Often, when I am teaching about the Israelites crossing over the Jordan River and going into the Promised Land, I hear people’s disappointment about Moses dying in the wilderness. They are disappointed on his behalf. They want Moses to reap the reward of his service to God and to the enslaved Israelites. In this work, Moses worked hard and he put up with a lot from the Israelites who felt so vulnerable in the wilderness. He was the one who led them out of slavery, comforted, provided and disciplined them in the wilderness. He settled arguments, performed miracles, made mistakes and gave everything he had to this work. Moses was a man of the wilderness in both time and place. They were going to need to learn to live differently as the transition from being a nomadic community group to settled and governed. I think the strength of Moses’ leadership is that he knew when to let go. So often, leaders will enjoy the notoriety so much that they struggle to let go when it is time. Moses is remembered well in large part because he was faithful and he completed the task he was given to do.