith. God loves you so much that he sent his Son to die that you could have life in him. Do you believe? And for those of us who believe, you have faith. Questions. Is it alive? Can people look at you and know that you live by faith in Jesus Christ? Can they examine your actions, your commitments? What you value and know that it's life in God's kingdom. It's better to go to a house of mourning than a house of feasting. Because we get, we are reminded there that we get one chance to impact the world that God has called us to serve. The opportunity of your lifetime is now. This is it. And if you want to make a difference, you have to live by faith. Father, I pray that now by your Holy Spirit you would search us, try us, see if there be any offensive way in us and lead us into life everlasting. Lead us into a life that counts for you. Father, if there are those in this room or watching with us online today that don't believe, I pray today that they would believe in Jesus, just as Moses did. For those of us who believe, Lord, I pray that you would inspire us through the power of your Holy Spirit to embrace the lifestyle of faith. In the strong name of Jesus that I pray. Amen. Thank you guys so much for joining us today in worship. We're going to stand and sing as we go out, celebrate God's goodness. If you want to know more about beginning a relationship with Jesus Christ or you want us to pray with you about something God spoke to you about as we studied His word, then you come forward at the conclusion of the song and we'll have folks here to pray with you. Let's sing.