Let's open our Bibles this evening
to the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter 31. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy. The Pentateuch, first five books
of the Bible. Deuteronomy chapter 31. And I'm
going to read verses one and two. And Moses went and spake
these words unto all Israel. And he said unto them, I am 120
years old this day. I can no more go out and come
in. Also the Lord has said unto me,
thou shalt not go over this garden. For a few weeks on Wednesdays,
I would like to bring messages to us from the last few chapters
of this book. And tonight, we're going to think
about Moses approaching the end of his ministry, and then him
approaching the end of his life in this world. So two parts to
the message. Moses approaching the end of
his ministry, and then secondly, Moses approaching the end of
his life in this world. First, Moses approaches the end
of his ministry. He's now 120 years old. His life is divided into three
divisions, 40 years in each division. His first 40 years were spent
as the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, And during that time,
we are told in Acts chapter seven and verse 20 by Stephen, the
first martyr, we're told that Moses at this time, he was learned
in all the wisdom. Number one, he was learned in
all the wisdom of the Egyptians. And number two, he was mighty
in words and deeds. Two things are mentioned there,
wisdom and might. wisdom and might. The wisdom of this world, the
wisdom of the Egyptians, and the strength of man. And we know
that Moses failed. Moses failed when he reached
out to his kinsmen, the Israelites, and tried in some way to deliver
them from their bondage. But actually, we see it serves
as a testimony to all time, to you and I this evening, that
deliverance, that is salvation, does not come through the wisdom
of this world, nor the strength, the might of men. In 1 Corinthians
chapter one, the apostle Paul spoke this about The true wisdom
of God and might of God, power of God, it's all found in Christ. It's all found in the person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. The wisdom of God, that is how
that God may be just and the justifier of the ungodly. How that he may save by his great
strength and power and by the blood of Jesus Christ. The apostle in 1 Corinthians
wrote, we preach Christ crucified. He said the Greeks seek after
wisdom, the Jews, they want a sign. But we preach Christ crucified. And that's the message of every
pastor, of every preacher. I read just today an example,
I think I put it in the bulletin for this coming Sunday, but a
Welshman years ago, a young preacher, he preached a highfalutin sermon,
he said, a spread eagle sermon. I mean, it was just the best
of the best, he thought. And he asked an old preacher,
he said, what did you think about my sermon? He said, I didn't
think much of it at all. He said, why not? He said, because
there was no Jesus Christ in your sermon. He said, well, I
didn't see it there in the text. He said, listen. He said, no
matter which text you start from, there's a way to get to the cross. He said, just like in all over
England, all these towns, there's a road in every town that leads
to London. No matter which town, which city,
which hamlet, there's a road that leads to London, London
being the capital. May not be a road leading to
another town in England, but there's a road in every town
leading to London. So in every part of the word
of God, the scriptures open up unto us the truth about Jesus
Christ and him crucified. Paul said, but we preach Christ
crucified. Under the Jews, a stumbling block. The Jews stumbled over the message
of Christ because he was, he came as poor and deserted of men, an outcast of
men. That was a stumbling block. They
were looking for a Messiah who would come and pomp and circumstance
and great power and deliver their nation once again. and make it
the head and not the tail of the nations like it had been
in the days of old. No, to the Jews, a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks, that's foolish. It's foolish. The wise
men of this world, the Greek philosophers, you mean to tell
me that a man may be reconciled unto God by the work of another
person? That it's not us doing good and
us working and making ourselves right with God, no. It's foolish to think that one
man, but remember who that man is. He's a God man. He's God manifest in the flesh. That yes, by his death, he has
made atonement for the sins of all of his people. We preach
Christ crucified under the Jews' stumbling block and under the
Greeks' foolishness, But unto them that are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ, here it is, the power of God and the wisdom
of God. Christ, the power of God and
the wisdom of God. Moses was learned in the wisdom
of Egypt and the might of man, and he tried, he attempted to
separate those Israelites, remember, and he completely failed and
had to leave Egypt. So that's the first 40 years
of his life. The second 40 years of his life,
he spent on the backside of the desert. That's what the scripture
says, on the backside of the desert, out in the boondocks,
as we would say. out in the boondocks for the
next 40 years. You say, what was he doing there?
