Alone, Moses climbed the rugged path to the top of Mount Pisgah in the land of Moab. Though preserved in body and mind, his 120 years (40 of them in the wilderness) made him worn in years and in battles. His last battle was his attempt to enter the Promised Land. He lost. He was to die after seeing the land from the mountain top.
From the peak, Moses cast his undimmed eyes across the Jordan to the city of Jericho 3500 feet below. God showed him the land that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These earlier patriarchs had lived in the land but did not possess it. Moses saw the land but did not enter it. That would be left to another. Joshua would lead the Israelites into their possession of the Promised Land.
When the visual tour was finished, Moses died and was “gathered unto his people” (Deuteronomy 32:50). The Lord buried him in a place unknown to men. The work of Moses on earth was done. He had received the mantle from Abraham and his descendants and had passed it on to Joshua. He did not begin the work and he did not finish it. He was chosen to be a link in the chain.
That is the way for all of us. We can do no work that does not build on something before us. And anything of eternal value cannot be completed in a lifetime. We pass on to the next generation what we received from the last one (Psalm 78:2-6). We learn from our teachers so we might teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). There is no disgrace in being a link. The only disgrace is in failing to link to the next generation.
