The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-21

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 to memory with the mere
 mention of Moses name.
 The climax of this series of events
 was reached in Moses death. No hu-
 man demise surpasses 1t In certain
 quality of weirdness. The story is that, on one of the many occasions on | which the Israelites 'murmured" in | the wilderness, Moses and Aaron were
 usually incensed against them. Moses cried, Hear now, ye rebels! 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 l Canaan. Aaron was already dead, and
 Moses had received his token. He ut tered 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 submissiveness since | he uttered that piteous cry, T pray Thee let me go over" Josephine says | he withdrew amidst the tears of the people the women beating their breasts | and the children giving way to uncon- l trolIed waIling, and that the elders and Eliezer and Joshua followed part l way up the mountain. At length he
 reached the peak named Nebo, in hon
 or of the heather god. A miraculous vision of the entire land of promise l is not necessarily involved in the terms of the narrative It is express | Iy affirmed that Moses vision was un-
 dimmed. and the height commanded an
 exceedingly wide range. What he saw l was & sample of the whole to the re- motest limits named.
 The death of Moses has been ideal ized also. Here one can be easily lost | in a maze of curious, if not idle, spec uIation. The rabbis say. for example, that Moses died by kiss of the Lord. Tn the act of kissing him. Jehovah drew his life from him. All this ifs elaborated from the simple phrase that And the burial of Moses has been made a mystery also. The venerable tradition is that Jehovah. Himself.
 buried him. The Septuagent however. has 1t "they buried him." and the third person, singular would allow Of the
 verb being taken as impersonal. IT those who attended to the burial O.
 Moses kept their secret and made no
 record of it. after their death, 1t could
 be truthfully affirmed that mo man
 knoweth the place of his sepulcher-" :"
 Jude is evidently making reference
 and confession (without of necessity
 approving it), to some Jewish tradi-
 ton when he speaks of Michael the Archangel, contending and disputing
 with satan about the body of Moses.
 The quotation Is probably from the lost apocryphal book mentioned by
 Orleen as the Ascension of Moses.
 These are matters largely curious and
 speculative. They afford fertile field
 for the imaginative and poetic; but
 for the average person the moral qual- ities of the man are confessedly ana vastly more important than the acci- dents of his death and burial. Thus for example. the death of Moses was undoubtedly intended to be l exemplary. He wRs lawgiver' but ] he was also himself law-breaker. He
 must suffer in. sight of all the people 7 1 the penalty of the law which he not
 only gave, but also broke. Again, Moses
 fin an age of practical matertalism
 which was always asking, what shal
 we eat. drink, and wear? stood pre-
 leminently for the immaterial and in' . visible. He was often
 = wrapt in a still, dark, solid cloud . The curtain of the Holy One. ,. Drawn round him like shroud / So, separate from the world, hii
 Might duly take and strongly keep F The print of heaven. .,. For one who lived such a life tn 2 aua1ity of immateriality which charac terized his grave was peculiarly Ilttihs HUT r For one who lived also such life Q . 1 complete self-renunciatton 1t wa t eminently proper that his tomb shouI' x be unknown. It was post-morten : continuance of the spirit of his lire y It was manifestly unfit that the grav' l bo hI fn affara ?. self during life should become th' y Mecca of adulation. This self-forgetful e nesshas splendid illustration in Moses
 very dying hour. He prays for a suit c able successor, and cries, Let JehoVai - set a man over the congregation e The living for others has stlll turthSl n exemplificatioh In the fact that whii'
 he led Israel up to the threshold O. n Canaan. he did not enter himself. H' q nut them in the way of goodly posses e sion. in which he was not to have anN d share, even to the extent of pressing
 the soil with his foot Thus, In sacrl
 flee of personal aims and gains he m
 dicated in advance the crowning grace
 of the Phophet who was to be ike nm \ though greater.
 Speculation about the grave of Moses \ Is as futile as that about the holS sepulcher. Tn both cases 1t is wholly \ | a matter of curiosity. It is of precious
  \ buried, and remains so, or was resur' 4 rected after burial, or whether Moses 4 | was translated. No doctrine concern ing the resurrection can be based upon N an instance so evidently exceptiona S and apparently purposely ill-defined ID q the narrative. What Moses was and q did. these are the dynamic facts. What became of his body is matter of indif' \ ference. The latter is left uncertain the former Is recorded with precision Not only Is Moses's name hewn out ol Time as on a rock, but !" he stands on 4 1 Time as on a pedestal"
 ANALYSIS AND KEY. 4I i Manner of Moses death.
 Fit climax to series of Levic in cidents.
 2. Farewell spoken. Psalm sung
 Blessing pronounced.
 Death journey to Nebo. Vision of Promised Land. a. Moses burial idealized. Curious speculation.
 Jude's reference to traditions about
 Moses body.
 More practical things considered. 4 Moses's death exemplary. Law gives also law breaker. Penalty borne.
 Moses stands for the immaterial in materialistic age.
 Proper his tomb should be un- known. - Customs touching the disposition oi q human remains are among the most tenacious of all Innovation is ez- eeedingly difficult. Intrusion into this s sacred region is usually resented