Well, we know what he was doing. He was keeping his father-in-law's
flock. And what was God doing? That's
more important, isn't it? What was God doing? God was teaching
and preparing Moses for the work of leading his people out of
Egypt. And what a contrast, if you think
about it. Moses at 40 years of age, when
he thought he was sufficient, he could take care of this matter,
he could deliver his nation. And Moses at 80 years, when God
appeared to him there at the bush that burned but was not
consumed, how he confessed his insufficiency and how he asked
to be excused and let someone else have that job. And of course,
He learned, my grace is sufficient for thee. The same thing the
Apostle Paul learned, the same thing that you and I learn as
we go through this world. And yes, we meet with problems
and struggles and all kinds of afflictions and things of that
nature. What are these for? They are
to teach us that our God, His grace is sufficient. Whatever
the circumstances may be, He will not leave us. He will not
forsake us. He is with us. And as he told
Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Now the third part of his life
that his next 40 years were spent at the head of the nation of
Israel. And during these years, we see
him several times as serving as a type of Jesus Christ, our
Lord. He served as a type of Christ
in many different ways, but one of the ways he served as a type
of Christ, as the one mediator between God and men. You know,
the apostle Paul tells us that, doesn't he? There's one God and
one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. Look
with me. Turn back to Exodus chapter number
20. and see how Moses here served
as a picture of Christ as a mediator between God and men. In Exodus chapter 20 and verse 19, this is a people, the Israelites,
they said unto Moses, speak thou with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us,
lest we die. And Moses said unto the people,
fear not, for God has come to prove you, and that his fear
may be before your faces, that you sin not. And the people stood
afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where
God was. Moses served as a picture of
Christ. as the one mediator between God
and men. And if you notice here, this
happened just after the law had been given. Look back to verse
1 of chapter 20. And God spake all these words,
saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of
the land of Egypt. out of the house of bondage,
thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that
is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself
to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a
jealous God. visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation
of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them
that love me and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him
guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and
do all thy work, But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord
thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work,
thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor thy father and thy
mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not
covet thy neighbor's wife. Now God gave his law, and here
we see the purpose of the law. As we read through the law and
as we read next that the Israelites asked Moses, you go up and you
speak to God and then you come and speak to us. The law shows
us our sinfulness. The law shows us our depravity. The law was never given to give
life. It is not possible that anyone
obtains eternal life by by the law of God, but the law of God
shows us our need of a mediator, of Christ, the Lord Jesus, as
the mediator. Someone wrote, sin exposed, guilt
felt, causes needy souls to desire a mediator. We cannot come to
God without Christ. And you see that further revealed
down in verse 24. An altar of earth thou shalt
make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings,
and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen, in all
places where I record my name. I will come unto thee, and I
will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar
of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone, for if thou
lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt
thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be
not discovered. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
burnt offering. This burnt offering that is spoken
of here was a type, wasn't it, of Christ. The burnt offering
pictured Christ complete, perfect, absolute surrender to God Almighty. And then the peace offering.
He's our peace offering. He is the one who, by the blood
of His cross, established peace for us. And God told them if
you build an altar, don't Just don't hew the stones, don't work
on the stones and make them smooth, because once you put your hammer
to the stone, you've polluted the altar. Because you're polluted,
then what you do is polluted. And you don't go up my altar
by steps. You know, that's what religion
teaches people, isn't it? That you kind of get better,
better, better. You kind of work your way up
the steps, you know. Sometimes people will say, well,
we're all going to the same place, you know, we're all traveling
to the same place, to the same end, we're just going different
ways. No, there's only one way. And that way is Jesus Christ,
our Lord. But Moses, he served in these
40 years, the last 40 years of his life as a type, as a picture
of Christ. It's not, a person doesn't, climb
stairs to get closer to God. No, by faith, by trusting in
Christ, we're one with him. And then second, he served as
a type of Christ as the one never failing intercessor. The never failing intercessor. Look with me in Numbers just
a moment, the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 14, verse 11. And the Lord said unto Moses,
how long will this people provoke me? These are the Israelites.
