“Man is born with his fists clinched, but dies with his hands open.”
- Talmud
Lessons about Death Lesson #1 – In death, we are neither alone nor lonely.
Deuteronomy 34:1 – “Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab...and the LORD showed him the whole land.”
NOTE: God promises to be there with us -
Hebrews 13:5 – God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
** Jesus said - “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will return and bring you to myself so that where I am you may be also.” – John 14:2
Point: In death, God escorts us through the process.
Lesson #2 – God leaves no task undone.
Deuteronomy 34:4 - Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
Point: God does not take us prematurely.
Job 14:5 – “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Lesson #3 – Death opens the door to the ultimate blessing.
Deuteronomy 34:5 – “Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, at the LORD’S command.”
Jude 9 - Even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
1 Corinthians 13:12 – “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (NLT)
Point: God’s purpose in death is to reward his own.
Lesson #4 - Mourning has its place in God’s purpose.
Deuteronomy 34:8 – “The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.”
Joshua 1:1 – “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, ‘My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites.’”
** Elizabeth Kubler-Ross: Six Stages of Grief
1. Denial. 2. Anger. 3. Bargaining. 4. Depression. 5. Acceptance. 6. Hope.
Point: Purposeful mourning expresses hope...enables us to live supported by faith.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 – “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”
Lesson #5 - While on earth, build an eternal legacy.
Deuteronomy 34:9 - “Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the LORD had commanded Moses.”
Point: To build an eternal legacy, invest in people.
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