Why did God keep the burial place of Moses a secret?
Why didn't God let the Israelites know where Moses was buried?
Deuteronomy 34:5 - 7
NKJV - 5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.
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Asked June 26 2017
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Ponatshego Kgagawe
Supporter
Community answers are sorted based on votes. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is.
Tim Maas
Supporter
Some have suggested that the purpose of this was to prevent Moses' burial site from becoming an object of worship or idolatry for the people of Israel. However, this does not seem consistent to me, since this apparently did not occur with the known burial places of other prominent individuals (such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 25:9; Genesis 49:29-32) and David (Kings 2:10; Acts 2:29)) who might have also been considered worthy of such veneration. I personally believe that God's burial of Moses was indicative of God's intention that Moses was not to remain buried. After Moses' death there was apparently a dispute over his body (referenced in Jude 1:9) between Satan and the archangel Michael, with God's intention being to resurrect Moses and take him to heaven, and Satan seeking to prevent this from happening. (What else could they have been disputing about, since Moses was already dead?) However, Michael prevailed, as indicated when Moses appeared in bodily form, along with Elijah (who was taken to heaven without dying (2 Kings 2:11-12)) -- figuratively representing the Law and the Prophets that testified of Jesus' coming (Luke 24:44) -- with Jesus at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:30-31).
Tom Lackey
Supporter
It is my opinion that God kept Moses' gravesite secret because He knew the Israelites tendency to place worship in wrong places and things. They did not need one more distraction to keep them from entering the Holy Land.
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