Why was Moses a martyr?

Answer 1

Moses was, after all, 120 years old at his death (Deuteronomy 34:5-7) and a sinner like anyone else(Romans 3:23, 5:12) so death comes with the territory . Your question may be, WHY did he die rather than being allowed to go into the Promised Land?

History: Just as the nation of Israel was about to go into the Promised Land, Moses performed a miracle at the direction of YHWH (the God of Israel), by making water pour from a rock to satisfy the thirst of the complaining people....but instead of giving the credit to God for providing this blessing, Moses and Aaron got angry at the people and took the credit for themselves for this miracle(Numbers 20:1-13). It was an accident, but a serious one.

Moses had been given a huge responsibility, and his primary role was to magnify God's name, to build faith and trust in GOD, not in himself. This was important, not because God was proud and haughty, but because God truly WAS the source of their life. Moses would not always be there...he was a man, and would die someday, so the people had to learn to trust God for their own good. (Deuteronomy 32:50-52; Psalms 106:32, 33) and not to put trust in mankind for salvation(Psalm 146:3-4). When Moses unthinkingly took credit for caring for the needs of the people, he endangered their faith, so lost the privilege of going into the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:1-5).

Answer 2

Strictly speaking, he wasn't a martyr. A martyr is " a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs". Since Moses wasn't murdered/executed/killed, but lay down and died a natural death, he doesn't qualify as a martyr.