It’s impossible to know what goes through someone’s mind as they look back on their life. Is it pride? Anger? Disappointment? Contentment?
As I write this, my father was just diagnosed with ALS at the age of 75. It’s heartbreaking, but also eye-opening. The clock is against us, but we’ve been able to have a few conversations recently where we examined the past together. Obviously, I’ve always seen those events from my perspective; seeing them from his was fascinating.
What did Moses think as he ascended the Abarim mountain range? This mention of his impending death—just three verses long and long before he actually dies—is startling. It could be that God is just preparing Moses for his own impending fate, in a manner that is eerily similar to Aaron’s. That would be convenient.
But again, think of the context. He just wrapped up the process of distributing the land, organizing a second census, and dealing with daughters-only inheritance rights (Numbers 26:1-27:11). What’s left but to die?
In Moses’ mind, as it turns out, quite a bit.
Immediately after God informs Moses of his death, Moses requests one thing: a leader to succeed him.
It’s odd timing but not an odd request. Most people, in the twilight of their life, want to see someone carry on the torch and continue what they’ve started. Solomon even talks about the vanity of working hard your whole life, only to see someone else ruin it all when you’re gone (Ecclesiastes 2:18-23).
Moses has already accepted his punishment. He will not see Canaan because of his actions at the waters of Meribah.
But even here, he’s still concerned about the welfare of the people. He wants to know that someone will lead them, because, as he puts it, they are “like sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17).
If anything, this conversation reveals that all those times Moses interceded on behalf of the people were not an accident. He wasn’t just virtue-signaling; he legitimately cared about the Israelites. He didn’t want God to destroy them because he loved them.
Would Joshua do that? According to God’s own word, that’s exactly the role Joshua would fulfill. He will have the same authority that Moses had, but he will also inquire of God before every major decision. That’s what Moses did. He never (mostly) acted without getting God’s approval first.
The people needed a leader, to be sure. But what they really needed was another Moses. And, ironically, nobody knew that better than Moses.
That’s why he addresses God as “the God of the spirits of all flesh.” He was calling on the specific attribute of God that recognizes what’s inside of a man to find a man that will lead from the front (“go out and come in before them”). Joshua “has the Spirit,” and will take the people Moses has cultivated for forty years into the Promised Land.
This is what was on Moses’ mind as he thought of death. It wasn’t anger at unfulfilled work, or bitterness at not entering Canaan. It was the care and concern of his people; he wanted to know that he would be okay.
Last night, my father came to my daughter’s third-grade music program. As I helped him get into the car and gave him a hug, he told me how much he loved me.
Then, he told me one more thing: “Take care of your family.”
I plan to, Dad.