A Bible mystery that has caught my [Dan Corner’s] attention for decades revolves around part of a single verse in the book of Jude. As Jude was describing the grace changers, he mentioned in passing the angelic dispute over the body of Moses:
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9)
There is no corroborating verse to directly add additional light about that conflict. We are simply left with an angelic disputation between Michael the archangel and the devil over the body of Moses! We do know a little more from the Old Testament about the body of Moses:
And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. (Deu 34:5-7)
God buried him and no person knows where the remains of the body of Moses are! Seemingly the Michael versus the devil conflict of Jude 9 happened before God buried the body of Moses, but a bigger Bible mystery is What did the devil want with the body of Moses? Taking a guess, maybe the devil was hoping somehow the Israelites would commit idolatry with the body of Moses, since he was such an outstanding leader. IF that is the case, such would parallel Israel’s misuse of the bronze snake erected by Moses for deliverance in Numbers chapter 21:
So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. (Num 21:9)
King Hezekiak, years later, destroyed that bronze snake (Nehushtan) because the Israelites were burning incense to it (2 Kings 18:4)! Again, what the Israelites wrongly did with that bronze snake might be what the devil was hoping would occur with the body of Moses, but God wouldn’t let him have it! [Do you have a Biblical Christian testimony?]
