What probably lead to the wilderness generation’s condemnation was their complaints to God. God had just taken the Israelites out of Egypt. He also has consistently tried to establish communion with the Israelites since they left Egypt. Therefore, the Israelites complaining to Him about the situation He has placed them in shows their ungratefulness about being freed from slavery in Egypt. They are complaining to God, who truly loves them, about a situation that He placed them in to reestablish communion. When Moses hears all the complaints, he then pleads to the Lord, which, somehow, convinces Him to fix their complaints.
I would not say that the death of Moses is a let down because it fully completes his story. Moses is clearly blessed by God, considering he was able to come face to face with God. Moses’ primary purpose was his interactions with God that set down the ground rules for the Israelites. He was able to give the Israelites the rules they were supposed to follow in order to cross over into Jordan. Through Moses giving out the laws and balancing between the Israelites and God, he has fulfilled his purpose. He has been able to clearly show the Israelites the way into communion with God. Though Moses won’t be able to cross into Jordan, he is placed in Moab, where he can see all of the lands. Moses’ death shows what is to come for the Israelites, a new land.
I believe the closing passage of Deuteronomy 34 guides us to see the magnitude of all the events that happened. Moses just died, the prophet who laid down all the rules to help reestablish communion with God. It is now time in the book of Joshua for the Israelites to actually follow through with the recommunion with God, and continue onto the promised land with a new leader. The holy land that is referred to in Joshua is representing the establishment of communion with God. Through the laws laid out by Moses and the effort of the Israelites to follow the laws, they are ready to be in communion with God. Therefore, God is able to lead the Israelites to the holy land.
Lauren Gaertner's Theology Blog 
I really like the point that the closing chapter of Deuteronomy shows us the magnitude of the events that happened. I never thought of it as a re-communion with God before, but I really like this argument since Moses was their main form of communication with God.
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I think Moses’ death is a little sad. He took these people from their slavery and delivered them to what is to be the promised land, but never gets to set foot there himself. He did a lot of work through the lord, and it saddens me to think that one mistake ended his journey.
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I really enjoyed reading your post! You made a great point about how God continually reached out to the Israelites to try to re-establish communion with them, and they were always the ones who were ungrateful. That’s interesting to think about how persistent God is in his attempt to form relationships with humans.
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