After seeing everything that they had seen in Egypt, seeing
the Red Sea open, they still did not believe God. How long? Will this people provoke me,
and how long will it be ere they believe me for all the signs
which I have showed among them? Now notice this, I will smite
them with the pestilence and disinherit them. And Moses, I
will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. How about that? How about that? Does that appeal to a person's
pride? God's going to make of me a great
nation? Oh no, it didn't to Moses. No,
we see him as a never failing intercessor. Look down here to
verse 17, Numbers chapter 14 and verse 17. This is Moses now interceding. Pardon, pardon, I beseech thee,
the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness
of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt
even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned
according to thy word. You see Moses interceding for
this wicked nation, this sinful nation. God telling Moses, I'll
disinherit them and I'll begin with you and make a great nation. What does Moses do? He goes to
the Lord in prayer, beseeching that God would show mercy, that
he would pardon. What a picture that is of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who ever lives, the scripture says in Hebrews
chapter seven and verse 25. Our great high priest, wherefore
he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us. Now, back in our text, Deuteronomy
chapter 31. So we see three periods in the
life of Moses. The first 40 years, second 40
years, the third 40 years. Now he's 120 years old. And I
said he approaches the end of his ministry. Notice he says
here in verse two, I can no more go out and come in. We read this,
you read this, And it's just natural that we think, well,
his ministry is coming to an end because of his age, because
of his physical condition. Now his ministry is closing. That's not so. That's not so. Look over in chapter 34, Deuteronomy
chapter 34, in verse 7, let's see. the physical condition of Moses
at this time. It says in verse 7 of chapter
34, and Moses was 120 years old when he died, his eye was not
dim, nor his natural force abated. He was still as strong as he
was when he was a young man. His ministry is coming to an
end. Go back to the text now. His
ministry is coming to an end, not because of physical weakness,
not because of his age necessarily. It was coming to an end. If you
look there again in verse two in our text, also the Lord has
said unto me, thou shall not go over Jordan. His ministry
was coming to an end because the Lord had said unto him, thou
shall not go over this Jordan. Now remember, Jordan was the
boundary line from the wilderness to the land of Canaan. And Jordan has always served
as a picture of death. And remember that hymn we sing
sometimes on Jordan's stormy banks, I stand and cast a wishful
eye to Canaan's fair and happy land where my possessions lie. Canaan has always been a picture,
been used by the church as a picture of heaven. And his ministry is
coming to an end, not because of his age, not because of his
physical weakness, no, but because God said, thou shall not go over
this Jordan. Thou shall not go over this Jordan. Moses could not lead them there. This must be the work of Joshua,
whose name means Jehovah Savior, Jesus. Moses, representing the
law, the law of God, could not lead them into the heavenly land,
the land of promise. Just as the Apostle Paul says
in Galatians 2 and verse 16, knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And by
the works of the law, no one's going to enter in to the heavenly
land, that is, Canaan, which represented heaven. So Moses
approaches the end of his ministry. God said, you're not going to
go over Jordan. Now the second thing I want to
mention, Moses approaches the end of his life in this world.
Back in chapter 31, if you look down to verse 14, And the Lord said unto Moses,
Behold, thy days approach that thou must die. The Lord told
Moses that the days approach when he must die. But I counted,
as I read through these last chapters the other day, I counted
at least four things, maybe five things that Moses still must
do before he dies. And we'll look at those things,
the Lord willing, maybe next time. But tonight, let's just
think about Moses approaching his death in this world. And
I have three things that Moses knew. First, Moses knew that
the days approached that he must die. God told him that. He knew
that. In some ways, now think about
this just a moment. In some ways, all men should
know this very same thing. We all should know that. We all
should know this very same thing. We're told in Job chapter 14
in verse 5, seeing that his days, that is man's days are determined. The number of his months is with
thee. You say, well, to whom does that
apply? If you read there in the context,
it applies to man that is born of a woman. That includes all
of us, doesn't it? And so in one sense of the word,
Every man, every woman, we all should know that the day's approach,
every day we live, is drawing us closer and closer, nearer
and nearer to the day that we shall die. We know that. It's appointed unto men once
to die. And no man dies before his time. Sometimes you hear that, don't
you? A young person dies and people say, well, he, she, they
died before their time. No, they didn't. They died exactly
at the time that God had purposed and ordained from old eternity. They didn't die before their
time. Someone might say, well, that's fatalism. No, it's not
fatalism, my friends. It's the truth of the word of
God. It's the truth from the word
of God. And people who believe this, I believe this. You believe
this, don't you? That the day of your death has
already been determined and purposed. Well, we say, well, if God's
purpose for me to die, June the 1st, 2021, I'm just not going
to eat anymore. I'm just not going to eat. I'm
not going to drink anymore. Now God is also purposed, as
I said the other night about preaching, He's purposed also
the means to the end. And you just quit eating and
probably you'll die before June the 1st, 2021. But still it is
true that God has determined the days and the months that
we shall live here in this world. Having said that, in this sense,
I do believe that Moses was told that his death, he was told here,
his death was imminent. His death was imminent. It was
soon to take place. The days approach when you must
die. None of us choose when we shall
die. None of us choose how we shall
die. And many people we know are taken
by the Lord without any idea that their death is imminent.
