Joshua's Eulogy for Moses

In our first morning prayer reading with Deuteronomy 34, we mark the end of the life of Moses. As we do every year in the Daily Office, this is a story that began in Lent 12 weeks ago, with Baby Moses, a basket and the Bulrushes in Exodus 2. Except for two breaks, we have followed the story of Moses and the Exodus through the Easter and Trinity seasons.

To mark this ending, this morning I offer a eulogy for the great prophet Moses—one as I imagine Joshua might have given upon the death of his mentor and teacher.

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Thanks to you as captains of the hundreds and the thousands for being here to represent all the 12 Tribes of Israel.

I have come today not just to bury Moses, but to praise him. While there have been other great men in human history—names like Noah, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph—there has never before been as great a leader.

I am grateful for all that Moses has done for me and given to me. Some of you may know that he gave me the name Joshua, although he never told me why. My father named me Hoshea, but when a great prophet—a man who talks directly to Yahweh—says you have a new name, you’ve gotta assume there’s some really good reason.

More seriously, Moses put a lot of trust in me as a very young man, when he appointed me to represent Ephraim in the spying trip to Canaan. Caleb and I saw the future of our people on that trip almost 40 years ago—and I know for sure that history will show that we were right! Although Moses believed in us and supported us, he also helped us understand that it was not yet time to move forward, that the people were not yet ready for us to take the final step necessary for realizing our destiny.

He showed tremendous patience back then, and Lord knows, patience was not always his strong suit. In fact, those of you who worked with him as I did know that he had quite a temper. If you didn’t work directly with him, you may have heard stories—and most of those stories are true.

But deep down, Moses was a righteous man. He had a zeal for doing the right thing, for living out the commands of Yahweh, and making sure that our people could realize the great promises that Yahweh has made to us.

Sometimes we tested his patience past the breaking point. One incident that comes to mind was the grumbling about the quality of the food. Here Yahweh had saved us from slavery, parted the Red Sea, and defeated the legions of the greatest army the world has ever known. After that, he fed the hundreds of thousands of us here in the middle of the desert, and people were complaining that the food was boring! Even Yahweh himself got angry at this ingratitude, that His chosen people would, in effect, say, “Yahweh, what have you done for us lately?” Doesn’t freeing us after 430 years of captivity count for something?

There was also the incident with the Golden Calf, but as we all know, that was a low point of the past 40 years—and Yahweh in His mercy pardoned our iniquity. I won’t say anything more.

However, as with our first parents Adam and Eve, no man is perfect. Moses did a pretty good job throughout his 120 years following all that Yahweh had taught him. But at Meribah, he got impatient, and he and his brother Aaron paid the price. I know he was disappointed, but he accepted that our all-knowing, all-powerful Yahweh is just and right in all His judgements.

While Moses could be certain that Yahweh’s promises to our people would be fulfilled, he was grateful that our merciful God allowed him in these last few days to glimpse the Promised Land with his own two eyes.

In the end, Moses did what no other person in history ever did. He spent years walking and talking with Yahweh, understanding His will, His teaching, His justice and His mercy. But most of all, he understood Yahweh’s plan for His people, and as our great leader, he was able to convey that vision to all of you, and through you to the rest of our chosen people, the Nation of Israel.

But that’s not all. By walking and talking with Yahweh, Moses was our only mediator and advocate before the almighty creator of the whole world, tirelessly asking, begging, or pleading on our behalf when Yahweh’s great anger was kindled. I remember all the times he came back from the tabernacle after we—Abraham’s children—had been particularly unruly or ungrateful. He would be completely spent, but at the same time certain that he had both made the best case for all of us, and in turn had gained a little more insight into Yahweh, His justice and His plan for all of us.

There is so much more that we don’t know about Moses and his life. Fortunately, in the last few years, he took the time to write it all down, from his birth in captivity and fortuitous adoption up through his final years leading us in the wilderness. Through Yahweh’s teaching, he has also written a summary of the Genesis of mankind, from the creation of the world through Noah, Abraham and the other patriarchs that created our 12 Tribes and brought us to Egypt to escape the great famine.

Together, these scrolls constitute the teaching of Yahweh’s great plan, and the law that he gave to Moses for His people. While the originals of these scrolls will remain in the Tabernacle as our holiest writing, I have asked Eleazar to identify scribes who will make numerous exact copies. This will allow each new generation of Levites to be instructed in the law, both those who will serve as priests in the tabernacle, and those that teach the other tribes about our God and all that he has done for us.

So today we say goodbye to Moses, our great leader, advocate, teacher, prophet—and my friend. When you look back at the whole of his life, Moses fought the good fight, he finished the race and he kept the faith. He brought his people out of bondage to the edge of the Promised Land.

Now it falls on us to finish the task that he started, to take possession of the land of milk and honey that Yahweh has promised to us. I am humbled to carry forth the mantle of Moses, but carry it I will. Over the coming weeks and months, we can and will defeat our enemies. If our God be for us, who can be against us? So let me close with a brief prayer.

Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, we thank you for all that you have done for your people, and we ask that you continue to provide for us in the coming days, so that we might see the fulfillment of the promise that you made to Abraham and his seed forever. Amen.