What do you think of a man in the best of health and vitality just lying down and dying?

What do you think of a man in the best of health and vitality just lying down and dying? That was Moses at 120. "His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated." Peterson renders it, "His eyesight was sharp; he still walked with a spring in his step" (Deut. 34:7).

Even though God said Moses couldn't cross Jordan, He was good to His old servant, gave him a grand video show of His people's land in all its pristine beauty. Then a video of world history down to the second coming of Jesus and the creation of a new earth. Then the tired man simply lay down and went to sleep; God enfolded him in His everlasting arms, and that was it until the Angel awakened him in a special resurrection (vs. 5; Jude 9).

To be so healthy at 120 catches our interest. Moses must have been careful of his diet, counted his calories, made sure he had nutritional balance, etc. Zipporah his wife must have been a super health-cook. And yes, he must have watched his exercise program.

True! We know Moses ate manna for the last 40 years of his life. You couldn't get a better diet even today with all our nutritional expertise. And the Lord was constantly calling Moses to climb up mountains. Great health reform living. It pays. Better than any medical treatment, it stops disease.

But maybe there's another reason why Moses retained his physical and mental vitality so long. He knew how to pray; he actually communed with God as a man talks with a friend "face to face" (Deut. 34:10). "My servant Moses ... has the run of my entire house; I speak to him intimately, in person, in plain talk without riddles" (Num. 12:7, 8, Peterson).

Communion is a two-way communication street; you empty your heart before God as to your closest friend. (That means also, you don't share tidbits of gossip with anyone else!) You spill all your beans of sin before Him in secret prayer. Your soul is naked in His presence. Welcome His agape into your sinful heart; "in Christ" God shares Himself with you. Not to give you a special diploma, but simply to make you be a blessing to someone else who is "weary."