Throughout the time of Moses leading, many of his people have struggled to stay faithful to God. They have lied and turned on Moses and his brother Aaron. They have struggled to stay true to the commandments and God many times have forgiven them. Moses states in Numbers 14:18 “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Moses reminds them that God is forgiving, but he still has the capability to punish. In Numbers 25, God’s patience was tested. His people sent sacrifices to other gods and indulged with many women. This was an insult to God since he has helped the people out of slavery and has a plan for them to be free. God then leads Moses into a war or battle against the Midianites because they treated them as enemies.
I think they ended the Pentateuch with the death of Moses to remind the people to remorse the people that have helped them but also to show again patience for the Israelites. Moses had a troublesome journey and had helped the Israelites in many ways. He lead them to the land, but he would not be the one to bring them there. God had plans for another member to do that. It is disappointing that Moses carried all of the troubles to reach the place and not enter, but it gave reverence to him. It allows the Israelites again to be patient on entering their promised land.
The death of Moses shows that there is a transition of the elect. There is a new leader that must die and then resurrect. Moses’ death shows an end to an era and shows that with the new leadership under Joshua, the Israelites will enter the promise land, but there will be many struggles to come.
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