As noted above, God instructed Moses to climb Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, and view the Land of Canaan, “for there on the mountain you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people.” And so it was. God Himself buried Moses in the valley opposite Beth Peor. Even though 120 years of age when he died, “yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone” (Joshua 34).

Moses’ brother, Aaron, died on Mount Hor. Even Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain. His favorite places of solitude were best expressed on mountains, and that is where we frequently find Him in the four Gospels, face down or upon His knees praising and revering His Father. Just before Jesus returned to heaven, His disciples met Him on a mountain, from which He ascended (Matt. 28:16-20). So, yes, there is something about mountains our God appreciates.

Some of my closest and fondest moments with my God have been in Arizona’s mountains. I converse with Him openly, as with an intimate friend. He hears me, and my spirit is jubilant because of His presence. I feel Him! I know He’s trekking alongside me. On every trail, I see Him everywhere—in the boulders, among the rocks, in the loveliness of Spring flowers, in the exquisite melody of the birds, in the quietness of the trees, and in the whistling of the breeze.

By way of paraphrasing, we might construct the implication in this fashion, “For on the mountain you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people who have gone on before you.” I understand this to mean that Moses’ spirit, the real Moses, immediately following his biological demise, would be assembling with all of the old saints whose earthly existence had already ended—Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and all the others.

True, one of the renderings of spirit is “breath.” But never when it involves the crux of man’s existence! When Jacob’s spirit was revived after he was told his son Joseph was alive (Gen. 45:23-28), his breathing did not improve! Rather, his inner man was infused with vitality.

When I first published my thoughts on this subject, one of my readers sent the following letter:

“Buff, here is what I learned through a correspondence course I took on ancient Israel. The tomb of the deceased consisted of a slab, flat on top where the corpse was placed. There was a large hollowed-out place underneath. The bones of the corpse were removed and placed underneath the slab, along with the bones that had already been placed there from deceased family members.

“In some cases, as with Jacob, the burial slab was built with poles on both ends so that it could be carried. Only family members could be buried and ‘gathered’ together underneath any burial slab. This is how they brought the bones of Jacob up out of Egypt to be buried in the Promise Land. These were actual artifacts that have been uncovered by archeologists. Passing this along for whatever it is worth.”—Joyce.

Quite interested. But the real question revolves around whether or not “gathered to your people” fits into the findings of archeologists or represents the idea that the spirit of the deceased joins those who have already departed. I opt for the latter conclusion, and here are my reasons.

In Numbers 27:12-13, God informs Moses of his impending demise and tells him, “After you have seen it [land of Canaan], you too will be gathered to your people.” Then in Joshua 34:5-6, we find that God Himself buried Moses and “to this day no one knows where his grave is.”

The point is, if “gathered to your people” means the gathering of the bones of the deceased, who gathered Moses’ bones? Who placed them in the receptacle underneath a slab? And when God told Moses he would be “gathered to his people,” was He speaking about his bones being placed in a container? Not likely.

I like the way Bob, one of my readers, explained it. He writes, “Hebrews 12:23 is a helpful verse as to where Moses was going, for it speaks of the ‘assembly of the first born...to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,’ as being in the heavenly Jerusalem awaiting the resurrection, at which time they get their new celestial bodies.”

Even Abraham, the forerunner of Moses, an old man and full of years, breathed his last and was “gathered to his people.”

Moses then burned the idol, ground it into powder, scattered it upon the water and made the Israelites drink the bitter liquid. This is how God felt about their statues! And if Moses were here on earth today and discovered all of the statues (idols) of the “Virgin Mary” and other religious icons, which the papacy and liberal Protestant sects have promoted for centuries, his anger would be demonstrated just as strongly.

There’s another question related to this subject. Why did the devil dispute with the archangel Michael about the body of Moses, as per Jude 9? Apparently, God buried Moses through His archangel Michael. But there arose a dispute between the devil and Michael over Moses’ body.

Did the devil know something he wasn’t telling? It is my conjecture that Satan knew in advance that the children of Israel, if left to bury Moses, would eventually build an idol of him and bow down and worship it. Consequently, a squabble arose between the prince of darkness and God’s angelic envoy, Michael, over his body.

Idolatrous worship has not changed through the centuries. Man still builds idols “to go before them.” Take a look at our fancy church edifices. They are not content to allow the God of creation to pave their way through the trials of life. They need something they can see, touch, feel, bow down to, and place their allegiance in. The great apostle Paul said it far better than I can say it when he accused idolaters, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25).

Remember the pope’s illness in February, 2005? I marveled at the homage and allegiance tendered him. The media and many Catholic leaders called him “Holy Father,” a blasphemous term when applied to a mere man. Even Peter, who is falsely alleged to have been the first pope, was never called “Holy Father.” Not even the Son of God carried that divine title. God, and only God, is ever referred to as Holy Father (John 17:11). Yet a mere man in Rome has adopted that noble title! It is appalling, to say the least.

So, yes, it seems that God Himself officiated at the burial of His servant Moses to prevent the children of Israel from building an idol of him and bowing down to it. Sadly, however, even today idols and images are still being created and bowed down to. But God will have the last word.

“But I don’t bow down to the statue or image, I bow down to God!” How often have we heard that—over and over? I find the statement rather outlandish, because those who affirm it bow down only—particularly “in church”—when a statue is in their presence. If they’re bowing down to God only, why do they wait until they’re facing a statue or image? Their affirmation would be rejected in any court of law, and is most certainly rejected by the Court of Heaven.