The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-20
THE sUNDAY-sCHooL LESSON.


No human life was ever more full of scenic
incident than that OF Moses. From his wave
rocked cradle onward 1t was a march Of stirring,
and often tragic events. prolific of themes for
the artist and poet. There is no need to name
these circumstances. They come at once 10
memory with the mere mention of Moses name.
The climax of this series of events was reached
In Moses death. No human demise surpasses
it in a certain quality of weirdness. The story
Is that, on one Of the many occasions on which
the Israelites ''murumured' in the wilderness.
Moses and Aaron were unusually incensed
against them. Moses cried: Hear now, ye
rebelsl Must we fetch you water out of this
rock?" For some quality in this action which
is not clearly defined the brothers were denied
the privilege of entrance to Canaan. Aaron
was already dead, and Moses had received his
token. He uttered his stately farewell, chanted
his song, and pronounced his blessing, and then
began his solitary death journey TO Nebo. There
is no word OF protest on his part against his
fate. He had certainly gained in submissive
ness since he uttered that piteous cry. II pray
Thee, let me go over Josephus says he with
drew amidst the tears of the people. the women
beating their breasts and the children giving
way to uncontrolled wailing, and that the elders
and Eliezer and Joshua followed part way up
the mountain. At length he reached the peak
named Nebo in honor Of the heather god. A
miraculous vision Of the entire land OF promise
is not necessarily involved in the terms of the
narrative. 1t Is expressly affirmed that Moses
| vision was undimmed, and the height ommand
ed an exceedingly wide range. What he saw
was a sample Of the whole to the remotest linn
its named.
The death of Moses has been idealized also.
Here one can be easily lost in a maze Of curious
II not idle speculation. The rabbis say, for ex-
op,Di that Moses died nv a Eie9 0f the lord
In the act of kissing him Jehovah drew his life
from him. All this is elaborated from the SIM
pe phrase that Moses 'died by the mouth Of
the Lord" And the burial OF Moses has been
made a mystery also. The venerable tradition
is that Jehovah himself buried him. The Xxx,
however. has 1t. they buried him." and the
third person, singular, would allow OF the verb
being taken as impersonal. II those who at
| tended to the burial of Moses kept their secret
and made no record Of 1t after their death II
| could be truthfully affirmed that mo man know
eth the place OF his sepulcher." Jude is evil
IDENTIFY making reference and concession with
out of necessity approving IT'D to some Jewish
tradition when he speaks of Michael the Arch
| angel contending and disputing with Satan
about the body OF Moses. The quotation is prob
ably from the lost apocryphal book mentioned
by Origen as the ascension OF Moses. These
are matters largely curious and speculative.
They afford a fertile field for the imaginative
and poetic, but for the average person the moral
| qualities of the man are confessedly and vastly
more important than the accidents Of his death
and burial.
Thus, for example, the death OF Moses was
undoubtedly intended to be exemplary. He was
a law giver, but he was also himself a law
breaker. He must suffer In sight OF all the
people the penalty of the law which he not only
gave but also broke. Again, Moses, in an age
Of practical materialism. which was always
asking what shall we eat. drink and wear. stood
| pre-eminently for the immaterial and invisible.
He was often
wrapt in a still. dark. solid cloud,
The curtain of the Holy One
Drawn round him like a shroud;
So. separate from the world. his breast
Might duly take and strongly keep
The print OF heaven"
For one who lived such a life the quality OF
immateriaIity which characterized his grave
was peculiarly fitting. For one who lived also
| such a life Of complete self-renunciation it was
| eminently proper that his tomb should be I'M
known. 1t was a post-mortem continuance Of
the spirit of his life. II was manifestly UNIT
that the grave of one whose habit was to efface
! himself during life should become the Mecca OF
adulation. This self forgetfulness has splendid
illustration in Moses very dying hour. He
prays for a suitable successor. ana cries: Let
Jehovah set a man over the congregation" The
living for others has still further exemplihcation
in the fact that while he led Israel up to the
threshold Of Canaan he did not enter himself.
| He put them in the way OF a goodly possession
in which he was not to have any share. even
| TO the extent Of pressing the soil with his foot.
Thus, in sacrifice of personal aims and gains.
he indicated in advance the browning grace OF
| the Prophet who was to be like him. though
greater
Speculation about the grave OF Moses Is as
futile as that about the holy sepulcher- In
both cases IL is wholly a matter OF curiosity. II
Is of precious little moment whether Moses
body was buried. and remains so. or was resur-
| rected after burial, or whether Moses was
| translated. No doctrine concerning the resur-
| rection can be based upon an instance so evil
IDENTIFY exceptional and apparently purposely Ill
defined in the narrative. What Moses was and
| did. these are the dynamic facts. What be-
came of his body Ii matter OF Indifference. The
latter Is left uncertain. the former is recorded
with precision. Not only is Moses name hewn
out on time as on a rock. but he stands on
time as a pedestal"
THE TEACHERS LANTERN.
Customs touching the disposition OF human re-
mains are among the most tenacious OF all In
many of Alexandria. was Incorporated by