Date: 1/31/2021 Service: Sun. PM Series: Jude What Is Jude 9 Talking About Here?... “But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses….” ✔ Some say that the story in Jude 9 is taken from the non- biblical book, The Assumption of Moses, while others would disagree and say that it comes from oral tradition or from direct revelation. There are other theories as well. Evidence from the early church suggests that most believed in that time that it was a quote from The Assumption of Moses. ✔ The story from The Assumption of Moses is that Michael was commissioned to bury Moses. Satan opposes this burial on two grounds: 1. He claims to be the lord of the matter. To this Michael responds, “the Lord rebuke thee, for it was God’s spirit which created the world and all mankind.” 2. He brings the charge of murder against Moses. PROBLEM: If Jude does refer to this non-biblical book, does that mean that Jude is not inspired? NO! Jude would simply be confirming the truth of a single statement in this book. PROBLEM: Should The Assumption of Moses be a part of our Bible? NO! Even though Paul quoted secular writers, it does not mean that their works are inspired. CONCLUSION: No matter how the writers of scripture obtained their information is not important. The Holy Spirit enabled them to present only that which was true, and to record it so that it is verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible. So, all that we can determine with certainty concerning this verse (which must have been familiar to people of that time) is that there was an argument concerning the body of Moses. There is no indication of why it occurred, or what the motive of Satan was.1 The only other fact that we know is found in Deut. 34:5-6 - God buried Moses: “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.” 1 Hiebert comments, “The story involved apparently had great currency in oral tradition. According to the tradition, God committed the burial of Moses’ body to the angel Michael, but the Devil opposed Michael, disputing his right to bury the body because Moses had been a murderer (Ex. 2:12) . Another suggestion is that the Devil wanted possession of the body in order to entice Israel into idolatrous veneration of it (cf. the brazen serpent). The Targum of Jonathan on Deuteronomy 34:6 asserted ‘that the grave of Moses was given into the special custody of Michael.’ It has indeed been suggested that the dispute here mentioned occurred at the time of the translation of the body of Moses [something the Biblical text does NOT tell us] soon after his death (since he afterwards appeared with the translated Elijah at the transfiguration of Jesus) and that ‘Satan (Heb. ii. 14) contended with Michael, that it should not be raised again on the ground of Moses’ sin.’ Jude’s remark leaves the occasion obscure.” (Second Peter and Jude by D. Edmond Hiebert, pp. 247-248) Page 1 of 1.