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DEUTERONOMY
CHAPTER 31

1 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel. 2 And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3 The LORD thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the LORD hath said.

Perhaps the most significant part of this Scripture is at the end of verse 3, "..as the LORD hath said."
Moses is addressing the nation of Israel in his last speech. He tells them that he is to die and Joshua will be their new leader.
He also tells them he's 120 years old and he knows it is time for death.
Moses wrote Psalm 90. Yet in that Psalm (verse 10), he states that man's normal age is 70 years. Moses knows that he has lived far beyond his normal age.
He is not ill (Deuteronomy 34:7), but it is God's will that Moses die.
This man Moses is submissive to God's will. Remember Numbers 12:3? It said, "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth."
Moses exemplifies meekness. He is self-disciplined, and quite willing to accept God's will in his life -- even death.

4 And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed. 5 And the LORD shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Moses reminds Israel that God will "go with thee. He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (verse 6)
And Moses' call to commitment is for them to "be of good courage."
When we have a word from God to go forward on a mission of His choosing, we should not be discouraged no matter what the difficulty.

7 And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the LORD hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. 8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

This is a special word for Joshua. It is basically the same as Moses has told the nation. Joshua is to be a special leader, and God will see that the mission He's given Joshua is accomplished.

9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11 When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Moses is to write down the law and give a copy to the priests. Not only is he transferring leadership of the nation to Joshua; but he is transferring spiritual leadership to the priests.
They will be responsible for keeping the law, copying the law, teaching the law, interpreting the law, and reading the law publicly.
We must assume that "law" refers to the first five books of our Bible. It is fitting that the people should give attention to the reading of that law on such an occasion as the "year of release (verse 10), and at the feast of tabernacles.
Moses thought it a fitting last act to publicly read the law and then give it over to the priests to be deposited in the ark (verses 24-26).
The purpose of reading the WORD is described in verse 13.
That the children will hear and learn to reverence God (Hebrews 4:12).

14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. 16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

Moses and Joshua are called by the Lord to the tabernacle so that God will be seen for the last time talking "face to face" with Moses. Joshua will be there for all the people to see.
God prophecies to Moses and Joshua that the people will stray from Him and His Word (verse 16). Then they will be left by the Lord to be carried away into captivity (verse 17). It will be because of their sins that God will not help and deliver them from the enemy (verse 18).
I think this is very important to us today. If the Word of God was given, preserved and read to the nation, WHY did they do exactly what God had prophesied and commit idol worship? What is the reason?
Simple - they would not LISTEN to and OBEY the Word.
And THAT separated them from God. God never left them; neither did He forsake them. But THEY left HIM!
And that is important for Christians to understand. Yes, Jesus redeemed us from curse of the law. The curse of the law is that sinners deserve eternal death. If we are truly saved, washed in Christ's blood, sealed in the Spirit of Holy God, He will never leave us nor forsake us.
But we must READ, HEED, and LIVE God's Word because it is the "manual for living" to the saved.

19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. 21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware. 22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

A song is to be composed as part of the heritage Moses will hand down to the people. A song is something easily remembered. And this song is to be a testimony of the Word of God and to God's faithfulness. The song is found in Chapter 32.
The people will break the covenant, but God will not.
And if they will remember and repent, He will be faithful to deliver them.
We Christians should write such a song!

23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee. 24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. 27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death? 28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them. 29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

Again Moses charges Joshua. Verse 23 tells us that Joshua will perform BECAUSE God is with him. Sounds much like Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Moses gives the written Word to the priests. They are to place it in the ark of the covenant for safekeeping. The Word is not to REMAIN there. It is to be copied and read. But it is kept in a safe place and guarded from loss.
God's Word is a witness against us when we stray and do wrong. The truth of God's Word says that we DO stray. And the call of His Holy Spirit to our hearts is to remind us of His Word which convicts us.
Therefore, the Word calls us back in repentance (see John 14:26).
Let us join the psalmist and "hide" God's Word in our hearts, that we may not sin agains Him (Psalm 119:11).

30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

Moses sang the "Song of God's Word" so that all the congregation could hear.
Songs should reflect the teachings of God's Word.

Please continue to follow with us daily in Bible study.