The Death of Moses

"Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished." (Deuteronomy 34:7)

Notice what the above verse tells us about Moses when he died.  It tells us that when Moses died, he was in good physical health.  The HCSB translates the last part of the verse this way, "...his vitality had not left him."  Since Moses was in good physical health at the time of his death, then what caused his death?  The short and simple answer is sin.  Moses didn't die of natural causes but had his life taken from him by God because he sinned.

Go back to Deuteronomy 32:48-51 and we find the following:  "Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; and die on the mountain which you ascend, and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people; because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel."  (See also Numbers 20:7-12)  I highlighted some key words that show us that Moses was going to die because of his sin - he trespassed against the Lord and did not hallow God before the nation.  Keep in mind, this was not the first time Moses had sinned.  Moses had murdered a man (see Exodus 2:11-14) but God did not take his life for that.  

Yes, it is true that all sin leads to death (Romans 5:12 and Romans 6:23) but I believe Moses' death was a clear case of what we find in 1 John 5:16.  1 John 5:16 tells us clearly, "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that."  Notice that this verse tells us that there is sin that leads to death.  But notice also who this verse is about - it is about a brother.  In other words, this verse tells us that a Christian brother (or sister) can sin in such a way that God cuts short their life.  That is what happened to Moses, he had sinned a sin that lead to his death.  (For another example, read Acts 5:1-11)

What is the sin that leads to death in 1 John 5:16?  For Moses it was not hallowing God's name.  For Ananias and Sapphira, it was lying to the Holy Spirit.  The Bible doesn't provide us with a list of sins to avoid because they will cause the Christian to die.  Instead, the Bible warns us that if we fall into and persist in sin, we need to be aware that it has a tremendous consequence.

The death of Moses tells us that no Christian is too big and important to fail.  Moses was a great man of God, but he sinned a sin that lead to his death.  If we are truly born again we must not assume we can sin and get by with it.  Moses' death should be a warning and reminder to us of that.