Moses was 120 years old when he died, but “his eyes were not failing nor his vigor gone,” as it says in Deuteronomy 34:7.
Just how did Moses manage to live to the ripe old age of 120? How, then, did Moses keep his youthful vigor and power even at the age of 120?
Moses’ life spans three distinct 40-year segments. Acts 7:23 states that Moses lived as a member of the royal family of Egypt for the first forty years of his life.
After making the decision to support Israel’s cause rather than Egypt’s, Moses spent the next forty years of his life in exile (Acts 7:30).
Thereafter, Moses lived for another forty years after he had returned to Egypt to rescue the Hebrew slaves (Acts 7:36).
For a total of 80 years, Moses served as a prince, an exiled shepherd, and the leader of a nation of emancipated slaves.
One may assume that the forty years Moses spent as a prince in Egypt qualified him to lead Israel across the desert. However, God also intended for Moses to develop a modest character.
In his role as a shepherd for forty years, Moses learned to be dependent on the Lord and to put his faith in God.
According to Numbers 12:3, “Now Moses was a very modest man, more humble than anybody else on the face of the planet.”
Moses’ first eighty years of life were spent gaining the knowledge and skills that would eventually make him the leader of Israel.
On the other hand, Moses’ direct communion with the Almighty is what transformed him into a virtuous and mighty leader (Exodus 33:11).
It’s worth noting that Moses didn’t pass away from old age at the ripe old age of 120.
Although by the time of Moses, the average longevity had dropped much below 120 years.
Moses had been preserved from the symptoms of aging and given extraordinary power, but God’s plan for Moses’ life had been fulfilled, and he had to let him go.
The Israelites were led by Moses to the edge of the Promised Land after God had freed them from slavery in Egypt, given them God’s Law, and led them out of Egypt.
God did not let Moses and the Israelites enter the Promised Land because Moses disobeyed the Lord in Numbers 20:1-12.
When the time came for the Israelites to take possession of the land, Moses ascended to the top of Mount Nebo to survey it from above, and the Lord ultimately led him back to heaven (Deuteronomy 34:1–7).
A disciple of God is “indestructible” until God’s plan for him or her is fulfilled, much as Moses was indestructible for 120 years.