Numbers 27

The LORD tells us in Psalm 116:15:
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

In my over thirty years of pastoral ministry and watching my parents go to be with the Lord, I have experienced God's manifestation of grace in the death of His saints. He often prepares those who are departing, and He comforts those who remain. This was certainly the case with Moses.

The LORD had told Moses that he could not enter the Promised Land because he dishonored God before the people at the waters of Meribah. Now God prepared Moses for his departure by taking him up to Mount Abarim to view the land of milk and honey before he died. God didn't have to do this, but He knew how much Moses longed to see it.

The LORD also prepared Moses' successor. Joshua had assisted Moses for the forty years in the wilderness and proven himself a faithful and capable leader. So the LORD told Moses to set Joshua before Eleazar the high priest and before the congregation and lay his hands on Joshua, imparting his authority to him. Then the people would follow Joshua as they had followed Moses.

God wasn't quite done with Moses. (The book of Deuteronomy still had to be written!) But everything was now in place for his departure. God prepared Moses as well as the congregation because the death of His saints is precious in His sight.

When we walk with God, then our steps are ordered by Him (Psalm 37:23). And when it comes time to walk in the valley of the shadow of death, then He will be there, walking by our side as the Shepherd of our souls. He comforts the ones departing, and He comforts the ones who remain. He is the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). As believers in Jesus Christ, we need not fear death, for the LORD is there, and He is enough.