People got up this morning, no doubt, going about their business,
and they never dreamt that today was the last day they were going
to live in this world. But it was. Our Lord spoke about
a man like that. Look with me in Luke chapter
12, just a moment. Luke chapter 12. Verse 16, And
he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain
rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself,
saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say unto my
soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine
ease. Eat, drink, and be merry. He
thought his death wasn't imminent. Oh, no. He built bigger barns,
larger barns, had plenty of food stored up for years to come.
He didn't know and didn't think that his death was very imminent
because the scripture says, but God said unto him, thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall
those things be which thou hast provided? So first of all, Moses
knew that the days approached that he must die. A second thing,
Moses knew that the God into whose presence death would bring
him is the God of the living. When the Lord appeared to him
in that burning bush, God confessed to be the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. And the Lord Jesus Christ in
the New Testament, he used that to show the Sadducees who deny
that there's going to be a resurrection. They denied the resurrection.
He said, you do err not knowing the scriptures nor the power
of God. God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. And Moses knew that. He knew
that God is the God of the living, not of the dead. And a third
thing, Moses knew that by faith, he had kept the Passover. We read that in Hebrews chapter
11. Moses knew that. He had kept the Passover way
back there, I guess 40 years more or less before when they
left Egypt. He had kept the Passover by faith. And that Passover lamb represented
the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Passover. And it was by the
Lamb of God, as John pointed him out, which taketh away the
sins of the world. Moses knew that by faith he had
kept that Passover. He trusted in that Lamb that
was to come, that was pictured by the Passover Lamb that they
slew. And he knew that his sins had
been taken away. The Lord Jesus Christ not only
had taken away his sins, but had taken away the sting of death. An old illustration, it's still
a good one, isn't it? The bee, he's got that stinger,
right? You cut the stinger off, or a
scarpion, you cut that off, nothing to fear of that critter anymore. And so, sin, the sting of death. Christ has taken it away by taking
our sins away. Now let me close with something
that Moses probably did not know. I mentioned three things that
he did know. I want to close with something that Moses probably
did not know, but you and I know. What was it? He probably, turn
with me to Luke chapter nine, he probably did not know that
years, years after his death, after his death, after his body
had turned back to the dust, that he was going to come back
into this world along with Elijah and appear with the Lord Jesus
Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. But he did. Luke chapter 9 and verse 28. Came to pass, about an eight
days after these things, he took Peter and John and James and
went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion
of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and
glistering. And behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory
and spake of his righteousness. Decease, which he should accomplish
at Jerusalem, his death, his exodus from this world. The Lord
Jesus Christ accomplished something in his death. He accomplished
the salvation of God's people. What are you going to accomplish
in your death? What am I going to accomplish in my death? I've
thought about that. And the only thing I can think
of is this world will be rid of one more person to drink God's
water and breathe his air. That's the only thing I'm going
to accomplish in my death. But the Lord Jesus Christ, he
accomplished the salvation of his church in his death. I pray
the Lord would bless the message to all of us here tonight. We'll
sing a verse of a hymn and then we'll be dismissed.