Biblical Oddities: The Body of Moses

The book of Jude is a fascinating book. It contains material that cannot be found anywhere else in the Bible – which is both intriguing and frustrating. One example of this can be found in Jude’s account of an argument that Michael the archangel had with the devil:

Jude 1:9: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

Jude tells us that there was a time when Michael argued with the devil about the body of Moses. This raises a host of questions: what was the devil trying to do? Why did the devil want the body of Moses? What was going on? When did this happen?

Sadly, the Bible does not answer any of these questions. Many people have come up with all kinds of speculation about this verse, but that’s all it is – baseless speculation. It’s impossible for us to know what the devil was trying to do because the Bible doesn’t tell us. It is all shrouded in mystery.

Some people have gone to apocrypha in order to find answers, but the apocrypha are simply not good sources. These supposed “extra” books of the Bible are frauds and forgeries. Those who run to them as a source of truth will only find deception. It would be nice if there was as real “Assumption of Moses” manuscript, but there isn’t. There are only forgeries, written in order to deceive the gullible.

So why did Jude even mention this? After all, this is a big event: Michael got into a fight with the devil! That is pretty riveting stuff – and yet Jude barely mentions it in passing. The reason he does this is because this angelic confrontation isn’t really his point. This is the passage in context:

Jude 1:8: “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

The reason Jude wrote his letter is to warn the church against certain ungodly men who had crept in and were causing a great deal of trouble. One of the characteristics of these men is that they spoke evil “of dignities”. Believe it or not, in this context the word “dignities” refers to demons. The reason we know this is because in the very next verse Jude gives us the example of Michael. When the archangel was arguing with the devil he could have spoken evil of him, but instead he rebuked the devil in the name of the Lord. Jude’s point is that even Michael the archangel would not bring a railing accusation against them, even when talking to the devil himself. Peter makes the same point:

2 Peter 2:10: “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.”

As you can see, Peter was talking about the exact same thing. Peter says that the angels do not bring a railing accusation against “them”, and from verse 10 we can see that the word “them” refers to dignities – the same word that is used in Jude. Both Peter and Jude are warning us against bringing a “railing accusation” against demons.

The reason Jude gives the example of Michael and Satan arguing is to show what we ought to do instead. Michael simply said “May the Lord rebuke you”. He turned the devil over to the Lord for rebuke – to let God handle it.

The Bible warns us to be on our guard against demons. The devil is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. The forces of darkness are arrayed against us, and the Bible tells us how to stand our ground and resist the devil.

That being said, it is God who will judge these forces of darkness; it is not our place to do that. If even Michael the archangel would not bring a railing accusation against him, then we should not either; if he instead delivered him over to God for rebuke then we should take the same course of action. That is Jude’s point, and that is why he brought up the body of Moses.

It would certainly be great to know what the fight was about, but we are not told – and the reason we are not told is because it is beside the point. Sometimes we can focus on unimportant (but fascinating) matters and miss the bigger picture.