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According to Deuteronomy 34:7, “Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” How did Moses manage to reach the age of 120? And how was he able to reach 120 years while still maintaining his strength and vitality?
The life of Moses can be divided into three periods of forty years. As Acts 7:23 states, during the initial forty years of his life, Moses was essentially part of the Egyptian royal family. When Moses chose to support the people of Israel over the Egyptians, he spent the following forty years in exile «And when forty years had passed, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. », (Acts 7:30). After returning to Egypt to liberate the nation of Israel from slavery, Moses lived another forty years «He led them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. », (Acts 7:36). Therefore, Moses was a prince for forty years, an exiled shepherd for forty years, and finally the leader of a nation of liberated slaves for forty years.
One might assume that the lessons Moses learned during his forty years as an Egyptian prince were what equipped him to lead Israel during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness. However, the Lord also intended for Moses to learn humility. Moses’ forty years as a shepherd taught him humility and reliance on the Lord. Numbers 12:3 states, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” The experiences and training Moses received during the first eighty years of his life prepared him to lead Israel. Yet, it was his intimate relationship with God that truly empowered Moses to be a mighty and righteous leader.
Leader “And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.”, (Exodus 33:11).
It is noteworthy that when Moses passed away at the age of 120, he did not die of old age. This is remarkable considering that during Moses’ time, the average lifespan was much shorter than 120. Moses had been supernaturally strengthened and protected from the effects of aging; he died because God had fulfilled His plan for Moses. God had utilized Moses to liberate the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, document God’s Law, and guide the Israelites to the borders of the Promised Land. Due to Moses’ disobedience to the Lord in Numbers 20:1–12, God did not permit Moses to enter the Promised Land with the Israelites. Therefore, when the Israelites were prepared to enter and take possession of the land, Moses ascended Mount Nebo, beheld the land from an overlook, and then the Lord took him home (Deuteronomy 34:1-7). The 120 years of Moses’ life serve as a perfect illustration of a servant of God being “indestructible” until God’s purpose for him or her is fulfilled.
