A Practical Commentary on the Epistle of Jude

Answ. 4. The Rabbins among other of their Fables, interpret it of the desire which the Devil had to destroy Moses by death, there being no man like Moses, that saw God face to face; therefore his rage was great against him, and he sought to destroy him; and to this purpose apply that of the Psalmist, Psal 37 1. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. Among Christians some say this striving was before, some after his burial; some before his burial, as Junius, that his body might not be removed out of sight, but he might satisfy his rage and malice upon it, in abusing it. But that is not so probable, the body being suddenly disposed of by God to some secret place of burial Some say after burial the Devil sought to take it up again▪ and upon that ground arose this contention between him and Michael. But why should the Devil contend so much about the buried body of Moses? To answer this we must consider what might be the ends of Gods concealing his burial; possibly ⟨p. 361⟩this might be one, Least in a preposterous zeal, they should yield honour to the dead body of such a famous and excellent Prophet, and so it might become a snare to the people: possibly there might be something Typical in it; the dead body of Moses was buried in an unknown place, least they should take it up, and carry it into the Land of Canaan, to signify the abolition of the legal Ordinances, under the Evangelic flate: So that to revive the Antiquated Ceremonies of the Law now, is to but rake up Moses his dead body; Now the Devil may be supposed to contend for the body of Moses, partly out of obstinate curiosity, whereby sinful creatures are strongly inclined to desire things forbidden: Partly to defeat the purposes of God: but chiefly by dead Moses, to set up himself in the hearts of the living seeking thereby to provoke them to a worship of his relics or remains.